diff --git a/content/docs/configuration/vault.md b/content/docs/configuration/vault.md
index c5d6df09236..f2b15b54356 100644
--- a/content/docs/configuration/vault.md
+++ b/content/docs/configuration/vault.md
@@ -369,9 +369,14 @@ Kubernetes 1.24 and above.
 ## Verifying the issuer Deployment
 
 Once the Vault issuer has been deployed, it will be marked as ready if the
-configuration is valid. Replace `issuers` here with `clusterissuers` if that is what has
+configuration is valid. Replace `issuers` below with `clusterissuers` if that is what has
 been deployed.
 
+The Vault issuer tests your Vault instance by querying the `v1/sys/health`
+endpoint, to ensure your Vault instance is unsealed and initialized before
+requesting certificates. The result of that query will populate the `STATUS`
+column.
+
 ```bash
 $ kubectl get issuers vault-issuer -n sandbox -o wide
 NAME          READY   STATUS          AGE
@@ -379,4 +384,4 @@ vault-issuer  True    Vault verified  2m
 ```
 
 Certificates are now ready to be requested by using the Vault issuer named
-`vault-issuer` within the `sandbox` namespace.
\ No newline at end of file
+`vault-issuer` within the `sandbox` namespace.