diff --git a/components/driver/include/driver/spi_master.h b/components/driver/include/driver/spi_master.h
index ba8bc5d90..29b408af6 100644
--- a/components/driver/include/driver/spi_master.h
+++ b/components/driver/include/driver/spi_master.h
@@ -100,6 +100,10 @@ typedef struct spi_device_t* spi_device_handle_t;  ///< Handle for a device on a
  *                 for a SPI bus allows transfers on the bus to have sizes only limited by the amount of 
  *                 internal memory. Selecting no DMA channel (by passing the value 0) limits the amount of
  *                 bytes transfered to a maximum of 32.
+ *
+ * @warning If a DMA channel is selected, any transmit and receive buffer used should be allocated in 
+ *          DMA-capable memory.
+ *
  * @return 
  *         - ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG   if configuration is invalid
  *         - ESP_ERR_INVALID_STATE if host already is in use
diff --git a/components/driver/include/driver/spi_slave.h b/components/driver/include/driver/spi_slave.h
index a3706bb66..047ab4139 100644
--- a/components/driver/include/driver/spi_slave.h
+++ b/components/driver/include/driver/spi_slave.h
@@ -69,6 +69,10 @@ struct spi_slave_transaction_t {
  * @param dma_chan Either 1 or 2. A SPI bus used by this driver must have a DMA channel associated with
  *                 it. The SPI hardware has two DMA channels to share. This parameter indicates which
  *                 one to use.
+ *
+ * @warning If a DMA channel is selected, any transmit and receive buffer used should be allocated in 
+ *          DMA-capable memory.
+ *
  * @return 
  *         - ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG   if configuration is invalid
  *         - ESP_ERR_INVALID_STATE if host already is in use
diff --git a/components/driver/spi_master.c b/components/driver/spi_master.c
index 8fa51048e..aa53b5572 100644
--- a/components/driver/spi_master.c
+++ b/components/driver/spi_master.c
@@ -575,6 +575,10 @@ esp_err_t spi_device_queue_trans(spi_device_handle_t handle, spi_transaction_t *
     SPI_CHECK(!((trans_desc->flags & (SPI_TRANS_MODE_DIO|SPI_TRANS_MODE_QIO)) && (!(handle->cfg.flags & SPI_DEVICE_HALFDUPLEX))), "incompatible iface params", ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG);
     SPI_CHECK(trans_desc->length <= handle->host->max_transfer_sz*8, "txdata transfer > host maximum", ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG);
     SPI_CHECK(trans_desc->rxlength <= handle->host->max_transfer_sz*8, "rxdata transfer > host maximum", ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG);
+    SPI_CHECK(handle->host->dma_chan == 0 || (trans_desc->flags & SPI_TRANS_USE_TXDATA) || 
+                trans_desc->tx_buffer==NULL || esp_ptr_dma_capable(trans_desc->tx_buffer), "txdata not in DMA-capable memory", ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG);
+    SPI_CHECK(handle->host->dma_chan == 0 || (trans_desc->flags & SPI_TRANS_USE_RXDATA) || 
+                trans_desc->rx_buffer==NULL || esp_ptr_dma_capable(trans_desc->rx_buffer), "rxdata not in DMA-capable memory", ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG);
     r=xQueueSend(handle->trans_queue, (void*)&trans_desc, ticks_to_wait);
     if (!r) return ESP_ERR_TIMEOUT;
     esp_intr_enable(handle->host->intr);
diff --git a/components/driver/spi_slave.c b/components/driver/spi_slave.c
index 57f3c3835..2cff6e00b 100644
--- a/components/driver/spi_slave.c
+++ b/components/driver/spi_slave.c
@@ -202,6 +202,10 @@ esp_err_t spi_slave_queue_trans(spi_host_device_t host, const spi_slave_transact
     BaseType_t r;
     SPI_CHECK(VALID_HOST(host), "invalid host", ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG);
     SPI_CHECK(spihost[host], "host not slave", ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG);
+    SPI_CHECK(spihost[host]->dma_chan == 0 || trans_desc->tx_buffer==NULL || esp_ptr_dma_capable(trans_desc->tx_buffer), 
+			"txdata not in DMA-capable memory", ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG);
+    SPI_CHECK(spihost[host]->dma_chan == 0 || trans_desc->rx_buffer==NULL || esp_ptr_dma_capable(trans_desc->rx_buffer), 
+			"rxdata not in DMA-capable memory", ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG);
 
     SPI_CHECK(trans_desc->length <= spihost[host]->max_transfer_sz * 8, "data transfer > host maximum", ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG);
     r = xQueueSend(spihost[host]->trans_queue, (void *)&trans_desc, ticks_to_wait);
diff --git a/components/esp32/include/esp_heap_alloc_caps.h b/components/esp32/include/esp_heap_alloc_caps.h
index e1021c30b..a0e40a7cd 100644
--- a/components/esp32/include/esp_heap_alloc_caps.h
+++ b/components/esp32/include/esp_heap_alloc_caps.h
@@ -87,4 +87,17 @@ size_t xPortGetMinimumEverFreeHeapSizeCaps( uint32_t caps );
 
 
 
+/**
+ * @brief Convenience function to check if a pointer is DMA-capable.
+ *
+ * @param ptr         Pointer to check
+ *
+ * @return True if DMA-capable, false if not.
+ */
+static inline bool  esp_ptr_dma_capable( const void *ptr ) 
+{
+    return ( (int)ptr >= 0x3FFAE000 && (int)ptr < 0x40000000 );
+}
+
+
 #endif
\ No newline at end of file