By Adam Hicks, CooperBuild AI · November 8, 2026

What is a submittal in construction? A submittal is a document, drawing, sample or mock-up the contract requires the contractor to send to the architect or engineer — usually shop drawings, product data or samples — to show exactly what will be furnished or how it will be built, before it is ordered or installed. The design team reviews it against the drawings and specifications and returns an action such as approved, approved as noted, revise and resubmit, or rejected. A submittal is not a contract document, and an approval does not, by itself, change the contract price or the schedule.

The packages that move quickly are complete, marked to the specified product, coordinated with adjacent trades, and sent with enough review time before the material has to be on site. The ones that stall are unmarked catalogs, substitutions slipped in as if they were specified, or packages that arrive after fabrication was already supposed to start.

#What are the main types of construction submittals?

Every shop drawing is a submittal, but most submittals are not shop drawings.

Shop drawings are project-specific drawings, diagrams or schedules prepared by the contractor, subcontractor, supplier or fabricator. They show how a custom or site-specific item will be made and installed: structural steel, rebar placing drawings, curtain wall, millwork, precast, sprinkler layouts, ductwork. They are not a reprint of the contract drawings.

Product data, often called cut sheets, is the manufacturer's published information — catalog pages, performance data and installation instructions — marked to show the exact model and options you intend to furnish. An unmarked catalog is not a reviewable submittal.

Samples are physical examples of color, texture or workmanship, such as tile, brick, paint draw-downs or carpet. Mock-ups are full-size assemblies that set the quality standard, such as a masonry panel with flashing and a window.

Other common packages include mix designs, test reports, qualifications, warranties, operation and maintenance data, and delegated-design calculations for items the contractor's team designs, such as stairs, railings or pre-engineered trusses. Construction specifier Kevin O'Beirne, writing for the Construction Specifications Institute (opens in a new tab), notes that shop drawings, product data and samples show how the contractor proposes to comply with the contract. Later packages document whether the installed work did comply.

Typical Division 01 "Submittal Procedures" language, following CSI SectionFormat, splits these into action submittals and informational submittals. Action items (shop drawings, product data and samples) need a written response before you buy, fabricate or install. Informational items are usually filed for the record. Do not treat a "received for record" stamp as approval to fabricate.

Pay applications, change proposals and RFIs are not submittals, even though they also belong in the project record.

#How does the construction submittal process work?

The trade that will furnish or install the work usually prepares the package. The GC reviews it before it goes upstream. That review is not a mailbox stamp. Check the package against the drawings, the specification section, the relevant schedules, and any related RFIs. Look where scopes touch — equipment on steel dunnage, insulated pipe on hangers, a louver hard against a beam — because those conflicts are cheaper to catch on paper than in the field.

If the package is incomplete, unmarked or clearly off-spec, send it back to the trade. If the documents are not clear enough to prepare it, write an RFI instead of guessing. When it is ready, stamp that the GC has reviewed it and send it to the architect so the right consultants see it.

The design team reviews for general conformance with the design concept and the contract documents. Stamp wording varies by office, but the outcomes are consistent:

• Approved (also called no exceptions taken): proceed as submitted.
• Approved as noted (also called make corrections noted): proceed, but incorporate the reviewer's comments. Resubmittal is usually not required unless the stamp says so. If a comment adds cost or time, that is notice toward a change order, not free extra work.
• Revise and resubmit: do not order or fabricate. Correct the issues, cloud the changes, bump the revision and send it through again.
• Rejected: the product or approach does not meet the requirements. Submit a conforming item, or follow the formal substitution procedure.
• For record or information only: filed without a design review. Do not treat it as permission to proceed.

Most contracts require action submittals to be approved before the item is fabricated or installed. Building from an unapproved shop drawing is done at the contractor's risk. After approval, send the stamped set not only to the trade that prepared it, but to every trade the work affects.

If you want to furnish something the specification did not name, that is a substitution request, not a routine product-data submittal. Say so clearly.

#What should a construction submittal log include?

The package is only half the value. The log is how you keep long-lead items off the critical path and how you prove, months later, what was submitted, when, and what came back.

Build the first version from the specifications, then check the drawings for items the specs imply but do not list cleanly, such as fixture types or hardware sets. PMs on r/ConstructionManagers describe this first pass as a days-long job that then gets opened every week for the rest of the project.

At a minimum, track a unique number and a searchable title; the specification section; the type (shop drawing, product data, sample, mock-up or closeout); who prepares it and who reviews it; the date required from the sub, the date sent to the design team and the date a response is due; status; the current revision; lead time after approval; the scheduled need-on-site date; whether the current dates still make the schedule; and a link to the stamped file.

Keep one official record. Two logs are how "date submitted" and "date returned" disagree when you need them to match. Software that auto-builds a log from specification language still needs a person to drop items that do not apply and to split a single "light fixtures" line into the long-lead types and the stock types.

#How do you set submittal due dates from the install date?

Work backward from when the material or fabricated item has to be on site, not forward from when the sub happens to send the package.

Start with the install or need-on-site date on the current schedule. Subtract fabrication and shipping lead time. Subtract the design team's review period, which is stated in Division 01 and is usually counted in working days. Subtract time for the GC's own review. Then subtract a resubmittal buffer for anything likely to come back marked up — structural steel, curtain wall, custom millwork, long-lead equipment. The date you land on is when the complete package has to leave the sub.

A foundation pour in two weeks outranks paint samples due next quarter, even if both landed in your inbox the same morning. Review open items in weekly owner meetings, oldest and most overdue first, and separate "we are waiting on a stamp" from "we cannot buy this until someone answers an RFI."

Field conditions that show up on a construction daily report — a delivered product that does not match the approved cut sheet, or a mock-up the owner walked — belong in the same record so the log and the jobsite tell the same story.

#What is the difference between a submittal, an RFI and a change order?

A submittal shows how you propose to meet requirements that are already in the contract. An RFI asks a question when those documents are not clear enough to prepare the submittal or to install the work. A change order is a signed agreement that changes the scope, the contract sum, the contract time, or some combination of the three.

They connect more often than people admit. An approved-as-noted comment can tell you to furnish a different model or add work the drawing never showed. That stamp is not permission to invoice the extra. Give written notice and follow the change-order process.

Because submittals are not contract documents, an approved shop drawing cannot rewrite the drawings or specifications. Do not treat an approved cut sheet as a free upgrade you can bill, and do not treat a stamp as a substitute for a signed change.

#What are the most common submittal mistakes?

• Sending unmarked catalogs. If the reviewer cannot tell which model and options you mean, the package will bounce.
• Using the GC as a mailbox. Forwarding a package you have not checked against the drawings, specs and related RFIs just moves the delay upstream.
• Starting fabrication before approval. Revise-and-resubmit on an item already in production is how you eat the cost of the first run.
• Hiding a substitution. If it is not what was specified, say so and follow the substitution procedure.
• Treating a stamp as a change order. Comments that add cost or time still need notice and a signed change.
• Ignoring approved-as-noted markups. The supplier has to build to the comments, not to the file they originally sent.
• Dating from "when we got around to it." Long-lead items need submit-by dates worked backward from the install date, including a resubmittal buffer.
• Keeping two logs, or leaving the only copy in email. If it is not numbered in one official record, follow-up becomes a scavenger hunt.
• Sending the approved set only to the trade that prepared it. Adjacent trades need the same stamped information.

#Where CooperBuild AI fits

Most late submittals are not a writing problem. The cut sheet started in a trade's inbox, bounced through email, and never became a single numbered record with a need-by date tied to the schedule.

CooperBuild AI keeps the job, project chat, daily reports, billing and built-in accounting (general ledger, payables and receivables) in one workspace, and it connects to QuickBooks Online if that is where your books live. When someone flags a missing shop drawing or a long-lead cut sheet in the job chat, it can be picked up as an action item instead of disappearing in a thread. If a review comment adds scope, you can price and bill the change in the same place as the estimate.

If submittals and RFIs are living in inboxes, start a 14-day free trial, no credit card needed, and run the next package on a live job.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Submittal procedures, review periods and approval requirements depend on your contract and your project specifications.

#FAQ

#What is a submittal in construction?

A submittal is a document, drawing, sample or mock-up the contract requires the contractor to send to the architect or engineer to show exactly what will be furnished or how it will be built, before it is ordered or installed. Shop drawings, product data and samples are the most common types.

#What is the difference between a shop drawing and a submittal?

A shop drawing is one type of submittal: a project-specific drawing or schedule showing how a custom or site-specific item will be fabricated and installed. Product data, samples, mock-ups, mix designs and closeout manuals are also submittals.

#Are approved submittals contract documents?

No. An approved submittal shows how the contractor proposes to comply with the contract. It does not change the drawings, the specifications, the contract sum or the contract time. If the response adds or changes work, you still need a signed change order.

#Who reviews construction submittals?

The subcontractor or supplier usually prepares the package. The general contractor reviews it for completeness, compliance and coordination with other trades, then sends it to the architect or engineer. The design team reviews it for conformance with the design concept and the contract documents and returns an action.

#What should a construction submittal log include?

A unique number and searchable title, the specification section, the type, who prepares and who reviews it, the dates required, sent and due back, status, revision, lead time, the need-on-site date, whether current dates still make the schedule, and a link to the stamped file.