diff --git a/deform/field.py b/deform/field.py
index 9ddb1ba1..3758bd8d 100644
--- a/deform/field.py
+++ b/deform/field.py
@@ -448,17 +448,21 @@ def get_widget_requirements(self):
         requirements in :ref:`get_widget_requirements`.
         """
         L = []
-        requirements = self.widget.requirements
+
+        requirements = [req for req in self.widget.requirements] + [
+            req
+            for child in self.children
+            for req in child.get_widget_requirements()
+        ]
+
         if requirements:
             for requirement in requirements:
-                reqt = tuple(requirement)
-                if reqt not in L:
-                    L.append(reqt)
-        for child in self.children:
-            for requirement in child.get_widget_requirements():
-                reqt = tuple(requirement)
-                if reqt not in L:
-                    L.append(reqt)
+                if isinstance(requirement, dict):
+                    L.append(requirement)
+                else:
+                    reqt = tuple(requirement)
+                    if reqt not in L:
+                        L.append(reqt)
         return L
 
     def get_widget_resources(self, requirements=None):
@@ -485,7 +489,19 @@ def get_widget_resources(self, requirements=None):
         """
         if requirements is None:
             requirements = self.get_widget_requirements()
-        return self.resource_registry(requirements)
+        resources = self.resource_registry(
+            (req for req in requirements if not isinstance(req, dict))
+        )
+        for req in requirements:
+            if not isinstance(req, dict):
+                continue
+            for key in {'js', 'css'}.intersection(req):
+                value = req[key]
+                if isinstance(value, str):
+                    resources[key].append(value)
+                else:
+                    resources[key].extend(value)
+        return resources
 
     def set_widgets(self, values, separator="."):
         """set widgets of the child fields of this field
diff --git a/deform/tests/test_field.py b/deform/tests/test_field.py
index 255afb10..1bcc93c6 100644
--- a/deform/tests/test_field.py
+++ b/deform/tests/test_field.py
@@ -346,9 +346,9 @@ def test_get_widget_requirements(self):
             result, [("abc", "123"), ("ghi", "789"), ("def", "456")]
         )
 
-    def test_get_widget_resources(self):
+    def test_get_widget_resources_with_registry(self):
         def resource_registry(requirements):
-            self.assertEqual(requirements, [("abc", "123")])
+            self.assertEqual(list(requirements), [("abc", "123")])
             return "OK"
 
         schema = DummySchema()
@@ -358,6 +358,17 @@ def resource_registry(requirements):
         result = field.get_widget_resources()
         self.assertEqual(result, "OK")
 
+    def test_get_widget_resources_without_registry(self):
+        schema = DummySchema()
+        field = self._makeOne(schema)
+        field.widget.requirements = (
+            {"js": "123.js", "css": ["123.css"]},
+            {"css": ["1.css", "2.css"]},
+        )
+        result = field.get_widget_resources()
+        self.assertEqual(result['js'], ['123.js'])
+        self.assertEqual(result['css'], ["123.css", "1.css", "2.css"])
+
     def test_clone(self):
         schema = DummySchema()
         field = self._makeOne(schema, renderer="abc")
diff --git a/deform/widget.py b/deform/widget.py
index 6cbbb98b..f5d54cb1 100644
--- a/deform/widget.py
+++ b/deform/widget.py
@@ -141,9 +141,21 @@ class Widget(object):
         be added to the input tag.
 
     requirements
-        A sequence of two-tuples in the form ``( (requirement_name,
-        version_id), ...)`` indicating the logical external
-        requirements needed to make this widget render properly within
+
+        The requirements are specified as a sequence of either of the
+        following.
+
+            1.  Two-tuples in the form ``(requirement_name, version_id)``.
+                The **logical** requirement name identifiers are resolved to
+                concrete files using the ``resource_registry``.
+            2.  Dicts in the form ``{requirement_type:
+                requirement_location(s)}``. The ``resource_registry`` is
+                bypassed.  This is useful for creating custom widgets with
+                their own resources.
+
+        Requirements specified as a sequence of two-tuples should be in the
+        form ``( (requirement_name, version_id), ...)`` indicating the logical
+        external requirements needed to make this widget render properly within
         a form.  The ``requirement_name`` is a string that *logically*
         (not concretely, it is not a filename) identifies *one or
         more* Javascript or CSS resources that must be included in the
@@ -153,7 +165,23 @@ class Widget(object):
         'tinymce' for Tiny MCE).  The ``version_id`` is a string
         indicating the version number (or ``None`` if no particular
         version is required).  For example, a rich text widget might
-        declare ``requirements = (('tinymce', '3.3.8'),)``.  See also:
+        declare ``requirements = (('tinymce', '3.3.8'),)``.
+
+        Requirements specified as a sequence of dicts should be in the form
+        ``({requirement_type: requirement_location(s)}, ...)``.  The
+        ``requirement_type`` key must be either ``js`` or ``css``.  The
+        ``requirement_location(s)`` value must be either a string or a list of
+        strings. Each string must resolve to a concrete resource. For example,
+        a widget might declare:
+
+        .. code-block:: python
+
+            requirements = (
+                {"js": "deform:static/tinymce/tinymce.min.js"},
+                {"css": "deform:static/tinymce/tinymce.min.css"},
+            )
+
+        See also:
         :ref:`specifying_widget_requirements` and
         :ref:`widget_requirements`.
 
@@ -843,7 +871,7 @@ class RichTextWidget(TextInputWidget):
     delayed_load = False
     strip = True
     template = "richtext"
-    requirements = (("tinymce", None),)
+    requirements = ({"js": "deform:static/tinymce/tinymce.min.js"},)
 
     #: Default options passed to TinyMCE. Customise by using :attr:`options`.
     default_options = (
@@ -1164,7 +1192,13 @@ class Select2Widget(SelectWidget):
     """
 
     template = "select2"
-    requirements = (("deform", None), ("select2", None))
+    requirements = (
+        ("deform", None),
+        {
+            "js": "deform:static/select2/select2.js",
+            "css": "deform:static/select2/select2.css",
+        },
+    )
 
 
 class RadioChoiceWidget(SelectWidget):
@@ -1562,7 +1596,10 @@ class SequenceWidget(Widget):
     min_len = None
     max_len = None
     orderable = False
-    requirements = (("deform", None), ("sortable", None))
+    requirements = (
+        ("deform", None),
+        {"js": "deform:static/scripts/jquery-sortable.js"},
+    )
 
     def prototype(self, field):
         # we clone the item field to bump the oid (for easier
@@ -1722,7 +1759,7 @@ class FileUploadWidget(Widget):
     readonly_template = "readonly/file_upload"
     accept = None
 
-    requirements = (("fileupload", None),)
+    requirements = ({"js": "deform:static/scripts/file_upload.js"},)
 
     _pstruct_schema = SchemaNode(
         Mapping(),
@@ -2140,8 +2177,6 @@ def __call__(self, requirements):
             )
         }
     },
-    "tinymce": {None: {"js": "deform:static/tinymce/tinymce.min.js"}},
-    "sortable": {None: {"js": "deform:static/scripts/jquery-sortable.js"}},
     "typeahead": {
         None: {
             "js": "deform:static/scripts/typeahead.min.js",
@@ -2168,13 +2203,6 @@ def __call__(self, requirements):
             ),
         }
     },
-    "select2": {
-        None: {
-            "js": "deform:static/select2/select2.js",
-            "css": "deform:static/select2/select2.css",
-        }
-    },
-    "fileupload": {None: {"js": "deform:static/scripts/file_upload.js"}},
 }
 
 default_resource_registry = ResourceRegistry()
diff --git a/docs/widget.rst b/docs/widget.rst
index 8dcd38ee..6542adf5 100644
--- a/docs/widget.rst
+++ b/docs/widget.rst
@@ -253,16 +253,29 @@ See also the documentation of the ``resource_registry`` argument in
 Specifying Widget Requirements
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-When creating a new widget, you may specify its requirements by using
-the ``requirements`` attribute:
+When instantiating a new widget, you may specify its requirements by using the ``requirements`` attribute.
+The requirements are specified as a sequence of two-tuples, dicts, or a combination of both two-tuples and dicts.
+
+The two-tuple form uses the resource registry and is used by most of the core Deform widgets.
+The two-tuple form takes advantage of Deform's abstraction layer through the resource registry.
+
+The dict form bypasses the resource registry.
+The dict form may be easier to implement than the two-tuple form for custom widgets because it does not introduce an implicit dependency on the resource registry.
+This is especially true if the required resources are tightly coupled to a custom widget.
+
+
+.. _two-tuple-widget-requirements:
+
+Using two-tuples for specifying widget requirements
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
 .. code-block:: python
-   :linenos:
+    :linenos:
 
-   from deform.widget import Widget
+    from deform.widget import Widget
 
-   class MyWidget(Widget):
-       requirements = ( ('jquery', '1.4.2'), )
+    class MyWidget(Widget):
+       requirements = ( ("jquery", "1.4.2"), )
 
 There are no hard-and-fast rules about the composition of a
 requirement name.  Your widget's docstring should explain what its
@@ -283,6 +296,34 @@ constructing the form.  The default resource registry
 (:attr:`deform.widget.resource_registry`) does not contain resource
 mappings for your newly-created requirement.
 
+
+.. _dict-widget-requirements:
+
+Using dicts for specifying widget requirements
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Requirements specified as a sequence of dicts should be in the form``({requirement_type: requirement_location(s)}, ...)``.
+The ``requirement_type`` key must be either ``js`` or ``css``.
+The ``requirement_location(s)`` value must be either a string or a list of strings.
+Each string must resolve to a concrete resource.
+
+.. code-block:: python
+    :linenos:
+
+    from deform.widget import Widget
+
+    class MyWidget(Widget):
+       requirements = ( {
+           "js": "my:static/path/to/jquery.js",
+           "css": [
+                "my:static/path/to/jquery.css",
+                "my:static:path/to/bootstrap.css"],
+        } )
+
+The supplied paths are resolved by ``request.get_path()`` so the required
+static resources should be included in the Pyramid config.
+
+
 .. _writing_a_widget:
 
 Writing Your Own Widget