A submittal is documentation the contractor provides to the design team for review before a portion of the work proceeds, showing exactly what will be fabricated, purchased, or installed. The common types are shop drawings, product data, and samples. Review confirms the proposed items conform to the design intent expressed in the contract documents.
Why submittals exist
Drawings and specifications describe design intent, and often name products by performance rather than by manufacturer. The submittal is where intent meets the specific item the contractor plans to use. The architect or engineer reviews it before fabrication or ordering, when a wrong product or a misread detail is still cheap to correct.
The general conditions define the categories and the review standard. Under AIA A201-2017 §3.12, shop drawings, product data, and samples are not contract documents; their purpose is to demonstrate how the contractor proposes to conform to the design. Specification section 01 33 00 (Submittal Procedures, in CSI MasterFormat) sets the mechanics on most projects: numbering, formats, quantities, and timing.
What the review does and does not mean
The design team's review is for conformance with design intent, and the standard action stamps say so: "reviewed", "reviewed as noted", "revise and resubmit", "rejected". Review does not relieve the contractor of responsibility for dimensions, quantities, fabrication processes, or coordinating the work; A201 §3.12 states this explicitly. Design firms are careful here because an over-broad approval stamp can pull fabrication liability onto the architect.
For the design team, submittals are a scheduling obligation as well as a review task. The contractor builds a submittal schedule early in the project; a slow review cycle on a long-lead item, structural steel or curtain wall for example, moves the critical path directly.
Worked example
On a school project, the specification requires an acoustic ceiling panel with NRC 0.90 or better. The contractor submits product data for a panel rated NRC 0.85 because it is available six weeks sooner. The architect marks the submittal "revise and resubmit", citing the specified performance, and notes that a substitution request with the schedule justification is the correct channel if the contractor wants the alternative considered. The distinction keeps the record clean: the submittal review judges conformance, and the substitution process, with the owner's knowledge, judges trade-offs.
Related terms
- Transmittal: the cover record that documents sending a submittal package.
- RFI: the channel for questions about the documents. Submittals show intent; RFIs ask questions.
- Construction administration: the service phase in which the design team reviews submittals.
- Document control: how submittal versions and statuses are tracked across a project.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a submittal and a submission? In construction the two are not interchangeable. A submittal is the defined contract instrument: shop drawings, product data, or samples provided for design review under the general conditions. A submission is just the generic act of handing something in. A bid, a permit application, or a report may be a submission; only the §3.12 review items are submittals.
What are the main types of submittals? Shop drawings (fabrication-level drawings produced by the contractor or fabricator), product data (manufacturer catalog sheets and performance data), and samples (physical examples of materials or finishes). Projects also track administrative submittals such as schedules, warranties, and closeout documents.
Who reviews submittals? The architect, who routes discipline-specific items to the engineers of record. The general contractor reviews and approves each submittal before forwarding it; a submittal arriving without the contractor's own review stamp is commonly returned unreviewed.
Are submittals contract documents? No. Under AIA A201-2017 §3.12 they demonstrate how the contractor proposes to conform to the contract documents, and design review does not amend the contract.
How long does submittal review take? The contract or Section 01 33 00 sets the window; 10 to 14 calendar days is common. Long-lead items get priority because review time sits directly on the procurement path.
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