diff --git a/doc/contribute/guidelines.rst b/doc/contribute/guidelines.rst
index 6d554c4..32f66bb 100644
--- a/doc/contribute/guidelines.rst
+++ b/doc/contribute/guidelines.rst
@@ -335,17 +335,23 @@
 Tools and Git Setup
 *******************
 
-Signed-off-by
-=============
+.. _git-name-and-email:
 
-The name in the commit message ``Signed-off-by:`` line and your email must
-match the change authorship information. Make sure your :file:`.gitconfig`
-is set up correctly:
+Name and email
+==============
+
+We need to know who you are, and how to contact you. To add this
+information to your Git installation, set the Git configuration
+variables ``user.name`` to your full name, and ``user.email`` to your
+email address.
+
+For example, if your name is ``Zephyr Developer`` and your email
+address is ``z.developer@example.com``:
 
 .. code-block:: console
 
-   git config --global user.name "David Developer"
-   git config --global user.email "david.developer@company.com"
+   git config --global user.name "Zephyr Developer"
+   git config --global user.email "z.developer@example.com"
 
 gitlint
 =========
@@ -580,7 +586,7 @@
 
    The ``-s`` option automatically adds your ``Signed-off-by:`` to your commit
    message.  Your commit will be rejected without this line that indicates your
-   agreement with the `DCO`_.  See the `Commit Guidelines`_ section for
+   agreement with the :ref:`DCO`.  See the :ref:`commit-guidelines` section for
    specific guidelines for writing your commit messages.
 
 #. Push your topic branch with your changes to your fork in your personal
@@ -663,53 +669,146 @@
    Additional information about the CI system can be found in
    `Continuous Integration`_.
 
+.. _commit-guidelines:
 
-Commit Guidelines
-*****************
+Commit Message Guidelines
+*************************
 
-Changes are submitted as Git commits. Each commit message must contain:
+Changes are submitted as Git commits. Each commit has a *commit
+message* describing the change. Acceptable commit messages look like
+this:
 
-* A short and descriptive subject line that is less than 72 characters,
-  followed by a blank line. The subject line must include a prefix that
-  identifies the subsystem being changed, followed by a colon, and a short
-  title, for example:  ``doc: update wiki references to new site``.
-  (If you're updating an existing file, you can use
-  ``git log <filename>`` to see what developers used as the prefix for
-  previous patches of this file.)
+.. code-block:: none
 
-* A change description with your logic or reasoning for the changes, followed
-  by a blank line. (Every single line has to be less than 75 characters.)
+   [area]: [summary of change]
 
-* A Signed-off-by line, ``Signed-off-by: <name> <email>`` typically added
-  automatically by using ``git commit -s``
+   [Commit message body (must be non-empty)]
 
-* If the change addresses an issue, include a line of the form::
+   Signed-off-by: [Your Full Name] <[your.email@address]>
 
-      Fixes #<issue number>.
+You need to change text in square brackets (``[like this]``) above to
+fit your commit.
 
+Examples and more details follow.
 
-All changes and topics sent to GitHub must be well-formed, as described above.
+Example
+=======
+
+Here is an example of a good commit message.
+
+.. code-block:: none
+
+   drivers: sensor: abcd1234: fix bus I/O error handling
+
+   The abcd1234 sensor driver is failing to check the flags field in
+   the response packet from the device which signals that an error
+   occurred. This can lead to reading invalid data from the response
+   buffer. Fix it by checking the flag and adding an error path.
+
+   Signed-off-by: Zephyr Developer <z.developer@example.com>
+
+[area]: [summary of change]
+===========================
+
+This line is called the commit's *title*. Titles must be:
+
+* one line
+* less than 72 characters long
+* followed by a completely blank line
+
+[area]
+  The ``[area]`` prefix usually identifies the area of code
+  being changed. It can also identify the change's wider
+  context if multiple areas are affected.
+
+  Here are some examples:
+
+  * ``doc: ...`` for documentation changes
+  * ``drivers: foo:`` for ``foo`` driver changes
+  * ``Bluetooth: Shell:`` for changes to the Bluetooth shell
+  * ``net: ethernet:`` for Ethernet-related networking changes
+  * ``dts:`` for treewide devicetree changes
+  * ``style:`` for code style changes
+
+  If you're not sure what to use, try running ``git log FILE``, where
+  ``FILE`` is a file you are changing, and using previous commits that
+  changed the same file as inspiration.
+
+[summary of change]
+  The ``[summary of change]`` part should be a quick description of
+  what you've done. Here are some examples:
+
+  * ``doc: update wiki references to new site``
+  * ``drivers: sensor: sensor_shell: fix channel name collision``
 
 Commit Message Body
 ===================
 
-When editing the commit message, please briefly explain what your change
-does and why it's needed. A change summary of ``"Fixes stuff"`` will be rejected.
-
 .. warning::
-   An empty change summary body is not permitted. Even for trivial changes, please
-   include a summary body in the commit message.
 
-The description body of the commit message must include:
+   An empty commit message body is not permitted. Even for trivial
+   changes, please include a descriptive commit message body. Your
+   pull request will fail CI checks if you do not.
+
+This part of the commit should explain what your change does, and why
+it's needed. Be specific. A body that says ``"Fixes stuff"`` will be
+rejected. Be sure to include the following as relevant:
 
 * **what** the change does,
 * **why** you chose that approach,
 * **what** assumptions were made, and
 * **how** you know it works -- for example, which tests you ran.
 
+Each line in your commit message should usually be 75 characters or
+less. Use newlines to wrap longer lines. Exceptions include lines
+with long URLs, email addresses, etc.
+
 For examples of accepted commit messages, you can refer to the Zephyr GitHub
 `changelog <https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commits/main>`__.
 
+If the change addresses a GitHub issue, include a line of the form:
+
+.. code-block:: none
+
+   Fixes #[issue number]
+
+Where ``[issue number]`` is the relevant GitHub issue's number. For
+example:
+
+.. code-block:: none
+
+   Fixes: #1234
+
+Signed-off-by: ...
+==================
+
+.. tip::
+
+   You should have set your :ref:`git-name-and-email`
+   already. Create your commit with ``git commit -s`` to add the
+   Signed-off-by: line automatically using this information.
+
+For open source licensing reasons, your commit must include a
+Signed-off-by: line that looks like this:
+
+.. code-block:: none
+
+   Signed-off-by: [Your Full Name] <[your.email@address]>
+
+For example, if your full name is ``Zephyr Developer`` and your email
+address is ``z.developer@example.com``:
+
+.. code-block:: none
+
+   Signed-off-by: Zephyr Developer <z.developer@example.com>
+
+This means that you have personally made sure your change complies
+with the :ref:`DCO`. For this reason, you must use your legal name.
+Pseudonyms or "hacker aliases" are not permitted.
+
+Your name and the email address you use must match the name and email
+in the Git commit's ``Author:`` field.
+
 Other Commit Expectations
 =========================