diff --git a/reno/defaults.py b/reno/defaults.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b30a18d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/reno/defaults.py
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+# not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain
+# a copy of the License at
+#
+#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+# WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+# License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+
+RELEASE_NOTES_SUBDIR = 'releasenotes'
+NOTES_SUBDIR = 'notes'
diff --git a/reno/main.py b/reno/main.py
index 1b84bf4..9611b8e 100644
--- a/reno/main.py
+++ b/reno/main.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import argparse
 import sys
 
 from reno import create
+from reno import defaults
 from reno import lister
 from reno import report
 
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ def main(argv=sys.argv[1:]):
     parser.add_argument(
         '--rel-notes-dir', '-d',
         dest='relnotesdir',
-        default='releasenotes',
+        default=defaults.RELEASE_NOTES_SUBDIR,
         help='location of release notes YAML files',
     )
     subparsers = parser.add_subparsers(
diff --git a/reno/utils.py b/reno/utils.py
index 267d6c9..fe1090e 100644
--- a/reno/utils.py
+++ b/reno/utils.py
@@ -16,10 +16,12 @@ import os.path
 import random
 import subprocess
 
+from reno import defaults
+
 
 def get_notes_dir(args):
     "Return the path to the release notes directory."
-    return os.path.join(args.relnotesdir, 'notes')
+    return os.path.join(args.relnotesdir, defaults.NOTES_SUBDIR)
 
 
 def get_random_string(nbytes=8):