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Checklist, contract review

Construction contract review checklist for US contractors

The short answer

Review a construction contract by reading the agreement, general conditions and every supplementary condition against the standard form, clause by clause. Check liquidated damages, indemnity, delay and time extensions, payment and retainage, changes, notice deadlines, termination, disputes and flow-down. Each deviation from AIA A201 or ConsensusDocs is a question for the owner, the GC or counsel.

Tushar Adsul
Written by Tushar Adsul Founder and CEO, BAU AI
Reviewed by BAU AI Standards Team Published 2026-05-28, updated 2026-10-21

This checklist is general information, not legal advice. Section numbers refer to AIA A201-2017, A101-2017 and the ConsensusDocs 200 text revised in 2014.

What should a construction contract review checklist cover?

Thirteen clause families, in the order a reviewer usually reads them. For each, find the clause in the agreement, the general conditions and the supplementary conditions, and note every change from the standard text.

ClauseWhat to checkStandard referenceGuide
Contract documentsWhat is incorporated, and which document wins in a conflictAgreement list of documents; A201 1.2
Liquidated damagesRate, cap, milestones, sole-remedy wordingA101-2017 3.3.3 and 4.5; A201 8.3.1LD guide
IndemnityBroad, intermediate or limited form; duty to defendA201 3.18; ConsensusDocs 200 10.1; Tex. Ins. Code Ch. 151Indemnity guide
Delay and timeCauses that extend time; any no-damage-for-delay clauseA201 8.3.1 and 8.3.3; ConsensusDocs 200 6.3Delay guide
Consequential damagesMutual waiver kept, and what it already waivesA201 15.1.7; ConsensusDocs 200 6.6
Payment and retainagePayment timing, retainage (retention), pay-if-paid for subsA201 Article 9 (9.6.2); Tex. Bus. and Com. Code Ch. 56Payment guide
ChangesDirected work before price is agreed; markup; timeA201 7.3; ConsensusDocs 200 8.2.1
Site conditionsRelief for concealed or differing conditionsA201 3.7.4; ConsensusDocs 200 3.16.2; FAR 52.236-2
Notice and claimsDeadlines that can forfeit a claimA201 15.1.2 and 15.1.3
TerminationWhat you are paid on termination for convenienceA201 14.4.3; ConsensusDocs 200 11.4.2
Insurance and bondsLimits, additional insured scope, bond formsA201 Article 11
DisputesWho decides first; venue and governing lawA201 15.2; ConsensusDocs 200 Article 12; Tex. Bus. and Com. Code 272.001Form comparison
Flow-downWhat passes to subs, and whether it matches the primeA201 5.3; AIA A401; ConsensusDocs 750Subcontract checklist

Which contract forms will you see in US commercial construction?

Knowing the base form tells you what "standard" means for every deviation.

Form familyPublisherTypical useSubcontract form
AIA A201 with A101 or A102American Institute of ArchitectsPrivate commercial, design-bid-build, healthcare, educationA401
ConsensusDocs 200Coalition of industry associations led by AGCOwners who want a balanced baseline; design-build and CMARConsensusDocs 750
EJCDCEngineers Joint Contract Documents CommitteeWater, wastewater, utilities and other engineered public worksEJCDC subcontract forms
Federal (FAR 52 clauses) and owner formsFederal agencies, large institutional ownersFederal projects, state DOTs, health systemsFlow-down clauses

What does a missed clause cost? An illustrative example

Illustrative scenario, invented numbers

A general contractor prices a mixed-use job in Travis County, TX on AIA A101 and A201. The agreement (A101 Section 4.5) sets LDs at $7,500 per day. On page 41, the supplementary conditions add $3,500 per day for missing the structural topping-out milestone, and no cap on either.

$660,000 Combined LDs if the structure finishes 60 days late and substantial completion slips the same 60 days: 60 x ($7,500 + $3,500).

The lesson is where the risk sat: in the supplementary conditions, not the base form. The checklist response is to ask for a combined cap and to confirm that A201 8.3.1 time extensions still apply to the milestone.

When should you bring in counsel?

Use the checklist for the first pass; send structural risk to counsel:

Dora, BAU AI's contract review agent, does the first pass. She checks prime contracts and subcontracts against AIA and ConsensusDocs, flags the clauses on this checklist that shift risk to you, and cites each to its clause and page. Your team and counsel decide.

Clause-by-clause guides

Guide 1 Liquidated damages Where LDs sit in AIA documents, the Texas enforceability test, exposure math. Read guide → Guide 2 Indemnification clauses Broad, intermediate and limited form; Texas Chapter 151. Read guide → Guide 3 No-damage-for-delay What the clause does, court exceptions, A201 8.3 and 15.1.7. Read guide → Guide 4 Pay-when-paid vs pay-if-paid Texas Chapter 56 and a state table. Read guide → Guide 5 AIA vs ConsensusDocs The two contract families compared clause by clause. Read guide → Guide 6 Subcontract review checklist Seven clauses that decide whether the sub gets paid. Read guide →

For A201 clause numbers in one list, see the 12 AIA A201 clauses to watch.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a lawyer to review a construction contract?

Use a checklist for the first pass and bring counsel in for structural risk: uncapped LDs, broad-form indemnity, pay-if-paid, no-damage-for-delay, lien waivers and governing-law issues. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

What are supplementary conditions?

Project-specific edits to the standard general conditions, such as AIA A201 or ConsensusDocs 200. They are where owners usually change risk allocation, so read them line by line against the base form.

What should a subcontractor check first?

Flow-down, indemnity form, payment terms and any no-damage-for-delay clause. The subcontract review checklist covers each with a position to take.

Can AI review construction contracts?

AI can do the reading and the first pass: extract clauses, compare them with the standard form and cite each deviation to its page. The decision stays with your team and counsel.

How does BAU AI handle contract documents?

Documents are stored and processed in the US, encrypted in transit and at rest, and never used to train models. BAU AI's SOC 2 Type II audit is underway.

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In a 15-minute call we run a contract through the agents with you, with every finding cited to its clause and page.

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