How to Draft a FIDIC Notice of Claim: Requirements, Common Mistakes and Examples

A FIDIC Notice of Claim should do one thing particularly well: make clear that a specific event or circumstance is being notified as a contractual claim.

It does not usually need to contain the contractor's complete delay analysis, final quantum or full evidential case. Those matters are developed through the subsequent claim process.

But that does not mean a generic "we reserve our rights" email is enough.

A properly drafted notice needs to be built around the actual contract, the actual event and the applicable notice procedure. Particular Conditions frequently amend the standard FIDIC position, so copying language from another project can create unnecessary risk.

For the wider Clause 20.2 procedure and deadlines, see our guide to FIDIC Sub-Clause 20.2 Notices of Claim.

What does a FIDIC Notice of Claim need to achieve?

At a practical level, the recipient should be able to understand:

• that the communication is intended to be a Notice of Claim;
• which event or circumstance has triggered it;
• when that event occurred or became known;
• which contractual route is being invoked;
• whether the contractor may be seeking additional time, payment or both; and
• that the consequences will be further substantiated where required.

Under the standard 1999 FIDIC contractor-claims procedure, notice must be given as soon as practicable and no later than 28 days after the contractor became aware, or should have become aware, of the relevant event or circumstance. The standard 2017 claims procedure also uses a 28-day initial notice period.

Stage	1999 Red, Yellow and Silver Books	2017 Red, Yellow and Silver Books
Initial Notice of Claim	Within 28 days of awareness (Sub-Clause 20.1)	Within 28 days of awareness (Sub-Clause 20.2.1)
Fully detailed claim	Within 42 days of awareness (Sub-Clause 20.1)	Within 84 days of awareness (Sub-Clause 20.2.4)
Programme or progress report as a substitute for notice	Only if recognizable as a claim	Not permitted (Sub-Clauses 4.20 and 8.3)

Those standard periods can be amended. The executed contract governs.

Start with the event, not the claim value

One of the easiest ways to overcomplicate a notice is to begin by trying to calculate the final entitlement.

Instead, start with the event.

Ask:

What happened?

When?

What should have happened instead?

What part of the works is affected?

For example, this is weak:

Access problems continue to affect our works and we reserve all rights.

It tells the recipient very little.

Something closer to this is much more useful:

Access to Area C was required under [contractual provision/document] by 6 May 2026. Access has not been provided and the planned drainage works cannot commence.

That identifies a particular event, obligation, location and date.

The detailed programme consequences and cost build-up can then be dealt with through the claim process.

Identify the contractual route

A Notice of Claim should not be drafted independently of the contract.

Under an applicable unamended 1999 Red or Yellow Book, a contractor claim may proceed under Sub-Clause 20.1. Under the 2017 second editions, the initial Notice of Claim for time or money claims sits under Sub-Clause 20.2.1.

But do not simply insert a clause number from a standard FIDIC form.

Check whether the Particular Conditions have:

• amended the claims provision;
• changed a deadline;
• added information that the notice must contain;
• changed who receives the notice; or
• imposed additional communication requirements.

The objective is not to make the notice sound more legal. It is to make sure you are invoking the contract you actually signed.

Explain the potential effect without inventing the final claim

At the initial-notice stage, the contractor may know that an event is affecting the works without yet knowing its final consequence.

That distinction should be reflected in the drafting.

For example:

The event is causing and/or may cause delay and disruption to the affected works and associated additional cost. The Contractor is assessing the resulting time and cost consequences.

That communicates the potential nature of the claim without asserting a number that has not yet been established.

This is important because the initial notice and fully detailed claim perform different jobs.

Under the standard 1999 procedure, the fully detailed contractor claim generally follows within 42 days of the relevant awareness trigger. Under the standard 2017 procedure, the corresponding period is generally 84 days.

Those periods run from the contractual awareness trigger, not from whenever the initial notice happens to be sent.

For continuing effects, the contract may also require interim submissions before a final claim.

Be deliberate about what you call the document

Do not make the recipient work out whether an ordinary project email was supposed to be a contractual notice.

A subject line such as:

NOTICE OF CLAIM – Delayed Access to Area C

is doing useful work.

This becomes particularly important under the 2017 forms. The second editions introduced more prescriptive notice requirements: Notices must be in writing, identified as Notices and transmitted through the prescribed contractual route.

A weekly report saying that access is delayed may demonstrate that everybody knew about the issue. That is not the same question as whether the required Notice of Claim was given.

Check who must receive it, and how

Good drafting can still be undermined by poor notice administration.

Before issuing a notice, check:

• the required recipient;
• the contractual address;
• whether email or another electronic system is permitted;
• which representatives are authorized to send communications;
• whether copies are required; and
• whether the Particular Conditions change the standard procedure.

Under the 2017 forms, the notice machinery is deliberately formal. Commentary on Sub-Clause 1.3 highlights requirements concerning written form, identification as a Notice, authorized electronic transmission and the specified communications address.

Do not assume that sending something to the person you speak to every day on site is contractually equivalent to serving the required notice.

Common mistakes when drafting a FIDIC Notice of Claim

Waiting until the claim is fully quantified

If the contractual deadline for the initial notice arrives before the delay analysis or quantum is complete, waiting for the "perfect" claim can create a much bigger problem.

Notify first where required. Substantiate within the subsequent contractual timetable.

Being too vague

We have experienced several delays and additional costs.

That does not clearly identify which event or circumstance is being notified.

A notice should allow the recipient to connect the claim to a specific project event.

Treating "all rights reserved" as the notice

A reservation of rights may be useful drafting, but it does not replace compliance with the actual notice requirements.

Guessing the contractual basis

If entitlement is clear, identify it.

If the contract is heavily amended or the basis genuinely requires analysis, do not insert a clause merely because it appears in an online example.

Overwriting the notice

The opposite problem also occurs.

A project team spends days producing a lengthy contractual argument when the immediate task is to notify an event within a contractual period.

More pages do not automatically make a better notice.

Reusing a notice from another project

The project name and dates are not the only variables.

The underlying clauses, Particular Conditions, notice addresses, event facts and required procedures may all differ.

That is why a generic FIDIC template can give false confidence: the difficult part is not formatting the letter. It is matching the notice to the contract and the event.

Example: delayed access

Assume the Employer is required under an identified contractual provision or document to provide access to Area C by 6 May.

The access is not provided because preceding utility diversion works remain incomplete.

The drafting needs to establish, at minimum:

The obligation: what contract provision or document required access?

The event: what was not provided?

The timing: when should access have been available, and when did the contractor become aware that it would not be?

The effect: which planned activities are affected, and could there be time and/or cost consequences?

The procedure: which claims provision applies, and where must the Notice be sent?

A useful factual sentence might therefore say:

Under [identified contractual provision/document], access to Area C was required by 6 May 2026. As at [date], access remains unavailable because [factual reason].

That is enough to illustrate the drafting principle.

The remainder of the notice should be generated from the actual contractual requirements and project facts, rather than completed from a generic letter downloaded from the internet.

Before drafting, gather the right inputs

The quality of a notice depends heavily on what goes into it.

Before drafting, have to hand:

• the relevant claims provision;
• the general notice/communications provision;
• any Particular Conditions amending them;
• the contractual provision underlying the potential entitlement;
• the key event dates;
• relevant instructions, correspondence or records;
• the activity or works affected; and
• what is currently known about the potential time or cost impact.

You may not yet have the entire claim.

You should have enough information to identify the event accurately and check what the contract requires you to do about it.

Frequently asked questions

What should a FIDIC Notice of Claim include?
It should make clear that the communication is a Notice of Claim, identify the specific event or circumstance being notified and when it occurred or became known, identify the contractual route being invoked, state whether additional time, payment or both may be affected, and confirm that the consequences will be substantiated under the contract. The executed contract, including any Particular Conditions, determines the exact requirements.

How long do I have to give a FIDIC Notice of Claim?
Under the standard 1999 and 2017 forms, as soon as practicable and no later than 28 days after the contractor became aware, or should have become aware, of the event or circumstance. Particular Conditions can amend this period, so check the executed contract.

Does a FIDIC Notice of Claim need to include the delay analysis or quantum?
No. The initial notice identifies the event and its potential effect. The delay analysis and quantum are developed in the fully detailed claim, which under the standard forms follows within 42 days of awareness (1999) or 84 days of awareness (2017), running from the awareness trigger rather than from the date of the initial notice.

What is the difference between a Sub-Clause 20.1 notice and a Sub-Clause 20.2.1 notice?
Sub-Clause 20.1 is the contractor claims provision in the 1999 Red and Yellow Books. Sub-Clause 20.2.1 is the Notice of Claim provision in the 2017 second editions, which applies to both Employer and Contractor claims and sits within a more prescriptive claims procedure with formal Notice requirements under Sub-Clause 1.3. Both use a 28-day initial notice period in their standard form.

Can I reuse a FIDIC Notice of Claim from another project?
Not safely. The clause numbering, Particular Conditions, notice addresses, authorized senders, permitted transmission methods and the facts of the event can all differ between projects. A notice copied from another job or from a generic online template can invoke the wrong provision or miss a requirement of the contract actually signed.

Who must receive a FIDIC Notice of Claim?
Under the Red and Yellow Books the contractor gives the notice to the Engineer. The Silver Book has no Engineer, so the notice goes to the Employer side as the contract specifies. In every case, check Sub-Clause 1.3 and the Particular Conditions for the required recipient, address and transmission method.

Sources

• FIDIC Conditions of Contract for Construction (Red Book), Plant and Design-Build (Yellow Book) and EPC/Turnkey Projects (Silver Book), 1999 first editions, Sub-Clauses 1.3 and 20.1.
• FIDIC Red, Yellow and Silver Books, 2017 second editions (2022 reprints), Sub-Clauses 1.3, 4.20, 8.3, 20.2.1 and 20.2.4.