diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/runtime/BlazeCommand.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/runtime/BlazeCommand.java
index 6219a64..6be7ae1 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/runtime/BlazeCommand.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/runtime/BlazeCommand.java
@@ -24,28 +24,23 @@
  */
 public interface BlazeCommand {
   /**
-   * This method provides the imperative portion of the command. It takes
-   * a {@link OptionsProvider} instance {@code options}, which provides access
-   * to the options instances via {@link OptionsProvider#getOptions(Class)},
-   * and access to the residue (the remainder of the command line) via
-   * {@link OptionsProvider#getResidue()}. The framework parses and makes
-   * available exactly the options that the command class specifies via the
-   * annotation {@link Command#options()}. The command may write to standard
-   * out and standard error via {@code outErr}. It indicates success / failure
-   * via its return value, which becomes the Unix exit status of the Blaze
-   * client process. It may indicate a shutdown request by throwing
-   * {@link BlazeCommandDispatcher.ShutdownBlazeServerException}. In that case,
-   * the Blaze server process (the memory resident portion of Blaze) will
-   * shut down and the exit status will be 0 (in case the shutdown succeeds
-   * without error).
+   * This method provides the imperative portion of the command. It takes a {@link OptionsProvider}
+   * instance {@code options}, which provides access to the options instances via {@link
+   * OptionsProvider#getOptions(Class)}, and access to the residue (the remainder of the command
+   * line) via {@link OptionsProvider#getResidue()}. The framework parses and makes available
+   * exactly the options that the command class specifies via the annotation {@link
+   * Command#options()}. The command indicates success / failure via its return value, which becomes
+   * the Unix exit status of the Blaze client process. It may indicate a shutdown request by
+   * throwing {@link BlazeCommandDispatcher.ShutdownBlazeServerException}. In that case, the Blaze
+   * server process (the memory resident portion of Blaze) will shut down and the exit status will
+   * be 0 (in case the shutdown succeeds without error).
    *
    * @param env The environment for the current command invocation
-   * @param options A parsed options instance initialized with the values for
-   *     the options specified in {@link Command#options()}.
-   *
+   * @param options A parsed options instance initialized with the values for the options specified
+   *     in {@link Command#options()}.
    * @return The Unix exit status for the Blaze client.
-   * @throws BlazeCommandDispatcher.ShutdownBlazeServerException Indicates
-   *     that the command wants to shutdown the Blaze server.
+   * @throws BlazeCommandDispatcher.ShutdownBlazeServerException Indicates that the command wants to
+   *     shutdown the Blaze server.
    */
   ExitCode exec(CommandEnvironment env, OptionsProvider options)
       throws BlazeCommandDispatcher.ShutdownBlazeServerException;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/runtime/BlazeCommandDispatcher.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/runtime/BlazeCommandDispatcher.java
index 0dc21dc..7d275a4 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/runtime/BlazeCommandDispatcher.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/runtime/BlazeCommandDispatcher.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import com.google.common.base.Function;
 import com.google.common.base.Joiner;
 import com.google.common.base.Predicates;
+import com.google.common.base.Throwables;
 import com.google.common.base.Verify;
 import com.google.common.cache.CacheBuilder;
 import com.google.common.cache.CacheLoader;
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@
 import com.google.common.collect.Iterables;
 import com.google.common.collect.ListMultimap;
 import com.google.common.io.Flushables;
+import com.google.common.util.concurrent.UncheckedExecutionException;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.events.Event;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.events.EventHandler;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.events.Reporter;
@@ -380,6 +382,11 @@
     List<String> rcfileNotes = new ArrayList<>();
     try {
       optionsParser = createOptionsParser(command);
+    } catch (OptionsParser.ConstructionException e) {
+      outErr.printErrLn("Internal error while constructing options parser: " + e.getMessage());
+      return ExitCode.BLAZE_INTERNAL_ERROR.getNumericExitCode();
+    }
+    try {
       parseArgsAndConfigs(env, optionsParser, commandAnnotation, args, rcfileNotes, outErr);
 
       // Merge the invocation policy that is user-supplied, from the command line, and any
@@ -690,19 +697,23 @@
   }
 
   /**
-   * Creates an option parser using the common options classes and the
-   * command-specific options classes.
+   * Creates an option parser using the common options classes and the command-specific options
+   * classes.
    *
-   * <p>An overriding method should first call this method and can then
-   * override default values directly or by calling {@link
-   * #parseOptionsForCommand} for command-specific options.
-   *
-   * @throws OptionsParsingException
+   * <p>An overriding method should first call this method and can then override default values
+   * directly or by calling {@link #parseOptionsForCommand} for command-specific options.
    */
   protected OptionsParser createOptionsParser(BlazeCommand command)
-      throws OptionsParsingException {
+      throws OptionsParser.ConstructionException {
+    OpaqueOptionsData optionsData = null;
+    try {
+      optionsData = optionsDataCache.getUnchecked(command);
+    } catch (UncheckedExecutionException e) {
+      Throwables.throwIfInstanceOf(e.getCause(), OptionsParser.ConstructionException.class);
+      throw new IllegalStateException(e);
+    }
     Command annotation = command.getClass().getAnnotation(Command.class);
-    OptionsParser parser = OptionsParser.newOptionsParser(optionsDataCache.getUnchecked(command));
+    OptionsParser parser = OptionsParser.newOptionsParser(optionsData);
     parser.setAllowResidue(annotation.allowResidue());
     return parser;
   }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/common/options/OptionsParser.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/common/options/OptionsParser.java
index a16f0e7..1e475e5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/common/options/OptionsParser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/common/options/OptionsParser.java
@@ -63,6 +63,26 @@
 public class OptionsParser implements OptionsProvider {
 
   /**
+   * An unchecked exception thrown when there is a problem constructing a parser, e.g. an error
+   * while validating an {@link Option} field in one of its {@link OptionsBase} subclasses.
+   *
+   * <p>Although unchecked, we explicitly mark some methods as throwing it as a reminder in the API.
+   */
+  public static class ConstructionException extends RuntimeException {
+    public ConstructionException(String message) {
+      super(message);
+    }
+
+    public ConstructionException(Throwable cause) {
+      super(cause);
+    }
+
+    public ConstructionException(String message, Throwable cause) {
+      super(message, cause);
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
    * A cache for the parsed options data. Both keys and values are immutable, so
    * this is always safe. Only access this field through the {@link
    * #getOptionsData} method for thread-safety! The cache is very unlikely to
@@ -73,23 +93,27 @@
       Maps.newHashMap();
 
   /**
-   * Returns {@link OpaqueOptionsData} suitable for passing along to
-   * {@link #newOptionsParser(OpaqueOptionsData optionsData)}.
+   * Returns {@link OpaqueOptionsData} suitable for passing along to {@link
+   * #newOptionsParser(OpaqueOptionsData optionsData)}.
    *
-   * This is useful when you want to do the work of analyzing the given {@code optionsClasses}
+   * <p>This is useful when you want to do the work of analyzing the given {@code optionsClasses}
    * exactly once, but you want to parse lots of different lists of strings (and thus need to
-   * construct lots of different {@link OptionsParser} instances). 
+   * construct lots of different {@link OptionsParser} instances).
    */
   public static OpaqueOptionsData getOptionsData(
-      ImmutableList<Class<? extends OptionsBase>> optionsClasses) {
+      ImmutableList<Class<? extends OptionsBase>> optionsClasses) throws ConstructionException {
     return getOptionsDataInternal(optionsClasses);
   }
 
   private static synchronized OptionsData getOptionsDataInternal(
-      ImmutableList<Class<? extends OptionsBase>> optionsClasses) {
+      ImmutableList<Class<? extends OptionsBase>> optionsClasses) throws ConstructionException {
     OptionsData result = optionsData.get(optionsClasses);
     if (result == null) {
-      result = OptionsData.from(optionsClasses);
+      try {
+        result = OptionsData.from(optionsClasses);
+      } catch (Exception e) {
+        throw new ConstructionException(e.getMessage(), e);
+      }
       optionsData.put(optionsClasses, result);
     }
     return result;
@@ -108,7 +132,8 @@
   /**
    * @see #newOptionsParser(Iterable)
    */
-  public static OptionsParser newOptionsParser(Class<? extends OptionsBase> class1) {
+  public static OptionsParser newOptionsParser(Class<? extends OptionsBase> class1)
+      throws ConstructionException {
     return newOptionsParser(ImmutableList.<Class<? extends OptionsBase>>of(class1));
   }
 
@@ -116,15 +141,15 @@
    * @see #newOptionsParser(Iterable)
    */
   public static OptionsParser newOptionsParser(Class<? extends OptionsBase> class1,
-                                               Class<? extends OptionsBase> class2) {
+                                               Class<? extends OptionsBase> class2)
+      throws ConstructionException {
     return newOptionsParser(ImmutableList.of(class1, class2));
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Create a new {@link OptionsParser}.
-   */
+  /** Create a new {@link OptionsParser}. */
   public static OptionsParser newOptionsParser(
-      Iterable<? extends Class<? extends OptionsBase>> optionsClasses) {
+      Iterable<? extends Class<? extends OptionsBase>> optionsClasses)
+      throws ConstructionException {
     return newOptionsParser(
         getOptionsDataInternal(ImmutableList.<Class<? extends OptionsBase>>copyOf(optionsClasses)));
   }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/common/options/OptionsParserTest.java b/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/common/options/OptionsParserTest.java
index 69b4c96..51e3416 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/common/options/OptionsParserTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/common/options/OptionsParserTest.java
@@ -50,6 +50,18 @@
 @RunWith(JUnit4.class)
 public class OptionsParserTest {
 
+  /**
+   * Asserts that the given ConstructionException wraps an expected exception type with an expected
+   * message.
+   */
+  private static void assertConstructionErrorCausedBy(
+      OptionsParser.ConstructionException e,
+      Class<? extends Throwable> expectedType,
+      String expectedMessage) {
+    assertThat(e.getCause()).isInstanceOf(expectedType);
+    assertThat(e.getCause().getMessage()).contains(expectedMessage);
+  }
+
   public static class ExampleFoo extends OptionsBase {
 
     @Option(name = "foo",
@@ -891,8 +903,8 @@
     try {
       OptionsParser.newOptionsParser(NullExpansionsOptions.class);
       fail("Should have failed due to null expansion function result");
-    } catch (NullPointerException e) {
-      assertThat(e.getMessage()).contains("null value in entry");
+    } catch (OptionsParser.ConstructionException e) {
+      assertConstructionErrorCausedBy(e, NullPointerException.class, "null value in entry");
     }
   }
 
@@ -1577,9 +1589,11 @@
     try {
       newOptionsParser(ExampleNameConflictOptions.class);
       fail("foo should conflict with the previous flag foo");
-    } catch (DuplicateOptionDeclarationException e) {
-      // Expected, check that the error message gives useful information.
-      assertThat(e.getMessage()).contains("--foo");
+    } catch (OptionsParser.ConstructionException e) {
+      assertConstructionErrorCausedBy(
+          e,
+          DuplicateOptionDeclarationException.class,
+          "Duplicate option name, due to option: --foo");
     }
   }
 
@@ -1593,9 +1607,11 @@
     try {
       newOptionsParser(ExampleFoo.class, ExampleBooleanFooOptions.class);
       fail("foo should conflict with the previous flag foo");
-    } catch (DuplicateOptionDeclarationException e) {
-      // Expected, check that the error message gives useful information.
-      assertThat(e.getMessage()).contains("--foo");
+    } catch (OptionsParser.ConstructionException e) {
+      assertConstructionErrorCausedBy(
+          e,
+          DuplicateOptionDeclarationException.class,
+          "Duplicate option name, due to option: --foo");
     }
   }
 
@@ -1612,18 +1628,23 @@
       newOptionsParser(ExampleBooleanFooOptions.class, ExamplePrefixFooOptions.class);
       fail("nofoo should conflict with the previous flag foo, since foo, as a boolean flag, "
               + "can be written as --nofoo");
-    } catch (DuplicateOptionDeclarationException e) {
-      // Expected, check that the error message gives useful information.
-      assertThat(e.getMessage()).contains("--nofoo");
+    } catch (OptionsParser.ConstructionException e) {
+      assertConstructionErrorCausedBy(
+          e,
+          DuplicateOptionDeclarationException.class,
+          "Duplicate option name, due to option --nofoo, it conflicts with a negating alias "
+              + "for boolean flag --foo");
     }
 
     try {
       newOptionsParser(ExamplePrefixFooOptions.class, ExampleBooleanFooOptions.class);
       fail("nofoo should conflict with the previous flag foo, since foo, as a boolean flag, "
               + "can be written as --nofoo");
-    } catch (DuplicateOptionDeclarationException e) {
-      // Expected, check that the error message gives useful information.
-      assertThat(e.getMessage()).contains("--nofoo");
+    } catch (OptionsParser.ConstructionException e) {
+      assertConstructionErrorCausedBy(
+          e,
+          DuplicateOptionDeclarationException.class,
+          "Duplicate option name, due to boolean option alias: --nofoo");
     }
   }
 
@@ -1640,18 +1661,23 @@
       newOptionsParser(ExampleBooleanFooOptions.class, ExampleUnderscorePrefixFooOptions.class);
       fail("no_foo should conflict with the previous flag foo, since foo, as a boolean flag, "
               + "can be written as --no_foo");
-    } catch (DuplicateOptionDeclarationException e) {
-      // Expected, check that the error message gives useful information.
-      assertThat(e.getMessage()).contains("--no_foo");
+    } catch (OptionsParser.ConstructionException e) {
+      assertConstructionErrorCausedBy(
+          e,
+          DuplicateOptionDeclarationException.class,
+          "Duplicate option name, due to option --no_foo, it conflicts with a negating "
+              + "alias for boolean flag --foo");
     }
 
     try {
       newOptionsParser(ExampleUnderscorePrefixFooOptions.class, ExampleBooleanFooOptions.class);
       fail("no_foo should conflict with the previous flag foo, since foo, as a boolean flag, "
               + "can be written as --no_foo");
-    } catch (DuplicateOptionDeclarationException e) {
-      // Expected, check that the error message gives useful information.
-      assertThat(e.getMessage()).contains("--no_foo");
+    } catch (OptionsParser.ConstructionException e) {
+      assertConstructionErrorCausedBy(
+          e,
+          DuplicateOptionDeclarationException.class,
+          "Duplicate option name, due to boolean option alias: --no_foo");
     }
   }
 
@@ -1668,9 +1694,11 @@
       newOptionsParser(ExamplePrefixFooOptions.class, ExampleBarWasNamedFooOption.class);
       fail("nofoo should conflict with the previous flag foo, since foo, as a boolean flag, "
               + "can be written as --nofoo");
-    } catch (DuplicateOptionDeclarationException e) {
-      // Expected, check that the error message gives useful information.
-      assertThat(e.getMessage()).contains("--nofoo");
+    } catch (OptionsParser.ConstructionException e) {
+      assertConstructionErrorCausedBy(
+          e,
+          DuplicateOptionDeclarationException.class,
+          "Duplicate option name, due to boolean option alias: --nofoo");
     }
   }
 
@@ -1688,9 +1716,12 @@
       newOptionsParser(ExampleBooleanFooOptions.class, ExampleBarWasNamedNoFooOption.class);
       fail("nofoo, the old name for bar, should conflict with the previous flag foo, since foo, "
           + "as a boolean flag, can be written as --nofoo");
-    } catch (DuplicateOptionDeclarationException e) {
-      // Expected, check that the error message gives useful information.
-      assertThat(e.getMessage()).contains("--nofoo");
+    } catch (OptionsParser.ConstructionException e) {
+      assertConstructionErrorCausedBy(
+          e,
+          DuplicateOptionDeclarationException.class,
+          "Duplicate option name, due to old option name --nofoo, it conflicts with a negating "
+              + "alias for boolean flag --foo");
     }
   }
 
@@ -1710,8 +1741,8 @@
     try {
       newOptionsParser(OldNameConflictExample.class);
       fail("old_name should conflict with the flag already named old_name");
-    } catch (DuplicateOptionDeclarationException e) {
-      // expected
+    } catch (OptionsParser.ConstructionException e) {
+      assertThat(e.getCause()).isInstanceOf(DuplicateOptionDeclarationException.class);
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/common/options/OptionsTest.java b/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/common/options/OptionsTest.java
index 21a8a06..bb8e5dc 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/common/options/OptionsTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/common/options/OptionsTest.java
@@ -485,8 +485,9 @@
     try {
       Options.parse(K.class, NO_ARGS).getOptions();
       fail();
-    } catch (IllegalStateException e) {
-      assertThat(e.getMessage())
+    } catch (OptionsParser.ConstructionException e) {
+      assertThat(e.getCause()).isInstanceOf(IllegalStateException.class);
+      assertThat(e.getCause().getMessage())
           .isEqualTo(
               "OptionsParsingException while retrieving default for "
                   + "int1: 'null' is not an int");