diff --git a/CVSROOT/checkoutlist b/CVSROOT/checkoutlist
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b04b3501
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CVSROOT/checkoutlist
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# The "checkoutlist" file is used to support additional version controlled
+# administrative files in $CVSROOT/CVSROOT, such as template files.
+#
+# The first entry on a line is a filename which will be checked out from
+# the corresponding RCS file in the $CVSROOT/CVSROOT directory.
+# The remainder of the line is an error message to use if the file cannot
+# be checked out.
+#
+# File format:
+#
+#	[<whitespace>]<filename><whitespace><error message><end-of-line>
+#
+# comment lines begin with '#'