diff --git a/docs/docs/connection-reference.md b/docs/docs/connection-reference.md
index fbb0ccd..1ab2606 100644
--- a/docs/docs/connection-reference.md
+++ b/docs/docs/connection-reference.md
@@ -94,6 +94,12 @@ node dist/src/index.js --mysql --host localhost --database sample_db --port 3306
 
 ### AWS IAM Authentication Example
 
+**Prerequisites:** AWS credentials must be configured using the default credential provider chain:
+- `aws configure` (default profile) 
+- `AWS_PROFILE=myprofile` environment variable
+- `AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID` and `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY` environment variables
+- IAM roles (if running on EC2)
+
 ```bash
 node dist/src/index.js --mysql --aws-iam-auth --host rds-endpoint.region.rds.amazonaws.com --database sample_db --user aws-username --aws-region us-east-1
 ```
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index e60fe2d..b7aa304 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -117,6 +117,14 @@ Optional parameters:
 
 For Amazon RDS MySQL instances with IAM database authentication:
 
+**Prerequisites:**
+- AWS credentials must be configured (the RDS Signer uses the default credential provider chain)
+- Configure using one of these methods:
+  - `aws configure` (uses default profile)
+  - `AWS_PROFILE=myprofile` environment variable
+  - `AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID` and `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY` environment variables
+  - IAM roles (if running on EC2)
+
 ```
 node dist/src/index.js --mysql --aws-iam-auth --host <rds-endpoint> --database <database-name> --user <aws-username> --aws-region <region>
 ```