diff --git a/checks.c b/checks.c
index 0a34109..c8a099e 100644
--- a/checks.c
+++ b/checks.c
@@ -20,104 +20,293 @@
 
 #include "dtc.h"
 
+#ifdef TRACE_CHECKS
+#define TRACE(c, ...) \
+	do { \
+		fprintf(stderr, "=== %s: ", (c)->name); \
+		fprintf(stderr, __VA_ARGS__); \
+		fprintf(stderr, "\n"); \
+	} while (0)
+#else
+#define TRACE(c, fmt, ...)	do { } while (0)
+#endif
+
+enum checklevel {
+	IGNORE = 0,
+	WARN = 1,
+	ERROR = 2,
+};
+
+enum checkstatus {
+	UNCHECKED = 0,
+	PREREQ,
+	PASSED,
+	FAILED,
+};
+
+struct check;
+
+typedef void (*tree_check_fn)(struct check *c, struct node *dt);
+typedef void (*node_check_fn)(struct check *c, struct node *dt, struct node *node);
+typedef void (*prop_check_fn)(struct check *c, struct node *dt,
+			      struct node *node, struct property *prop);
+
+struct check {
+	const char *name;
+	tree_check_fn tree_fn;
+	node_check_fn node_fn;
+	prop_check_fn prop_fn;
+	void *data;
+	enum checklevel level;
+	enum checkstatus status;
+	int inprogress;
+	int num_prereqs;
+	struct check **prereq;
+};
+
+#define CHECK(nm, tfn, nfn, pfn, d, lvl, ...) \
+	static struct check *nm##_prereqs[] = { __VA_ARGS__ }; \
+	static struct check nm = { \
+		.name = #nm, \
+		.tree_fn = (tfn), \
+		.node_fn = (nfn), \
+		.prop_fn = (pfn), \
+		.data = (d), \
+		.level = (lvl), \
+		.status = UNCHECKED, \
+		.num_prereqs = ARRAY_SIZE(nm##_prereqs), \
+		.prereq = nm##_prereqs, \
+	};
+
+#define TREE_CHECK(nm, d, lvl, ...) \
+	CHECK(nm, check_##nm, NULL, NULL, d, lvl, __VA_ARGS__)
+#define NODE_CHECK(nm, d, lvl, ...) \
+	CHECK(nm, NULL, check_##nm, NULL, d, lvl, __VA_ARGS__)
+#define PROP_CHECK(nm, d, lvl, ...) \
+	CHECK(nm, NULL, NULL, check_##nm, d, lvl, __VA_ARGS__)
+#define BATCH_CHECK(nm, lvl, ...) \
+	CHECK(nm, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, lvl, __VA_ARGS__)
+
+static inline void check_msg(struct check *c, const char *fmt, ...)
+{
+	va_list ap;
+	va_start(ap, fmt);
+
+	if ((c->level < WARN) || (c->level <= quiet))
+		return; /* Suppress message */
+
+	fprintf(stderr, "%s (%s): ",
+		(c->level == ERROR) ? "ERROR" : "Warning", c->name);
+	vfprintf(stderr, fmt, ap);
+	fprintf(stderr, "\n");
+}
+
+#define FAIL(c, fmt, ...) \
+	do { \
+		TRACE((c), "\t\tFAILED at %s:%d", __FILE__, __LINE__); \
+		(c)->status = FAILED; \
+		check_msg((c), fmt, __VA_ARGS__); \
+	} while (0)
+
+static void check_nodes_props(struct check *c, struct node *dt, struct node *node)
+{
+	struct node *child;
+	struct property *prop;
+
+	TRACE(c, "%s", node->fullpath);
+	if (c->node_fn)
+		c->node_fn(c, dt, node);
+
+	if (c->prop_fn)
+		for_each_property(node, prop) {
+			TRACE(c, "%s\t'%s'", node->fullpath, prop->name);
+			c->prop_fn(c, dt, node, prop);
+		}
+
+	for_each_child(node, child)
+		check_nodes_props(c, dt, child);
+}
+
+static int run_check(struct check *c, struct node *dt)
+{
+	int error = 0;
+	int i;
+
+	assert(!c->inprogress);
+
+	if (c->status != UNCHECKED)
+		goto out;
+
+	c->inprogress = 1;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < c->num_prereqs; i++) {
+		struct check *prq = c->prereq[i];
+		error |= run_check(prq, dt);
+		if (prq->status != PASSED) {
+			c->status = PREREQ;
+			check_msg(c, "Failed prerequisite '%s'",
+				  c->prereq[i]->name);
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (c->status != UNCHECKED)
+		goto out;
+
+	if (c->node_fn || c->prop_fn)
+		check_nodes_props(c, dt, dt);
+
+	if (c->tree_fn)
+		c->tree_fn(c, dt);
+	if (c->status == UNCHECKED)
+		c->status = PASSED;
+
+	TRACE(c, "\tCompleted, status %d", c->status);
+
+out:
+	c->inprogress = 0;
+	if ((c->status != PASSED) && (c->level == ERROR))
+		error = 1;
+	return error;
+}
+
 /*
  * Structural check functions
  */
 
+static void check_duplicate_node_names(struct check *c, struct node *dt,
+				       struct node *node)
+{
+	struct node *child, *child2;
+
+	for_each_child(node, child)
+		for (child2 = child->next_sibling;
+		     child2;
+		     child2 = child2->next_sibling)
+			if (streq(child->name, child2->name))
+				FAIL(c, "Duplicate node name %s",
+				     child->fullpath);
+}
+NODE_CHECK(duplicate_node_names, NULL, ERROR);
+
+static void check_duplicate_property_names(struct check *c, struct node *dt,
+					   struct node *node)
+{
+	struct property *prop, *prop2;
+
+	for_each_property(node, prop)
+		for (prop2 = prop->next; prop2; prop2 = prop2->next)
+			if (streq(prop->name, prop2->name))
+				FAIL(c, "Duplicate property name %s in %s",
+				     prop->name, node->fullpath);
+}
+NODE_CHECK(duplicate_property_names, NULL, ERROR);
+
+static void check_explicit_phandles(struct check *c, struct node *root,
+					  struct node *node)
+{
+	struct property *prop;
+	struct node *other;
+	cell_t phandle;
+
+	prop = get_property(node, "linux,phandle");
+	if (! prop)
+		return; /* No phandle, that's fine */
+
+	if (prop->val.len != sizeof(cell_t)) {
+		FAIL(c, "%s has bad length (%d) linux,phandle property",
+		     node->fullpath, prop->val.len);
+		return;
+	}
+
+	phandle = propval_cell(prop);
+	if ((phandle == 0) || (phandle == -1)) {
+		FAIL(c, "%s has invalid linux,phandle value 0x%x",
+		     node->fullpath, phandle);
+		return;
+	}
+
+	other = get_node_by_phandle(root, phandle);
+	if (other) {
+		FAIL(c, "%s has duplicated phandle 0x%x (seen before at %s)",
+		     node->fullpath, phandle, other->fullpath);
+		return;
+	}
+
+	node->phandle = phandle;
+}
+NODE_CHECK(explicit_phandles, NULL, ERROR);
+
+/*
+ * Reference fixup functions
+ */
+
+static void fixup_phandle_references(struct check *c, struct node *dt,
+				     struct node *node, struct property *prop)
+{
+      struct fixup *f = prop->val.refs;
+      struct node *refnode;
+      cell_t phandle;
+
+      while (f) {
+	      assert(f->offset + sizeof(cell_t) <= prop->val.len);
+
+	      refnode = get_node_by_ref(dt, f->ref);
+	      if (! refnode) {
+		      FAIL(c, "Reference to non-existent node or label \"%s\"\n",
+			   f->ref);
+	      } else {
+		      phandle = get_node_phandle(dt, refnode);
+
+		      *((cell_t *)(prop->val.val + f->offset)) = cpu_to_be32(phandle);
+	      }
+
+              prop->val.refs = f->next;
+              fixup_free(f);
+              f = prop->val.refs;
+      }
+}
+CHECK(phandle_references, NULL, NULL, fixup_phandle_references, NULL, ERROR,
+      &duplicate_node_names, &explicit_phandles);
+
+static struct check *check_table[] = {
+	&duplicate_node_names, &duplicate_property_names,
+	&explicit_phandles,
+	&phandle_references,
+};
+
+void process_checks(int force, struct node *dt)
+{
+	int i;
+	int error = 0;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(check_table); i++) {
+		struct check *c = check_table[i];
+
+		if (c->level != IGNORE)
+			error = error || run_check(c, dt);
+	}
+
+	if (error) {
+		if (!force) {
+			fprintf(stderr, "ERROR: Input tree has errors, aborting "
+				"(use -f to force output)\n");
+			exit(2);
+		} else if (quiet < 3) {
+			fprintf(stderr, "Warning: Input tree has errors, "
+				"output forced\n");
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+/*
+ * Semantic check functions
+ */
+
 #define ERRMSG(...) if (quiet < 2) fprintf(stderr, "ERROR: " __VA_ARGS__)
 #define WARNMSG(...) if (quiet < 1) fprintf(stderr, "Warning: " __VA_ARGS__)
 
 #define DO_ERR(...) do {ERRMSG(__VA_ARGS__); ok = 0; } while (0)
 
-static int check_names(struct node *tree)
-{
-	struct node *child, *child2;
-	struct property *prop, *prop2;
-	int len = strlen(tree->name);
-	int ok = 1;
-
-	if (len == 0 && tree->parent)
-		DO_ERR("Empty, non-root nodename at %s\n", tree->fullpath);
-
-	if (len > MAX_NODENAME_LEN)
-		WARNMSG("Overlength nodename at %s\n", tree->fullpath);
-
-	for_each_property(tree, prop) {
-		/* check for duplicates */
-		/* FIXME: do this more efficiently */
-		for (prop2 = prop->next; prop2; prop2 = prop2->next) {
-			if (streq(prop->name, prop2->name)) {
-				DO_ERR("Duplicate propertyname %s in node %s\n",
-					prop->name, tree->fullpath);
-			}
-		}
-
-		/* check name length */
-		if (strlen(prop->name) > MAX_PROPNAME_LEN)
-			WARNMSG("Property name %s is too long in %s\n",
-				prop->name, tree->fullpath);
-	}
-
-	for_each_child(tree, child) {
-		/* Check for duplicates */
-
-		for (child2 = child->next_sibling;
-		     child2;
-		     child2 = child2->next_sibling) {
-			if (streq(child->name, child2->name))
-				DO_ERR("Duplicate node name %s\n",
-					child->fullpath);
-		}
-		if (! check_names(child))
-			ok = 0;
-	}
-
-	return ok;
-}
-
-static int check_phandles(struct node *root, struct node *node)
-{
-	struct property *prop;
-	struct node *child, *other;
-	cell_t phandle;
-	int ok = 1;
-
-	prop = get_property(node, "linux,phandle");
-	if (prop) {
-		phandle = propval_cell(prop);
-		if ((phandle == 0) || (phandle == -1)) {
-			DO_ERR("%s has invalid linux,phandle %x\n",
-			       node->fullpath, phandle);
-		} else {
-			other = get_node_by_phandle(root, phandle);
-			if (other)
-				DO_ERR("%s has duplicated phandle %x (seen before at %s)\n",
-				       node->fullpath, phandle, other->fullpath);
-
-			node->phandle = phandle;
-		}
-	}
-
-	for_each_child(node, child)
-		ok = ok && check_phandles(root, child);
-
-	return ok;
-}
-
-int check_structure(struct node *dt)
-{
-	int ok = 1;
-
-	ok = ok && check_names(dt);
-	ok = ok && check_phandles(dt, dt);
-
-	return ok;
-}
-
-/*
- * Semantic check functions
- */
-
 static int must_be_one_cell(struct property *prop, struct node *node)
 {
 	if (prop->val.len != sizeof(cell_t)) {
diff --git a/dtc.c b/dtc.c
index 602b296..5b16e5d 100644
--- a/dtc.c
+++ b/dtc.c
@@ -193,17 +193,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	if (! bi || ! bi->dt)
 		die("Couldn't read input tree\n");
 
-	structure_ok = check_structure(bi->dt);
-	if (!structure_ok) {
-		if (!force) {
-			fprintf(stderr, "ERROR: Input tree has structural errors, aborting (use -f to force output)\n");
-			exit(2);
-		} else if (quiet < 3) {
-			fprintf(stderr, "Warning: Input tree has structural errors, output forced\n");
-		}
-	}
-
-	fixup_references(bi->dt);
+	process_checks(force, bi->dt);
 
 	if (check) {
 		if (!structure_ok) {
diff --git a/dtc.h b/dtc.h
index d080153..ac3657b 100644
--- a/dtc.h
+++ b/dtc.h
@@ -193,9 +193,11 @@ char *get_unitname(struct node *node);
 struct property *get_property(struct node *node, char *propname);
 cell_t propval_cell(struct property *prop);
 struct node *get_subnode(struct node *node, char *nodename);
+struct node *get_node_by_path(struct node *tree, char *path);
+struct node *get_node_by_label(struct node *tree, const char *label);
 struct node *get_node_by_phandle(struct node *tree, cell_t phandle);
-
-void fixup_references(struct node *dt);
+struct node *get_node_by_ref(struct node *tree, char *ref);
+cell_t get_node_phandle(struct node *root, struct node *node);
 
 /* Boot info (tree plus memreserve information */
 
@@ -224,7 +226,7 @@ struct boot_info *build_boot_info(struct reserve_info *reservelist,
 
 /* Checks */
 
-int check_structure(struct node *dt);
+void process_checks(int force, struct node *dt);
 int check_semantics(struct node *dt, int outversion, int boot_cpuid_phys);
 
 /* Flattened trees */
diff --git a/livetree.c b/livetree.c
index cdd1ab5..6f71c30 100644
--- a/livetree.c
+++ b/livetree.c
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ struct node *get_subnode(struct node *node, char *nodename)
 	return NULL;
 }
 
-static struct node *get_node_by_path(struct node *tree, char *path)
+struct node *get_node_by_path(struct node *tree, char *path)
 {
 	char *p;
 	struct node *child;
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ static struct node *get_node_by_path(struct node *tree, char *path)
 	return NULL;
 }
 
-static struct node *get_node_by_label(struct node *tree, const char *label)
+struct node *get_node_by_label(struct node *tree, const char *label)
 {
 	struct node *child, *node;
 
@@ -275,7 +275,15 @@ struct node *get_node_by_phandle(struct node *tree, cell_t phandle)
 	return NULL;
 }
 
-static cell_t get_node_phandle(struct node *root, struct node *node)
+struct node *get_node_by_ref(struct node *tree, char *ref)
+{
+	if (ref[0] == '/')
+		return get_node_by_path(tree, ref);
+	else
+		return get_node_by_label(tree, ref);
+}
+
+cell_t get_node_phandle(struct node *root, struct node *node)
 {
 	static cell_t phandle = 1; /* FIXME: ick, static local */
 
@@ -295,56 +303,3 @@ static cell_t get_node_phandle(struct node *root, struct node *node)
 
 	return node->phandle;
 }
-
-/*
- * Reference fixup functions
- */
-
-static void apply_fixup(struct node *root, struct property *prop,
-			struct fixup *f)
-{
-	struct node *refnode;
-	cell_t phandle;
-
-	if (f->ref[0] == '/') {
-		/* Reference to full path */
-		refnode = get_node_by_path(root, f->ref);
-		if (! refnode)
-			die("Reference to non-existent node \"%s\"\n", f->ref);
-	} else {
-		refnode = get_node_by_label(root, f->ref);
-		if (! refnode)
-			die("Reference to non-existent node label \"%s\"\n", f->ref);
-	}
-
-	phandle = get_node_phandle(root, refnode);
-
-	assert(f->offset + sizeof(cell_t) <= prop->val.len);
-
-	*((cell_t *)(prop->val.val + f->offset)) = cpu_to_be32(phandle);
-}
-
-static void fixup_phandles(struct node *root, struct node *node)
-{
-	struct property *prop;
-	struct node *child;
-
-	for_each_property(node, prop) {
-		struct fixup *f = prop->val.refs;
-
-		while (f) {
-			apply_fixup(root, prop, f);
-			prop->val.refs = f->next;
-			fixup_free(f);
-			f = prop->val.refs;
-		}
-	}
-
-	for_each_child(node, child)
-		fixup_phandles(root, child);
-}
-
-void fixup_references(struct node *dt)
-{
-	fixup_phandles(dt, dt);
-}
diff --git a/tests/nonexist-label-ref.dts b/tests/nonexist-label-ref.dts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..25927a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/nonexist-label-ref.dts
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+/dts-v1/;
+
+/ {
+	ref = <&label>;
+	badref = <&nosuchlabel>;
+	label: node {
+	};
+};
diff --git a/tests/nonexist-node-ref.dts b/tests/nonexist-node-ref.dts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fa35891
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/nonexist-node-ref.dts
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+/dts-v1/;
+
+/ {
+	ref = < &/node >;
+	badref = < &/nosuchnode >;
+	label: node {
+	};
+};
diff --git a/tests/run_tests.sh b/tests/run_tests.sh
index 6875c42..a8f6e10 100755
--- a/tests/run_tests.sh
+++ b/tests/run_tests.sh
@@ -157,6 +157,8 @@ dtc_tests () {
     run_test dtc-checkfails.sh -I dts -O dtb dup-phandle.dts
     run_test dtc-checkfails.sh -I dts -O dtb zero-phandle.dts
     run_test dtc-checkfails.sh -I dts -O dtb minusone-phandle.dts
+    run_test dtc-checkfails.sh -I dts -O dtb nonexist-node-ref.dts
+    run_test dtc-checkfails.sh -I dts -O dtb nonexist-label-ref.dts
 }
 
 while getopts "vt:m" ARG ; do