The Final Assessment

The NEC final assessment is the NEC4 step that settles the final amount due under the contract. The Project Manager has to make it no later than four weeks after the Defects Certificate, or thirteen weeks after a termination certificate, and it becomes conclusive unless a Party challenges it in time.

This step is new in NEC4, at clauses 53.1 to 53.4. NEC3 has no equivalent, and in NEC3 clause 53 is about the Contractor's share. For the practical side, see closing out the final account, and for the wider picture, the NEC payment and Defined Cost guide.

What each clause does

Clause	Rule
53.1	The Project Manager assesses the final amount due, gives details, and certifies any final payment within the time allowed
53.2	If the Project Manager misses that time, the Contractor may issue its own assessment, with details
53.3	An assessment issued in time settles the final amount due as conclusive evidence, unless a Party takes the listed dispute steps
53.4	The assessment is changed to reflect an agreement or an Adjudicator's decision not taken to the tribunal in time, and that changed assessment then becomes conclusive

The thirteen-week period is for the ECC. The NEC4 subcontract uses fourteen weeks, while its four weeks after the Defects Certificate matches. The final payment in the subcontract text is due within three weeks of the assessment or within a different period stated in the Subcontract Data. Check your ECC for its exact wording, as well as Y2.2, which sets due dates for the final payment in its own way.

The challenge window

Clause 53.3 is the part to diarise. In the NEC4 subcontract text, which uses ECC numbers, the steps are as follows.

Step	Option W1	Option W2
Refer the dispute	To the Senior Representatives, four weeks at most from the issue of the assessment	To the Senior Representatives or the Adjudicator, on the same four-week timing
Unresolved issues	To the Adjudicator, three weeks at most after the list of issues was produced or should have been	To the Adjudicator, on the same three-week timing
Dissatisfied with the decision	To the tribunal, within four weeks of the decision	To the tribunal, within four weeks of the decision

Read Option W1, W2 or W3 in your own contract too, since they contain the detail on how each step is done. Our time limits guide sets out the others.

Worked example

A fictional Option A contract with illustrative dates and figures.

1. The Supervisor issues the Defects Certificate on 1 June.
2. The Project Manager has until 29 June to assess. It issues the assessment on 25 June showing £4,120,000 as the final amount due, against £4,080,000 already paid. It certifies a final payment of £40,000.
3. The Contractor believes £35,000 for a compensation event has been left out. It must act within four weeks of 25 June, by 23 July.
4. It refers the point to the Senior Representatives on 15 July. The other amounts in the assessment are not in dispute.
5. The Senior Representatives agree £20,000 on the issue. The assessment is changed to include that agreement under 53.4, and it becomes conclusive.

If the Contractor hadn't acted by 23 July, the assessment would have become conclusive at £4,120,000, without the £35,000.

If the Project Manager misses the date

The Contractor doesn't lose out. It can issue its own assessment of the final amount due, with details. If the Project Manager agrees, the payment follows. If not, either Party can still use the dispute steps. Whether the Contractor's assessment is also conclusive depends on the words "issued within the time stated" in your own contract. Take advice if this becomes important.

What people get wrong

• Treating four weeks as a soft target. It's a contract date, and it triggers the Contractor's rights.
• Thinking the assessment waits for everything to finish. Compensation events and other items need to be settled in time, as NEC4 doesn't extend the date for them.
• Keeping the last-minute dispute for later. Once the four weeks pass, the door may close on the whole figure, not just one line.
• Forgetting NEC3 is different. NEC3 contracts have no conclusive step in the core clauses, unless a Z clause adds it, and the NEC4 finalising amounts guide explains the change.

Related guides

• NEC Payment and Defined Cost: The Complete Guide
• Closing Out the Final Account
• Open Book and Cost Records
• Auditing Defined Cost
• Making an NEC Payment Application
• Pay Less Notices Under NEC

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.