diff --git a/releasenotes/requirements.txt b/releasenotes/requirements.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bb94d5c7d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/requirements.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# The order of packages is significant, because pip processes them in the order
+# of appearance. Changing the order has an impact on the overall integration
+# process, which may cause wedges in the gate later.
+
+sphinx>=2.0.0,!=2.1.0 # BSD
+openstackdocstheme>=2.2.1 # Apache-2.0
+reno>=3.1.0 # Apache-2.0
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 13b3b6a19e..15319a8809 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -52,5 +52,5 @@ allowlist_externals =
   bash
 
 [testenv:releasenotes]
-deps = -r{toxinidir}/doc/requirements.txt
+deps = -r{toxinidir}/releasenotes/requirements.txt
 commands = sphinx-build -a -W -E -d releasenotes/build/doctrees -b html releasenotes/source releasenotes/build/html