diff --git a/mayan/apps/document_states/exceptions.py b/mayan/apps/document_states/exceptions.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3107219b97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mayan/apps/document_states/exceptions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
+
+
+class WorkflowException(Exception):
+    """Base exception for the document states app"""
+
+
+class WorkflowStateActionError(WorkflowException):
+    """Raise for errors during exection of workflow state actions"""