diff --git a/MAINTAINERS b/MAINTAINERS
index b2b12d3c1d..af7c1c3764 100644
--- a/MAINTAINERS
+++ b/MAINTAINERS
@@ -124,8 +124,90 @@ the relevant operators.
 
 * If the change affects the governance, philosophy, goals or principles of the project,
 it must be approved by BDFL.
+
+* A pull request can be in 1 of 5 distinct states, for each of which there is a corresponding label
+that needs to be applied. `Rules.review.states` contains the list of states with possible targets
+for each.
 """
 
+		# Triage
+		[Rules.review.states.nolabel]
+
+			# Maintainers are expected to triage new incoming pull requests by adding
+			# the correct labels (e.g. `1-design-review`) potentially skipping some steps
+			# depending on the kind of pull request. Use common sense for judging.
+			#
+			# Checking for DCO should be done at this stage.
+			#
+			# If an owner, responsible for closing or merging, can be assigned to the PR,
+			# the better.
+
+			close = "unresponsive contributor without DCO"
+			3-docs-review = "Non-proposal documentation-only change"
+			2-code-review = "trivial bugfix"
+			1-design-review = "general case"
+
+		# Design review
+		[Rules.review.states.1-design-review]
+
+			# Maintainers are expected to comment on the design of the pull request.
+			# Review of documentation is expected only in the context of design validation,
+			# not for stylistic changes.
+			#
+			# Ideally, documentation should reflect the expected behavior of the code.
+			# No code review should take place in this step.
+			#
+			# Once design is approved, this label should be removed and the next label
+			# added.
+
+			close = "design rejected"
+			3-docs-review = "proposals with only documentation changes"
+			2-code-review = "general case"
+
+		# Code review
+		[Rules.review.states.2-code-review]
+
+			# Maintainers are expected to review the code and ensure that it is good
+			# quality and in accordance with the documentation.
+			#
+			# If documentation is absent but expected, maintainers should ask for documentation.
+			#
+			# All tests should pass.
+			#
+			# Once code is approved according to the rules of the subsystem, this label
+			# should be removed and the next label added.
+
+			close = ""
+			1-design-review = "raises design concerns"
+			4-merge = "trivial change not impacting documentation"
+			3-docs-review = "general case"
+
+		# Docs review
+		[Rules.review.states.3-docs-review]
+
+			# Maintainers are expected to review the documentation in its bigger context,
+			# ensuring consistency throughout the entire documentation. They should ask
+			# for any editorial change that makes the documentation more consistent and
+			# easier to understand.
+			#
+			# Once documentation is approved, this label should be removed and the next
+			# label added.
+
+			close = ""
+			2-code-review = "requires more code changes"
+			1-design-review = "raises design concerns"
+			4-merge = "general case"
+
+		# Merge
+		[Rules.review.states.4-merge]
+
+			# Maintainers are expected to merge this pull request as soon as possible.
+			# They can ask for a rebase, or carry the pull request themselves.
+			# These should be the easy PRs to merge.
+
+			close = "carry PR"
+			merge = ""
+
 	[Rules.DCO]
 
 	title = "Helping contributors with the DCO"