The NEC templates that most jobs need are an early warning notice and register, a compensation event notice and quotation, an instruction, a programme submission note and a set of short reply letters. This page lists them by who uses them and when, with links to each, all in our own wording rather than NEC text.
Use them as a starting point. Your Scope or Client may require its own forms, and Z clauses can add content that a notice has to include. For the routines they support, see managing NEC contracts. The clause numbers on them assume the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC), so change them if you are on another form.
Templates by task
| Task | Template | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Warning about a problem | Early warning notice | Project Manager, Contractor |
| Tracking warnings | Early warning register | Project Manager keeps it |
| Notifying a compensation event | Compensation event notice | Contractor, Project Manager |
| Pricing an event | Quotation | Contractor, or Project Manager for its own assessment |
| Instructing | Project Manager instruction | Project Manager |
| Submitting a programme | Programme submission | Contractor |
| Reviewing a programme | Programme review checklist | Project Manager |
| Replying, reminding, extending | Letter templates | All |
| Tracking events | Compensation event register | Both sides, shared |
| Tracking everything else | Register fields list | Both sides |
Set-up order on a new contract
- Before the starting date: Agree the numbering, and create the empty registers. Adapt the headers to your project and put the actual reply periods into the letters.
- Week 1: Have the early warning register and meeting notes ready, since NEC4 has dates for them (15.2).
- By the first programme date: Prepare the programme note and checklist.
- By the first likely event: Have the compensation event notice and quotation sheet in the hands of whoever will use them, including site managers. Give site teams a simple "tell the commercial team today" prompt.
- By the first assessment date: Settle the application and certificate formats. See payment applications.
Templates by stage of the event
A compensation event alone can use five documents. This is how they follow on from one another.
| Stage | Document | Clock |
|---|---|---|
| Something might happen | Early warning notice | As soon as aware (15.1) |
| It has happened | Contractor's notice | 8 weeks from awareness (61.3) |
| Reply | 61.4 reply letter | 1 week |
| Price it | Quotation and any revised programme | 3 weeks from the instruction (62.3) |
| Decide | Acceptance, revision instruction, or notice of own assessment | 2 weeks (62.3) |
What to watch when adapting a template
- Form and edition. Role names, clause numbers and periods all shift. An NEC4 template on an NEC3 job looks careless and could cite the wrong rule: early warnings are at 16 in NEC3 ECC and 15 in NEC4, for example.
- Periods in the template body. Don't hard-code them unless you've checked the contract. The subcontract has different ones. See NEC time periods.
- Automatic text. A standard paragraph saying "this is without prejudice" or reserving all rights may conflict with the tone of mutual trust you need, and adds little in most routine notices.
- Too many versions. Keep one controlled master in one location. Three teams with three versions will drift.
- Copying from elsewhere. NEC's text is copyright. Short clause references are the safe way to point at the contract. Don't paste clauses in.
Related guides
- Managing NEC Contracts: A Practical Guide
- Tracking NEC Contracts in Spreadsheets
- Keeping a Clear NEC Audit Trail
- Managing NEC Subcontracts
- Programme Submission Template
- NEC Forms: What You Need
See how this works in practice
Click through Contract Status with sample contracts: raise the notice, reply to it, and watch both sides of one record.
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This guide is general information in our own words, not legal advice. Your contract and its Contract Data always govern. NEC, NEC3 and NEC4 are trade marks of Thomas Telford Ltd; Contract Status is not affiliated with or endorsed by NEC.