diff --git a/ChangeLog.d/cipher-delayed-output.txt b/ChangeLog.d/cipher-delayed-output.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4ca3a0cc0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ChangeLog.d/cipher-delayed-output.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+API changes
+   * For multi-part AEAD operations with the cipher module, calling
+     mbedtls_cipher_finish() is now mandatory. Previously the documentation
+     was unclear on this point, and this function happened to never do
+     anything with the currently implemented AEADs, so in practice it was
+     possible to skip calling it, which is no longer supported.
diff --git a/docs/3.0-migration-guide.d/cipher-delayed-output.md b/docs/3.0-migration-guide.d/cipher-delayed-output.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..18d327152
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/3.0-migration-guide.d/cipher-delayed-output.md
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+Calling `mbedtls_cipher_finish()` is mandatory for all multi-part operations
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+This only affects people who use the cipher module to perform AEAD operations
+using the multi-part API.
+
+Previously, the documentation didn't state explicitly if it was OK to call
+`mbedtls_cipher_check_tag()` or `mbedtls_cipher_write_tag()` directly after
+the last call to `mbedtls_cipher_update()` - that is, without calling
+`mbedtls_cipher_finish()` in-between. If you code was missing that call,
+please add it and be prepared to get as much as 15 bytes of output.
+
+Currently the output is always 0 bytes, but it may be more when alternative
+implementations of the underlying primitives are in use, or with future
+versions of the library.
diff --git a/include/mbedtls/cipher.h b/include/mbedtls/cipher.h
index ffb20a676..06a29e752 100644
--- a/include/mbedtls/cipher.h
+++ b/include/mbedtls/cipher.h
@@ -437,10 +437,23 @@ void mbedtls_cipher_free( mbedtls_cipher_context_t *ctx );
 
 
 /**
- * \brief               This function initializes a cipher context for
+ * \brief               This function prepares a cipher context for
  *                      use with the given cipher primitive.
  *
- * \param ctx           The context to initialize. This must be initialized.
+ * \note                After calling this function, you should call
+ *                      mbedtls_cipher_setkey() and, if the mode uses padding,
+ *                      mbedtls_cipher_set_padding_mode(), then for each
+ *                      message to encrypt or decrypt with this key, either:
+ *                      - mbedtls_cipher_crypt() for one-shot processing with
+ *                      non-AEAD modes;
+ *                      - mbedtls_cipher_auth_encrypt_ext() or
+ *                      mbedtls_cipher_auth_decrypt_ext() for one-shot
+ *                      processing with AEAD modes or NIST_KW;
+ *                      - for multi-part processing, see the documentation of
+ *                      mbedtls_cipher_reset().
+ *
+ * \param ctx           The context to prepare. This must be initialized by
+ *                      a call to mbedtls_cipher_init() first.
  * \param cipher_info   The cipher to use.
  *
  * \return              \c 0 on success.
@@ -448,10 +461,6 @@ void mbedtls_cipher_free( mbedtls_cipher_context_t *ctx );
  *                      parameter-verification failure.
  * \return              #MBEDTLS_ERR_CIPHER_ALLOC_FAILED if allocation of the
  *                      cipher-specific context fails.
- *
- * \internal Currently, the function also clears the structure.
- * In future versions, the caller will be required to call
- * mbedtls_cipher_init() on the structure first.
  */
 int mbedtls_cipher_setup( mbedtls_cipher_context_t *ctx,
                           const mbedtls_cipher_info_t *cipher_info );
@@ -687,7 +696,30 @@ int mbedtls_cipher_set_iv( mbedtls_cipher_context_t *ctx,
 /**
  * \brief         This function resets the cipher state.
  *
- * \param ctx     The generic cipher context. This must be initialized.
+ * \note          With non-AEAD ciphers, the order of calls for each message
+ *                is as follows:
+ *                1. mbedtls_cipher_set_iv() if the mode uses an IV/nonce.
+ *                2. mbedtls_cipher_reset()
+ *                3. mbedtls_cipher_update() one or more times
+ *                4. mbedtls_cipher_finish()
+ *                .
+ *                This sequence can be repeated to encrypt or decrypt multiple
+ *                messages with the same key.
+ *
+ * \note          With AEAD ciphers, the order of calls for each message
+ *                is as follows:
+ *                1. mbedtls_cipher_set_iv() if the mode uses an IV/nonce.
+ *                2. mbedtls_cipher_reset()
+ *                3. mbedtls_cipher_update_ad()
+ *                4. mbedtls_cipher_update() one or more times
+ *                5. mbedtls_cipher_finish()
+ *                6. mbedtls_cipher_check_tag() (for decryption) or
+ *                mbedtls_cipher_write_tag() (for encryption).
+ *                .
+ *                This sequence can be repeated to encrypt or decrypt multiple
+ *                messages with the same key.
+ *
+ * \param ctx     The generic cipher context. This must be bound to a key.
  *
  * \return        \c 0 on success.
  * \return        #MBEDTLS_ERR_CIPHER_BAD_INPUT_DATA on