diff --git a/specification/trace/api.md b/specification/trace/api.md
index 05b652ed747..75793290fc5 100644
--- a/specification/trace/api.md
+++ b/specification/trace/api.md
@@ -175,11 +175,10 @@ byte.
 TraceFlags are present in all traces. The current version of the specification
 only supports a single flag called [sampled](https://www.w3.org/TR/trace-context/#sampled-flag).
 
-`TraceState` carries system-specific configuration data, represented as a list
+`TraceState` carries vendor-specific trace identification data, represented as a list
 of key-value pairs. TraceState allows multiple tracing
-systems to participate in the same trace. Please review the [W3C
-specification](https://www.w3.org/TR/trace-context/#tracestate-header) for
-details on this field.
+systems to participate in the same trace. It is fully described in the [W3C Trace Context
+specification](https://www.w3.org/TR/trace-context/#tracestate-header).
 
 ### Retrieving the TraceId and SpanId
 
diff --git a/specification/trace/sdk.md b/specification/trace/sdk.md
index d96610a133b..09ce48c6a45 100644
--- a/specification/trace/sdk.md
+++ b/specification/trace/sdk.md
@@ -229,6 +229,30 @@ Thus, the SDK specification defines sets of possible requirements for
   (for example, the `Span` could be one of the parameters passed to such a function,
   or a getter could be provided).
   
+## TraceState
+
+`TraceState` is a part of [`SpanContext`](./api.md#spancontext), represented by an immutable list of string key/value pairs and
+formally defined by the [W3C Trace Context specification](https://www.w3.org/TR/trace-context/#tracestate-header).
+Tracing SDK MUST provide at least the following operations on `TraceState`:
+
+* Get value for a given key
+* Add a new key/value pair
+* Update an existing value for a given key
+* Delete a key/value pair
+
+These operations MUST follow the rules described in the [W3C Trace Context specification](https://www.w3.org/TR/trace-context/#mutating-the-tracestate-field).
+All mutating operations MUST return a new `TraceState` with the modifications applied.
+`TraceState` MUST at all times be valid according to rules specified in [W3C Trace Context specification](https://www.w3.org/TR/trace-context/#tracestate-header-field-values).
+Every mutating operations MUST validate input parameters.
+If invalid value is passed the operation MUST NOT return `TraceState` containing invalid data
+and MUST follow the [general error handling guidelines](../error-handling.md) (e.g. it usually must not return null or throw an exception).
+
+Please note, since `SpanContext` is immutable, it is not possible to update `SpanContext` with a new `TraceState`.
+Such changes then make sense only right before
+[`SpanContext` propagation](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/blob/master/specification/context/api-propagators.md)
+or [telemetry data exporting](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/blob/master/specification/trace/sdk.md#span-exporter).
+In both cases, `Propagators` and `SpanExporters` may create a modified `TraceState` copy before serializing it to the wire.
+
 ## Span processor
 
 Span processor is an interface which allows hooks for span start and end method