diff --git a/docs/source/usersguide/install.rst b/docs/source/usersguide/install.rst
index d5ea3d9c2d..52476040b4 100644
--- a/docs/source/usersguide/install.rst
+++ b/docs/source/usersguide/install.rst
@@ -71,13 +71,27 @@ Prerequisites
       To compile with support for HDF5_ output (highly recommended), you will
       need to have HDF5 installed on your computer. The installed version will
       need to have been compiled with the same compiler you intend to compile
-      OpenMC with.
+      OpenMC with. HDF5_ must be built with parallel I/O features. An example
+      of configuring HDF5_ is listed below::
+
+           FC=/opt/mpich/3.0.4-gnu/bin/mpif90 CC=/opt/mpich/3.0.4-gnu/bin/mpicc \
+           ./configure --prefix=/opt/hdf5/1.8.11-gnu --enable-fortran \
+                       --enable-fortran2003 --enable-parallel
 
     * PETSc_ for CMFD acceleration
 
-      To enable CMFD acceleration, you will need to have PETSc_ installed on
-      your computer. The installed version will need to have been compiled with
-      the same compiler you intend to compile OpenMC with.
+      To enable CMFD acceleration, you will need to have PETSc_ (3.4.2 or higher)
+      installed on your computer. The installed version will need to have been
+      compiled with the same compiler you intend to compile OpenMC with. OpenMC
+      requires PETSc_ to be configured with Fortran datatypes. An example of
+      configuring PETSc_ is listed below::
+
+           ./configure --prefix=/opt/petsc/3.4.2-gnu --download-f-blas-lapack \
+                       --with-mpi-dir=/opt/mpich/3.0.4-gnu/ --with-shared-libraries=0 \
+                       --with-fortran-datatypes
+
+      The BLAS/LAPACK library is not required to be downloaded and can be linked
+      explicitly (e.g., Intel MLK library).
 
     * git_ version control software for obtaining source code