diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 887415176b..48873cc1f3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -54,6 +54,12 @@ Download [the JARs][]. Or for Maven with non-Android, add to your `pom.xml`:
   <artifactId>grpc-stub</artifactId>
   <version>1.29.0</version>
 </dependency>
+<dependency> <!-- necessary for Java 9+ -->
+  <groupId>org.apache.tomcat</groupId>
+  <artifactId>annotations-api</artifactId>
+  <version>6.0.53</version>
+  <scope>provided</scope>
+</dependency>
 ```
 
 Or for Gradle with non-Android, add to your dependencies:
@@ -61,6 +67,7 @@ Or for Gradle with non-Android, add to your dependencies:
 implementation 'io.grpc:grpc-netty-shaded:1.29.0'
 implementation 'io.grpc:grpc-protobuf:1.29.0'
 implementation 'io.grpc:grpc-stub:1.29.0'
+compileOnly 'org.apache.tomcat:annotations-api:6.0.53' // necessary for Java 9+
 ```
 
 For Android client, use `grpc-okhttp` instead of `grpc-netty-shaded` and
@@ -69,6 +76,7 @@ For Android client, use `grpc-okhttp` instead of `grpc-netty-shaded` and
 implementation 'io.grpc:grpc-okhttp:1.29.0'
 implementation 'io.grpc:grpc-protobuf-lite:1.29.0'
 implementation 'io.grpc:grpc-stub:1.29.0'
+compileOnly 'org.apache.tomcat:annotations-api:6.0.53' // necessary for Java 9+
 ```
 
 [the JARs]: