Construction RFI Template

What an RFI is for

A request for information is how a contractor gets a gap in the documents resolved in writing. The drawings show a unit but no drain. The spec calls for a product the submittal reviewer rejected. A field condition does not match the plan. You could call the architect — and for “which way does this door swing” you should — but when the answer could change scope, price or schedule, the question and the answer both need dates and names on them. The RFI is that record, and the RFI log is the index to it.

Do not proceed on an assumption. The cheapest RFI is the one sent the day the gap is noticed; the most expensive is the one never sent, discovered at closeout.

Field-by-field notes

• To, and via. Most subcontracts route RFIs through the GC, who forwards them to the architect or engineer. Name the design professional on the first line and the GC contact on the “via” line so the log shows who has had it and for how long.
• Spec section, drawing and detail. Be exact: sheet number, revision, detail number, spec paragraph. The reviewer should be able to open the document and see the gap without a phone call.
• Response required by. A date, not “ASAP”. Count the turnaround in your contract from the day you send it, and put the date the work is scheduled in the hold line if that is sooner.
• Information requested. The question first, then the evidence. One question. Numbered sub-parts are fine if they are the same question (“confirm (1) the point of discharge and (2) the pipe material”).
• Suggested answer. What you intend to do and what it changes. This is the box most RFI forms leave out and the one that shortens the loop the most.
• Impact flags. Cost and schedule at none / possible / likely, plus work on hold. If work is on hold, say what is waiting — “AHU-3 set proceeds; final drain piping on hold” tells the reviewer exactly what their delay costs.
• Response block. The answer, who gave it, the date, distribution, and what kind of answer it is: a clarification with no change, a change to be priced on a change order, or a rejection. That third checkbox row is what stops an RFI reply being treated as authorization.

A worked example

The preview shows the completed example that ships with the download. On August 24, 2026 a mechanical subcontractor sends RFI-014 to the architect of record, via the GC’s project manager: the Level 2 mechanical plan locates AHU-3 in a mechanical room but shows no condensate drain or point of discharge, while the plumbing plan puts the nearest floor sink 32 feet away and the spec requires a trapped connection to an approved receptor. The RFI cites the sheet, the paragraph and the approved submittal, asks one two-part question, and suggests an answer: a 2″ copper drain along the north wall, core-drilled through the slab to the floor sink, priced as a change order if accepted. Cost impact is flagged likely, schedule possible, and the hold line says the unit set proceeds while the final piping waits. The architect confirms the routing on September 2, issues the revised sheet M-402 Rev. 2, ticks “change — price and time by change order”, and signs. Two weeks later that answer becomes change order CO-003 for $5,784.50 and three calendar days, with RFI-014 on its reference line. That is the loop working.

RFI vs. change order vs. submittal

An RFI asks a question about the documents and gets an answer; it changes nothing by itself. A change order is the signed agreement on the scope, price and time of a change — the only one of the three that moves the contract sum. A submittal is the reverse direction: you send the reviewer what you propose to install (shop drawings, product data, samples) and they approve, revise or reject it. A rejected submittal often triggers an RFI; an RFI answer often triggers a change order. Keep the numbers cross-referenced so the chain can be followed a year later.

If the answer changes price or time, that is a change order — attach this RFI as backup, do not treat the reply as authorization. If the GC directs the work before the change order is signed, track the cost on a T&M ticket the same day.

Using the RFI log

The Excel workbook is a 30-row RFI log with dropdowns for status (open, answered, closed, void) and cost and schedule impact. Days open counts from the submitted date to the responded date, or to today while the RFI is unanswered. The response-due cell turns red once it has passed with no answer. The counts at the top — open, answered, overdue, with cost impact, and the average days to answer — are the numbers to put on the agenda of the next progress meeting. Every formula has been checked with real dates.

Common mistakes this form is built to prevent

• Bundling four questions into one RFI, then getting one vague answer.
• Sending it with no response date, so it is never late.
• Asking without suggesting, so the reviewer starts from zero.
• Leaving the impact flags blank on an RFI that is holding up work.
• Treating “confirmed, proceed” as authorization for extra cost.
• Closing the RFI when the answer arrives instead of when the change order is signed.

Many RFIs start at bid time, as the assumptions you wrote down while reading the plans for a takeoff. When an answer changes price or time, our guide to change order management covers pricing it and getting it approved.