Free template
Submittal log template: every submittal, one line each
Track shop drawings, product data and samples by spec section, from the day they are due to the reviewer's final action. The whole log is on this page. The Excel file adds dropdowns for type, action and status, a due date that calculates itself and a days in review count.
By Nicolás PlateroCCO
What a submittal log is for
Submittals are how the contractor shows, before building, how it plans to meet the contract documents. AIA A201-2017 names the three classic kinds: shop drawings prepared for the work, product data such as catalog sheets and performance charts, and samples that set the standard the work will be judged by (Section 3.12). They are not contract documents themselves (Section 3.12.4), and the architect reviews them for a limited purpose: conformance with the information given and the design concept expressed in the documents (Section 4.2.7).
The log is the working version of the submittal schedule. A201 asks the contractor to submit one for the architect's approval promptly after award, coordinated with the construction schedule and allowing the architect reasonable time to review. A contractor that skips it, or does not follow it, gives up any claim to extra time or money for review time (Section 3.10.2). One row per submittal, sorted by spec section, answers the two questions every coordination meeting asks: what is late, and whose desk is it on. A question about the documents that comes up while preparing a submittal goes out separately, as an RFI.
The kinds of submittals
The federal Unified Facilities Guide Specifications sort submittals into eleven types, and the Type dropdown in the log uses them:
- Preconstruction submittals
- What is needed before or at the start of work on site.
- Shop drawings
- Drawings, diagrams and schedules prepared to show a portion of the work.
- Product data
- Catalog cuts, performance charts, instructions and brochures.
- Samples
- Physical examples, including field mock ups, that set the standard the work is judged by.
- Design data
- Calculations, mix designs and other analyses.
- Test reports
- Results of lab, factory or field tests.
- Certificates
- Signed statements that a product, system or procedure meets the specification.
- Manufacturer's instructions
- Installation instructions and safety data sheets.
- Manufacturer's field reports
- Testing and checks by the manufacturer's representative at the site.
- O&M data
- Operation and maintenance information for the people who will run the building.
- Closeout submittals
- Record drawings, as builts and what else closes the contract.
The template: the submittal log
One row per submittal, in spec section order. Due back and days in review calculate themselves, and the due date turns red once it passes with nothing returned. The three example rows follow one door package through a review, a rejection and a resubmittal.
Slide the table sideways to see every column.
| Submittal No. | Spec section | Section title | Description | Type | Action or info | Subcontractor / supplier | Planned submit | Date submitted | Reviewer | Due back | Date returned | Review action | Status | Ball in court | Days in review | Lead time (weeks) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example081113.01 | 08 11 13 | Hollow Metal Doors and Frames | Shop drawings for all frames | Shop drawings | Action | Door and frame supplier | 03/30/2026 | 04/01/2026 | Architect | 04/16/2026 | 04/14/2026 | Make corrections noted | Closed | Empty | 13 | 6 | Empty |
| Example087100.01 | 08 71 00 | Door Hardware | Hardware schedule and product data | Product data | Action | Hardware supplier | 04/03/2026 | 04/06/2026 | Architect | 04/21/2026 | 04/20/2026 | Revise and resubmit | Resubmit required | Contractor | 14 | 8 | Sets do not match the door schedule |
| Example087100.01.A | 08 71 00 | Door Hardware | Hardware schedule, resubmittal | Product data | Action | Hardware supplier | 04/27/2026 | 04/27/2026 | Architect | 05/12/2026 | Empty | Empty | In review | Architect | Still open | 8 | Empty |
Numbering that sorts itself
Use the spec section number, a period and a sequence: 087100.01 is the first submittal under Section 08 71 00. A resubmittal keeps its number and adds a letter, so 087100.01.A sorts right under the original. That is the format of the University of Houston's master specification; federal UFGS projects add a decimal instead, so submittal 18 comes back as 18.1. If you need the section numbers themselves, see the list of CSI MasterFormat divisions.
What goes in each column
- Submittal No.
- Spec section plus a sequence (087100.01). Resubmittals add a letter (087100.01.A).
- Spec section
- MasterFormat section number that requires the submittal.
- Section title
- Title of that section.
- Description
- What is being submitted.
- TypeDropdown
- The kind of submittal, using the categories of the federal guide specification (UFGS 01 33 00).Preconstruction submittalsShop drawingsProduct dataSamplesDesign dataTest reportsCertificatesManufacturer's instructionsManufacturer's field reportsO&M dataCloseout submittals
- Action or infoDropdown
- Action submittals need the architect's response. Informational ones are for the record.ActionInformational
- Subcontractor / supplier
- Who prepares it.
- Planned submitDate
- Date from the submittal schedule, worked back from when the material is needed.
- Date submittedDate
- Day it reached the architect.
- Reviewer
- Architect or the consultant who reviews it.
- Due backCalculated
- Calculated: date submitted plus the review period. Turns red when it passes with no return.
- Date returnedDate
- Day the reviewed submittal came back.
- Review actionDropdown
- The action on the reviewer's stamp. See the Review Actions sheet.No exceptions takenMake corrections notedRevise and resubmitNot acceptable for reviewReceived for record only
- StatusDropdown
- Where it stands. Closed means the work covered by it may proceed and nothing else is owed.Not yet submittedIn reviewReturnedResubmit requiredClosed
- Ball in courtDropdown
- Who has to act next.ContractorArchitectConsultantOwner
- Days in reviewCalculated
- Calculated: days from submitted to returned, or to today while it is in review.
- Lead time (weeks)Number
- Fabrication and delivery time after approval, from the supplier.
- Notes
- Anything the next person needs to know.
Review actions, explained
The reviewer stamps every action submittal. Wording varies from firm to firm, so match the dropdown to your own stamp. These five follow the example stamp language in the Chicago Public Schools Division 01 specification, next to the closest review code in the federal UFGS 01 33 00.
Slide the table sideways to see every column.
| Action on the stamp | What it means | Can the work proceed? | Closest federal code |
|---|---|---|---|
| No exceptions taken | The submittal conforms. No further review is needed. | Yes, per the contract documents | A: Approved as submitted |
| Make corrections noted | Incorporate the reviewer's corrections. No resubmittal, unless the contractor cannot comply with them. | Yes, with the corrections | AN: Approved as noted |
| Revise and resubmit | The submittal is deficient or deviates from the contract documents. Revise as noted and submit again. | No | RR: Disapproved as submitted, resubmit |
| Not acceptable for review | Too incomplete or off track to review. Prepare a new submittal. | No | NR: Not reviewed |
| Received for record only | Informational submittal, filed without review. It is not an approval. | Not an approval | RA: Receipt acknowledged |
Two things follow from the table. Only the first two let fabrication start, and a submittal marked rejected should never reach the site. And a stamp does not change the contract: under A201, an approved submittal still does not authorize a deviation from the documents unless the contractor flagged it at the time of submittal and it was approved in writing as a minor change, or covered by a change order or construction change directive (Section 3.12.8).
How to keep a submittal log honest
1. Build it from the specs, not from memory
Go section by section through the project manual and add a row for every submittal each section asks for. The federal guide specification builds its register the same way, and keeps items that turn out not to apply in the list, marked N/A with a short reason, so nobody wonders later whether they were forgotten.
2. Work backward from the day the material is needed
The planned submit date is the need date minus delivery, fabrication, review and at least one round of corrections. The University of Houston's master specification asks for exactly those allowances when the contractor sets its submittal schedule. The Lead time column holds the supplier's number for that math.
3. Mark each row action or informational
Action submittals need the reviewer's response; informational ones are filed for the record. The same specification defines the two, and marking them keeps the reviewer's queue down to what actually needs a stamp.
4. Keep one number for the life of a submittal
A resubmittal is the same item with a letter added (087100.01.A), not a new number. Its whole history, including how many rounds it took, stays together when the log is sorted.
5. Send related items together
The University of Houston specification lets the architect hold a submittal until the related ones arrive. Door hardware, for instance, is checked against the doors and frames and the door schedule, so it moves faster in the same package.
6. Give the reviewer the time the spec gives
Set the review period on the How to use sheet to what your Division 01 says. The University of Houston's master specification allows 15 days per review and per resubmittal; the federal guide specification defaults to 30 calendar days. Due back counts from the day the submittal went in.
7. Record the stamp word for word
Copy the action exactly as stamped, because the difference matters on site: make corrections noted lets the work proceed, revise and resubmit does not. The Chicago Public Schools specification bars submittals marked rejected from the site and from anywhere work is in progress.
8. Remember what the review does not check
Under AIA A201, the architect reviews submittals only for conformance with the design concept and the information in the documents. Dimensions, quantities and installation instructions stay the contractor's responsibility, stamp or no stamp (Section 4.2.7).
Submittals move faster when the documents behind them are complete.
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Questions, answered
What is a submittal log?
A submittal log is the running list of every submittal on a project: shop drawings, product data, samples and the rest, one row each, with its spec section, the dates it was planned, submitted and returned, the reviewer's action and who has to act next. It is the working version of the submittal schedule that AIA A201 asks the contractor to prepare after the contract is awarded.
What columns should a submittal log have?
At minimum: submittal number, spec section, description, type, who prepares it, planned and actual submit dates, reviewer, date returned, review action and status. This template adds action or informational, a due back date calculated from your review period, days in review, ball in court and lead time, which is what turns the log from a record into a scheduling tool.
What does “make corrections noted” mean on a submittal?
It means the work covered by the submittal may proceed, as long as the contractor incorporates the reviewer's corrections, and no resubmittal is needed unless the contractor cannot comply with them. It is not the same as “revise and resubmit”, which means the submittal is deficient or deviates from the documents and that work may not proceed until a revised version is reviewed.
How long does the architect have to review a submittal?
Whatever the contract sets. AIA A201 ties the architect's review to the approved submittal schedule or, without one, to reasonable promptness with enough time for an adequate review. Specifications usually put a number on it: the University of Houston's master specification allows 15 days per review, and the federal UFGS 01 33 00 defaults to 30 calendar days for Contracting Officer review.
Are submittals part of the contract documents?
No. AIA A201 says shop drawings, product data, samples and similar submittals are not contract documents; they show how the contractor proposes to conform to them. An approved submittal does not change the contract either. A deviation has to be flagged at the time of submittal and approved in writing as a minor change, or authorized by a change order or construction change directive.
Who keeps the submittal log, the contractor or the architect?
The contractor prepares the submittal schedule and usually keeps the master log, since it controls when each submittal goes out. The architect keeps its own record of what came in, when, and what action it took. The federal guide specification spells it out on Army projects: the contractor maintains the complete list, including the dates the government received and returned each submittal.
Sources: AIA Document A201-2017, General Conditions, sample pages (AIA Contract Documents); AIA Document A201-2017, University of Wisconsin System edition; UFGS 01 33 00, Submittal Procedures (USACE, NAVFAC and AFCEC, via WBDG); University of Houston Master Construction Specifications, Section 01 33 00; Chicago Public Schools, Section 01 33 00 Submittal Procedures.
Last updated September 23, 2026.