diff --git a/doc/man-sections/encryption-options.rst b/doc/man-sections/encryption-options.rst
index ee34f14e..abc73d90 100644
--- a/doc/man-sections/encryption-options.rst
+++ b/doc/man-sections/encryption-options.rst
@@ -104,7 +104,8 @@ Generating key material
 
     If supplied, include the supplied ``metadata`` in the wrapped client
     key. This metadata must be supplied in base64-encoded form. The
-    metadata must be at most 735 bytes long (980 bytes in base64).
+    metadata must be at most 733 bytes long (980 characters in base64, though
+    note that 980 base64 characters can encode more than 733 bytes).
 
     If no metadata is supplied, OpenVPN will use a 64-bit unix timestamp
     representing the current time in UTC, encoded in network order, as