diff --git a/source/site_ops/how-tos/enable_notifications.rst b/source/site_ops/how-tos/enable_notifications.rst
index 463070ef0..268988ddf 100644
--- a/source/site_ops/how-tos/enable_notifications.rst
+++ b/source/site_ops/how-tos/enable_notifications.rst
@@ -32,22 +32,29 @@ Enable the plugin in your Tutor environment:
 
    tutor plugins enable notifications
 
-When enabled, the plugin automatically:
+When enabled, the plugin requires an **initialization step** to enable notifications:
 
-- Enables the following waffle flags:
+- After enabling the plugin, you must run the following command to properly set up waffle flags and environment variables for the notifications service. Replace `[do/local/k8s]` with the appropriate option for your deployment environment:
 
-  - ``notifications.enable_notifications``
-  - ``notifications.enable_email_notifications``
+  .. code-block:: bash
 
-- Sets the required environment variables for the notifications service
+     tutor dev [do/local/k8s] init --limit notifications
 
-  - ``SHOW_EMAIL_CHANNEL`` (defaults to TRUE)
-  - ``SHOW_PUSH_CHANNEL`` (defaults to FALSE)
+  This step ensures that the following are set:
+
+  - The waffle flags:
+
+    - ``notifications.enable_notifications``
+    - ``notifications.enable_email_notifications``
+
+  - The required environment variables for the notifications service:
+
+    - ``SHOW_EMAIL_CHANNEL`` (defaults to TRUE)
+    - ``SHOW_PUSH_CHANNEL`` (defaults to FALSE)
 
 .. important::
 
-   After enabling the notifications plugin, site operators **must rebuild the
-   MFE image** for the notification tray to appear in the user interface.
+   After enabling the notifications plugin and completing the initialization step as mentioned above, site operators must rebuild the MFE image for the     notification tray to appear in the user interface.
 
 Rebuild the MFE image: