diff --git a/requirements/common.txt b/requirements/common.txt
index 895506feab..58413f1e54 100644
--- a/requirements/common.txt
+++ b/requirements/common.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # Django itself; we use a slightly patched version
 Django==1.11.4
 
+# needed for mypy TypedDict
+mypy_extensions==0.3.0
+
 # Needed for rendering backend templates
 Jinja2==2.9.6
 
diff --git a/requirements/dev_lock.txt b/requirements/dev_lock.txt
index 131f480149..b5445807d6 100644
--- a/requirements/dev_lock.txt
+++ b/requirements/dev_lock.txt
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ markdown==2.6.9           # via markdown-include
 markupsafe==1.0
 mock==2.0.0
 moto==1.0.1
+mypy_extensions==0.3.0
 ndg-httpsclient==0.4.2
 oauth2client==4.1.2
 oauthlib==2.0.2
diff --git a/requirements/prod_lock.txt b/requirements/prod_lock.txt
index da44d33280..9af5867230 100644
--- a/requirements/prod_lock.txt
+++ b/requirements/prod_lock.txt
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ markdown-include==0.5.1
 markdown==2.6.9           # via markdown-include
 markupsafe==1.0
 mock==2.0.0
+mypy_extensions==0.3.0
 ndg-httpsclient==0.4.2
 oauth2client==4.1.2
 oauthlib==2.0.2
diff --git a/version.py b/version.py
index 6c705f273a..2fc326ea60 100644
--- a/version.py
+++ b/version.py
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 ZULIP_VERSION = "1.6.0+git"
-PROVISION_VERSION = '9.5'
+PROVISION_VERSION = '9.6'
diff --git a/zerver/lib/message.py b/zerver/lib/message.py
index eab93197a6..6e46453966 100644
--- a/zerver/lib/message.py
+++ b/zerver/lib/message.py
@@ -29,9 +29,18 @@ from zerver.models import (
 )
 
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Set, Tuple, Text, Union
+from mypy_extensions import TypedDict
 
 RealmAlertWords = Dict[int, List[Text]]
 
+UnreadMessagesResult = TypedDict('UnreadMessagesResult', {
+    'pms': List[Dict[str, Any]],
+    'streams': List[Dict[str, Any]],
+    'huddles': List[Dict[str, Any]],
+    'mentions': List[int],
+    'count': int,
+})
+
 MAX_UNREAD_MESSAGES = 5000
 
 def extract_message_dict(message_bytes):
@@ -413,7 +422,7 @@ def get_muted_recipient_ids(user_profile):
     return muted_recipient_ids
 
 def get_unread_message_ids_per_recipient(user_profile):
-    # type: (UserProfile) -> Dict[str, Any]
+    # type: (UserProfile) -> UnreadMessagesResult
 
     excluded_recipient_ids = get_inactive_recipient_ids(user_profile)
 
@@ -510,8 +519,7 @@ def get_unread_message_ids_per_recipient(user_profile):
         streams=stream_objects,
         huddles=huddle_objects,
         mentions=mentioned_message_ids,
-        count=count,
-    )
+        count=count)  # type: UnreadMessagesResult
 
     return result