diff --git a/src/reactfire.js b/src/reactfire.js
index 8076551..474878c 100644
--- a/src/reactfire.js
+++ b/src/reactfire.js
@@ -35,16 +35,20 @@ var ReactFireMixin = {
   _bind: function(firebaseRef, bindVar, bindAsArray) {
     this._validateBindVar(bindVar);
 
-    var error;
+    var errorMessage, errorCode;
     if (Object.prototype.toString.call(firebaseRef) !== "[object Object]") {
-      error = "firebaseRef must be an instance of Firebase";
+      errorMessage = "firebaseRef must be an instance of Firebase";
+      errorCode = "INVALID_FIREBASE_REF";
     }
     else if (typeof bindAsArray !== "boolean") {
-      error = "bindAsArray must be a boolean. Got: " + bindAsArray;
+      errorMessage = "bindAsArray must be a boolean. Got: " + bindAsArray;
+      errorCode = "INVALID_BIND_AS_ARRAY";
     }
 
-    if (typeof error !== "undefined") {
-      throw new Error("ReactFire: " + error);
+    if (typeof errorMessage !== "undefined") {
+      var error = new Error("ReactFire: " + errorMessage);
+      error.code = errorCode;
+      throw error;
     }
 
     this.firebaseRefs[bindVar] = firebaseRef.ref();
@@ -65,7 +69,9 @@ var ReactFireMixin = {
     this._validateBindVar(bindVar);
 
     if (typeof this.firebaseRefs[bindVar] === "undefined") {
-      throw new Error("unexpected value for bindVar. \"" + bindVar + "\" was either never bound or has already been unbound");
+      var error = new Error("ReactFire: unexpected value for bindVar. \"" + bindVar + "\" was either never bound or has already been unbound");
+      error.code = "UNBOUND_BIND_VARIABLE";
+      throw error;
     }
 
     this.firebaseRefs[bindVar].off("value", this.firebaseListeners[bindVar]);
@@ -79,25 +85,27 @@ var ReactFireMixin = {
   /*************/
   /* Validates the name of the variable which is being bound */
   _validateBindVar: function(bindVar) {
-    var error;
+    var errorMessage;
 
     if (typeof bindVar !== "string") {
-      error = "bindVar must be a string. Got: " + bindVar;
+      errorMessage = "bindVar must be a string. Got: " + bindVar;
     }
     else if (bindVar.length === 0) {
-      error = "bindVar must be a non-empty string. Got: \"\"";
+      errorMessage = "bindVar must be a non-empty string. Got: \"\"";
     }
     else if (bindVar.length > 768) {
       // Firebase can only stored child paths up to 768 characters
-      error = "bindVar is too long to be stored in Firebase. Got: " + bindVar;
+      errorMessage = "bindVar is too long to be stored in Firebase. Got: " + bindVar;
     }
     else if (/[\[\].#$\/\u0000-\u001F\u007F]/.test(bindVar)) {
       // Firebase does not allow node keys to contain the following characters
-      error = "bindVar cannot contain any of the following characters: . # $ ] [ /. Got: " + bindVar;
+      errorMessage = "bindVar cannot contain any of the following characters: . # $ ] [ /. Got: " + bindVar;
     }
 
-    if (typeof error !== "undefined") {
-      throw new Error("ReactFire: " + error);
+    if (typeof errorMessage !== "undefined") {
+      var error = new Error("ReactFire: " + errorMessage);
+      error.code = "INVALID_BIND_VARIABLE";
+      throw error;
     }
   },
 
diff --git a/tests/specs/reactfire.spec.js b/tests/specs/reactfire.spec.js
index dbd0983..d769db5 100644
--- a/tests/specs/reactfire.spec.js
+++ b/tests/specs/reactfire.spec.js
@@ -9,8 +9,6 @@ describe("ReactFireMixin Tests:", function() {
 
   describe("bindAsArray():", function() {
     it("bindAsArray() throws errors given invalid Firebase refs", function() {
-      var expectedError = new Error("ReactFire: firebaseRef must be an instance of Firebase");
-
       var TestComponent = React.createClass({
         mixins: [ReactFireMixin],
 
@@ -18,7 +16,12 @@ describe("ReactFireMixin Tests:", function() {
           var _this = this;
 
           invalidFirebaseRefs.forEach(function(invalidFirebaseRef) {
-            expect(function() { _this.bindAsArray(invalidFirebaseRef, "items"); }).toThrow(expectedError);
+            try {
+              _this.bindAsArray(invalidFirebaseRef, "items");
+              expect("Function should throw error given parameter: " + invalidFirebaseRef).toBeFalsy();
+            } catch (error) {
+              expect(error.code).toEqual("INVALID_FIREBASE_REF");
+            }
           });
         },
 
@@ -38,7 +41,12 @@ describe("ReactFireMixin Tests:", function() {
           var _this = this;
 
           invalidBindVars.forEach(function(invalidBindVar) {
-            expect(function() { _this.bindAsArray(firebaseRef, invalidBindVar); }).toThrow();
+            try {
+              _this.bindAsArray(firebaseRef, invalidBindVar);
+              expect("Function should throw error given parameter: " + invalidBindVar).toBeFalsy();
+            } catch (error) {
+              expect(error.code).toEqual("INVALID_BIND_VARIABLE");
+            }
           });
         },
 
@@ -141,8 +149,6 @@ describe("ReactFireMixin Tests:", function() {
 
   describe("bindAsObject():", function() {
     it("bindAsObject() throws errors given invalid Firebase refs", function() {
-      var expectedError = new Error("ReactFire: firebaseRef must be an instance of Firebase");
-
       var TestComponent = React.createClass({
         mixins: [ReactFireMixin],
 
@@ -150,7 +156,12 @@ describe("ReactFireMixin Tests:", function() {
           var _this = this;
 
           invalidFirebaseRefs.forEach(function(invalidFirebaseRef) {
-            expect(function() { _this.bindAsObject(invalidFirebaseRef, "items"); }).toThrow(expectedError);
+            try {
+              _this.bindAsObject(invalidFirebaseRef, "items");
+              expect("Function should throw error given parameter: " + invalidFirebaseRef).toBeFalsy();
+            } catch (error) {
+              expect(error.code).toEqual("INVALID_FIREBASE_REF");
+            }
           });
         },
 
@@ -170,7 +181,12 @@ describe("ReactFireMixin Tests:", function() {
           var _this = this;
 
           invalidBindVars.forEach(function(invalidBindVar) {
-            expect(function() { _this.bindAsObject(firebaseRef, invalidBindVar); }).toThrow();
+            try {
+              _this.bindAsObject(firebaseRef, invalidBindVar);
+              expect("Function should throw error given parameter: " + invalidBindVar).toBeFalsy();
+            } catch (error) {
+              expect(error.code).toEqual("INVALID_BIND_VARIABLE");
+            }
           });
         },
 
@@ -280,7 +296,12 @@ describe("ReactFireMixin Tests:", function() {
           var _this = this;
 
           invalidBindVars.forEach(function(invalidBindVar) {
-            expect(function() { _this.unbind(invalidBindVar); }).toThrow();
+            try {
+              _this.unbind(invalidBindVar);
+              expect("Function should throw error given parameter: " + invalidBindVar).toBeFalsy();
+            } catch (error) {
+              expect(error.code).toEqual("INVALID_BIND_VARIABLE");
+            }
           });
         },
 
@@ -300,7 +321,12 @@ describe("ReactFireMixin Tests:", function() {
           var _this = this;
 
           validBindVars.forEach(function(validBindVar) {
-            expect(function() { _this.unbind(validBindVar); }).toThrow();
+            try {
+              _this.unbind(validBindVar);
+              expect("Function should throw error given parameter: " + validBindVar).toBeFalsy();
+            } catch (error) {
+              expect(error.code).toEqual("UNBOUND_BIND_VARIABLE");
+            }
           });
         },
 
@@ -420,8 +446,12 @@ describe("ReactFireMixin Tests:", function() {
           var _this = this;
 
           nonBooleanParams.forEach(function(nonBooleanParam) {
-            var expectedError = new Error("ReactFire: bindAsArray must be a boolean. Got: " + nonBooleanParam);
-            expect(function() { _this._bind(firebaseRef, "items", nonBooleanParam); }).toThrow(expectedError);
+            try {
+              _this._bind(firebaseRef, "items", nonBooleanParam);
+              expect("Function should throw error given parameter: " + nonBooleanParam).toBeFalsy();
+            } catch (error) {
+              expect(error.code).toEqual("INVALID_BIND_AS_ARRAY");
+            }
           });
         },