diff --git a/wpilibc/src/main/native/include/frc/GenericHID.h b/wpilibc/src/main/native/include/frc/GenericHID.h
index aae10cf217..f1ac24ae62 100644
--- a/wpilibc/src/main/native/include/frc/GenericHID.h
+++ b/wpilibc/src/main/native/include/frc/GenericHID.h
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
-/* Copyright (c) 2008-2019 FIRST. All Rights Reserved.                        */
+/* Copyright (c) 2008-2020 FIRST. All Rights Reserved.                        */
 /* Open Source Software - may be modified and shared by FRC teams. The code   */
 /* must be accompanied by the FIRST BSD license file in the root directory of */
 /* the project.                                                               */
@@ -62,6 +62,9 @@ class GenericHID : public ErrorBase {
    * the state of each button. The appropriate button is returned as a boolean
    * value.
    *
+   * This method returns true if the button is being held down at the time
+   * that this method is being called.
+   *
    * @param button The button number to be read (starting at 1)
    * @return The state of the button.
    */
@@ -71,6 +74,10 @@ class GenericHID : public ErrorBase {
    * Whether the button was pressed since the last check. Button indexes begin
    * at 1.
    *
+   * This method returns true if the button went from not pressed to held down
+   * since the last time this method was called. This is useful if you only
+   * want to call a function once when you press the button.
+   *
    * @param button The button index, beginning at 1.
    * @return Whether the button was pressed since the last check.
    */
@@ -80,6 +87,10 @@ class GenericHID : public ErrorBase {
    * Whether the button was released since the last check. Button indexes begin
    * at 1.
    *
+   * This method returns true if the button went from held down to not pressed
+   * since the last time this method was called. This is useful if you only
+   * want to call a function once when you release the button.
+   *
    * @param button The button index, beginning at 1.
    * @return Whether the button was released since the last check.
    */
diff --git a/wpilibj/src/main/java/edu/wpi/first/wpilibj/GenericHID.java b/wpilibj/src/main/java/edu/wpi/first/wpilibj/GenericHID.java
index 0f884b90da..5f00bfd41b 100644
--- a/wpilibj/src/main/java/edu/wpi/first/wpilibj/GenericHID.java
+++ b/wpilibj/src/main/java/edu/wpi/first/wpilibj/GenericHID.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
-/* Copyright (c) 2008-2018 FIRST. All Rights Reserved.                        */
+/* Copyright (c) 2008-2020 FIRST. All Rights Reserved.                        */
 /* Open Source Software - may be modified and shared by FRC teams. The code   */
 /* must be accompanied by the FIRST BSD license file in the root directory of */
 /* the project.                                                               */
@@ -127,6 +127,9 @@ public abstract class GenericHID {
    * <p>The buttons are returned in a single 16 bit value with one bit representing the state of
    * each button. The appropriate button is returned as a boolean value.
    *
+   * <p>This method returns true if the button is being held down at the time
+   * that this method is being called.
+   *
    * @param button The button number to be read (starting at 1)
    * @return The state of the button.
    */
@@ -138,6 +141,10 @@ public abstract class GenericHID {
    * Whether the button was pressed since the last check. Button indexes begin at
    * 1.
    *
+   * <p>This method returns true if the button went from not pressed to held down
+   * since the last time this method was called. This is useful if you only
+   * want to call a function once when you press the button.
+   *
    * @param button The button index, beginning at 1.
    * @return Whether the button was pressed since the last check.
    */
@@ -149,6 +156,10 @@ public abstract class GenericHID {
    * Whether the button was released since the last check. Button indexes begin at
    * 1.
    *
+   * <p>This method returns true if the button went from held down to not pressed
+   * since the last time this method was called. This is useful if you only
+   * want to call a function once when you release the button.
+   *
    * @param button The button index, beginning at 1.
    * @return Whether the button was released since the last check.
    */