diff --git a/daemons/dmfilemapd/dmfilemapd.c b/daemons/dmfilemapd/dmfilemapd.c
index 4f2046695..2cd875bb9 100644
--- a/daemons/dmfilemapd/dmfilemapd.c
+++ b/daemons/dmfilemapd/dmfilemapd.c
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ struct filemap_monitor {
 static int _foreground;
 static int _verbose;
 
-const char *const _usage = "dmfilemapd <fd> <group_id> <path> <mode> "
+const char *const _usage = "dmfilemapd <fd> <group_id> <abs_path> <mode> "
 			   "[<foreground>[<log_level>]]";
 
 /*
@@ -296,6 +296,12 @@ static int _parse_args(int argc, char **argv, struct filemap_monitor *fm)
 		_early_log("Path argument is required.");
 		return 0;
 	}
+
+	if (argv[0] != '/') {
+		_early_log("Path argument must specify an absolute path.");
+		return 0;
+	}
+
 	fm->path = dm_strdup(argv[0]);
 	if (!fm->path) {
 		_early_log("Could not allocate memory for path argument.");
diff --git a/libdm/libdevmapper.h b/libdm/libdevmapper.h
index 9e0a83720..4bd32b4e1 100644
--- a/libdm/libdevmapper.h
+++ b/libdm/libdevmapper.h
@@ -1421,6 +1421,10 @@ dm_filemapd_mode_t dm_filemapd_mode_from_string(const char *mode_str);
  * detected, call dm_stats_update_regions_from_fd() to update the
  * mapped regions for the file.
  *
+ * The path provided to dm_stats_start_filemapd() must be an absolute
+ * path, and should reflect the path of 'fd' at the time that it was
+ * opened.
+ *
  * The mode parameter controls the behaviour of the daemon when the
  * file being monitored is unlinked or moved: see the comments for
  * dm_filemapd_mode_t for a full description and possible values.
diff --git a/libdm/libdm-stats.c b/libdm/libdm-stats.c
index 5fc4938b2..559920ed0 100644
--- a/libdm/libdm-stats.c
+++ b/libdm/libdm-stats.c
@@ -4951,6 +4951,11 @@ int dm_stats_start_filemapd(int fd, uint64_t group_id, const char *path,
 		return 0;
 	}
 
+	if (path[0] != '/') {
+		log_error("Path argument must specify an absolute path.");
+		return 0;
+	}
+
 	if (mode > DM_FILEMAPD_FOLLOW_PATH) {
 		log_error("Invalid dmfilemapd mode argument: "
 			  "Must be DM_FILEMAPD_FOLLOW_INODE or "
diff --git a/man/dmfilemapd.8.in b/man/dmfilemapd.8.in
index 37c76c74e..8e19e4b03 100644
--- a/man/dmfilemapd.8.in
+++ b/man/dmfilemapd.8.in
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 .  RB [ group_id ]
 ..
 .de OPT_PATH
-.  RB [ path ]
+.  RB [ abs_path ]
 ..
 .
 .de OPT_MODE
@@ -73,12 +73,12 @@ should update. The group must exist and it should correspond to
 a set of regions created by a previous filemap operation.
 .
 .HP
-.BR path
+.BR abs_path
 .br
-The path to the file being monitored, at the time that it was
-opened. The use of \fBpath\fP by the daemon differs, depending
-on the filemap following mode in use; see \fBMODES\fP and the
-\fBmode\fP option for more information.
+The absolute path to the file being monitored, at the time that
+it was opened. The use of \fBpath\fP by the daemon differs,
+depending on the filemap following mode in use; see \fBMODES\fP
+and the \fBmode\fP option for more information.
 
 .br
 .HP
@@ -167,16 +167,16 @@ manually for debugging or testing purposes.
 Start the daemon in the background, in follow-path mode
 .br
 #
-.B dmfilemapd 3 0 vm.img path 0 0 3< vm.img
+.B dmfilemapd 3 0 /srv/images/vm.img path 0 0 3< /srv/images/vm.img
 .br
 .P
 Start the daemon in follow-inode mode, disable forking and enable
 verbose logging
 .br
 #
-.B dmfilemapd 3 0 vm.img inode 1 3 3< vm.img
+.B dmfilemapd 3 0 /var/tmp/data inode 1 3 3< /var/tmp/data
 .br
-Starting dmfilemapd with fd=3, group_id=0 mode=inode, path=vm.img
+Starting dmfilemapd with fd=3, group_id=0 mode=inode, path=/var/tmp/data
 .br
 dm version   [ opencount flush ]   [16384] (*1)
 .br
@@ -184,9 +184,9 @@ dm info   (253:0) [ opencount flush ]   [16384] (*1)
 .br
 dm message   (253:0) [ opencount flush ]  @stats_list dmstats [16384] (*1)
 .br
-Read alias 'vm.img' from aux_data
+Read alias 'data' from aux_data
 .br
-Found group_id 0: alias="vm.img"
+Found group_id 0: alias="data"
 .br
 dm_stats_walk_init: initialised flags to 4000000000000
 .br
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ starting stats walk with   GROUP
 .br
 exiting _filemap_monitor_get_events() with deleted=0, check=0
 .br
-waiting for FILEMAPD_WAIT
+Waiting for check interval
 .br
 .P
 .