diff --git a/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/GitDB.java b/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/GitDB.java
index 3d43790..296e2d5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/GitDB.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/GitDB.java
@@ -58,16 +58,9 @@ public interface GitDB {
     static GitDBLocal openLocal(final Path dbDir) throws IOException {
         try {
             final Git git = Git.open(dbDir.toFile());
-            verifyIsBareRepo(dbDir, git);
             return new GitDBLocal(git);
         } catch (RepositoryNotFoundException e) {
             throw new GitDBRepoNotFoundException(dbDir, e);
         }
     }
-
-    static void verifyIsBareRepo(final Path dbDir, final Git git) {
-        if (!git.getRepository().isBare()) {
-            throw new InvalidRepositoryException("Not a bare repo", dbDir);
-        }
-    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/GitDBLocal.java b/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/GitDBLocal.java
index 32228e0..f0e1faa 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/GitDBLocal.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/GitDBLocal.java
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ package net.kemitix.gitdb;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.api.Git;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.api.InitCommand;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.api.errors.GitAPIException;
+import org.eclipse.jgit.lib.Repository;
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ class GitDBLocal implements GitDB {
     private final Git git;
 
     /**
-     * Constructors a new instance of this class.
+     * Create a new GitDB instance, while initialising a new git repo.
      *
      * @param initCommand a JGit InitCommand
      * @param dbDir       the path to instantiate the git repo in
@@ -58,8 +59,21 @@ class GitDBLocal implements GitDB {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Create a new GitDB instance using the Git repo.
+     *
+     * @param git the Git handle for the repo
+     */
     GitDBLocal(final Git git) {
-        this.git = git;
+        this.git = verifyIsBareRepo(git);
+    }
+
+    private static Git verifyIsBareRepo(final Git git) {
+        final Repository repository = git.getRepository();
+        if (repository.isBare()) {
+            return git;
+        }
+        throw new InvalidRepositoryException("Not a bare repo", repository.getDirectory().toPath());
     }
 
     private void validateDbDir(final File dbDir) throws IOException {
diff --git a/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/GitDBRepoNotFoundException.java b/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/GitDBRepoNotFoundException.java
index 23eed66..0fafc1d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/GitDBRepoNotFoundException.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/GitDBRepoNotFoundException.java
@@ -1,3 +1,24 @@
+/*
+  The MIT License (MIT)
+
+  Copyright (c) 2018 Paul Campbell
+
+  Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software
+  and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction,
+  including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+  and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
+  subject to the following conditions:
+
+  The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies
+  or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+  THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
+  INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
+  AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM,
+  DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+  OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+
 package net.kemitix.gitdb;
 
 import org.eclipse.jgit.errors.RepositoryNotFoundException;
@@ -14,6 +35,7 @@ public class GitDBRepoNotFoundException extends RuntimeException {
     /**
      * Constructor.
      *
+     * @param path  the location where a GitDB repo was not found
      * @param cause the original exception
      */
     GitDBRepoNotFoundException(final Path path, final RepositoryNotFoundException cause) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/InvalidRepositoryException.java b/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/InvalidRepositoryException.java
index 995445f..128392f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/InvalidRepositoryException.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/kemitix/gitdb/InvalidRepositoryException.java
@@ -1,3 +1,24 @@
+/*
+  The MIT License (MIT)
+
+  Copyright (c) 2018 Paul Campbell
+
+  Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software
+  and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction,
+  including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+  and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
+  subject to the following conditions:
+
+  The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies
+  or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+  THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
+  INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
+  AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM,
+  DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+  OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+
 package net.kemitix.gitdb;
 
 import java.nio.file.Path;