FIDIC Clause 20.2: How to Write a 2017 Edition Notice of Claim
Contracts written on the 2017 Rainbow Suite still get read by people who learned their claims procedure on the 1999 Red Book. They search for "Clause 20.1," find nothing on the current contract, and assume the notice rules changed beyond recognition. They have not — but they did move, get renumbered, and pick up a few new steps. This guide covers what Clause 20.2 actually requires, and gives a Notice of Claim you can adapt.
From Clause 20.1 to Clause 20.2 — What Actually Moved
Under the FIDIC 1999 Red Book, Sub-Clause 20.1 was the Contractor's claims clause. It set the 28-day notice, the 42-day detailed claim, and the consequences of missing either. It only applied to the Contractor — the Employer's claims lived in a separate, thinner clause.
The FIDIC 2017 Second Edition restructured this. Clause 20 is now "Employer's and Contractor's Claims," and the actual claims mechanism sits in Sub-Clause 20.2, "Claims For Payment and/or EOT." The headline change is not the day counts — it is that the same procedure now applies to both Parties. If the Employer wants to claim delay damages or additional cost, it follows the identical 20.2 route the Contractor does: same 28-day notice, same contemporary-records duty, same fully detailed claim.
For a Contractor reading a bespoke 2017-based contract, this matters practically: an Employer's claim against you is now procedurally identical to your own claim against the Employer, which means you can hold the Employer to the same time bar you are held to.
Key Takeaway: Clause 20.1 (1999) only covered the Contractor. Clause 20.2 (2017) covers both Parties under one shared procedure — the same 28-day notice and the same claim-building steps apply whoever is claiming.
The 28-Day Notice of Claim — Sub-Clause 20.2.1
The first step has not changed. Whichever Party is claiming must give a Notice of Claim within 28 days of becoming aware, or of when it should have become aware, of the event or circumstance giving rise to the claim. That is the same clock that ran under 1999 — awareness, not the date the delay or cost actually lands.
Miss the 28 days and the default consequence is the same as before: the claiming Party loses its entitlement to the additional payment or Extension of Time for that event. The 2017 edition does add one narrow safety valve absent from 1999 — a late notice can still be considered if the claiming Party shows the delay was justified in the circumstances and the other Party is not prejudiced by it. In practice this exception is rarely relied on successfully, and it should never be treated as a backup plan. Twenty-eight days from awareness is the number that matters.
Key Takeaway: The 28-day Notice of Claim deadline under Clause 20.2.1 is unchanged from the 1999 form. A narrow 2017 safety valve exists for a justified late notice, but it is not something to plan around — treat 28 days as absolute.
What Follows Notice — the Engineer's 14 Days and Contemporary Records
The 2017 edition adds structure the 1999 form never had. Under Sub-Clause 20.2.2, the Engineer (or, for an Employer's claim, the Contractor) has 14 days after receiving the Notice of Claim to respond, stating whether the notice is accepted as timely and adequate, or giving reasons why not. This forces an early conversation about validity, instead of leaving it to fester until the detailed claim lands months later.
Sub-Clause 20.2.3 then requires the claiming Party to keep contemporary records substantiating the claim — records that exist at the time the event occurs, not reconstructed afterward. The Engineer may monitor these records and instruct that further ones be kept. Contemporary records are what turn a plausible claim into a provable one; a claim rebuilt from memory six months later rarely survives scrutiny.
Key Takeaway: Clause 20.2 adds a formal 14-day Engineer response to the notice, plus an explicit contemporary-records duty. Start the records the day the event occurs — do not wait for the detailed claim to reconstruct them.
The 84-Day Fully Detailed Claim — Sub-Clause 20.2.4
This is the number every Contractor moving from a 1999-style contract to a 2017-style one needs to relearn. Under the 1999 form, the detailed particulars were due within 42 days. Under the 2017 form, the fully detailed claim — full supporting particulars, the contractual or other basis relied on, and the additional payment or EOT claimed — is due within 84 days, exactly double.
The 84 days runs from the same awareness date that started the 28-day notice clock, not from the date the notice was actually sent. The two periods usually overlap in practice, since a compliant notice goes out early in the 28-day window, but they are calculated independently from the original moment of awareness.
After the fully detailed claim is submitted, Sub-Clause 20.2.5 gives the Engineer 42 days to respond with a Notice of Agreement or a determination. If the event is still ongoing, Sub-Clause 20.2.6 requires interim fully detailed claims at monthly intervals, with a final claim due within 28 days of the event's effects ending.
Key Takeaway: The 2017 fully detailed claim deadline is 84 days, not the 1999 form's 42 — double the runway, but still measured from the original awareness date. Writing "42 days" into a 2017-contract claim is the single most common error on this clause.
FIDIC Clause 20.2 Notice of Claim Template — Copy and Adapt
Here is a skeleton Notice of Claim built for the 2017 procedure. Replace everything in square brackets, then delete the brackets. It names the claim clause, the cause clause, the awareness date, and reserves the fully detailed claim for the 84-day period rather than trying to argue the whole case in the notice.
Two placeholders deserve care. The "[X.X]" clause is the cause clause — the specific entitlement provision, such as an instructed Variation or an Unforeseen Physical Condition — and it changes with the event. The "84 days" figure is the 2017 default; if the particular contract has amended it, use the contract's own number instead.
Whichever cause clause is actually driving the claim — a Variation, unforeseen ground conditions, late access, or weather — that is the letter ChatNotice drafts from a plain-language description, with the right clause and deadline math already worked out.
Key Takeaway: One notice skeleton fits any 20.2 claim. Swap the cause clause and the facts, keep the 84-day reservation, and cite the actual contract figure if the contract has amended the FIDIC default.
Common Mistakes With a 20.2 Notice
- Writing "42 days" on a 2017 contract. The single most common error — carrying over the 1999 particulars figure onto a contract that actually gives 84 days, or worse, the reverse on a 1999 contract.
- Citing "Clause 20.1" on a 2017-based contract. The claims clause is 20.2 in the 2017 suite. Citing the wrong sub-clause invites an easy procedural objection.
- No contemporary records from day one. Waiting until the fully detailed claim is due to start assembling evidence, instead of keeping records as the event unfolds under Sub-Clause 20.2.3.
- Ignoring the Engineer's 14-day response. Treating the initial response as a formality rather than the Engineer's first, on-record view of whether the notice was timely and adequate.
- Assuming the safety-valve exception will save a late notice. It exists, but it is narrow and rarely successful — not a substitute for sending the notice within 28 days.
Key Takeaway: Most 20.2 failures come from applying 1999 habits to a 2017 contract — wrong clause number, wrong particulars deadline, or records assembled too late. Match the citation and the day count to the edition actually in use.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between FIDIC Clause 20.1 and Clause 20.2?
Clause 20.1 is the 1999 Red Book's claims clause, and it only covers the Contractor's claims. Clause 20.2 is its 2017 Second Edition replacement, and it covers both the Contractor's and the Employer's claims under one shared procedure. The 2017 version also stretches the fully detailed claim deadline from 42 days to 84 days and adds a formal 14-day initial response from the Engineer.
How many days does a Contractor have to submit a Notice of Claim under Clause 20.2?
28 days, the same as under the 1999 form. The clock starts when the Contractor became aware, or should have become aware, of the event or circumstance giving rise to the claim — not when the physical delay or cost is actually incurred.
What happens if the Notice of Claim is late under the 2017 edition?
The default consequence is the same as under 1999: the claiming Party loses its entitlement to the additional payment or Extension of Time. The 2017 edition does add a narrow safety valve allowing a late notice to still be considered if the delay was justified in the circumstances and it does not prejudice the other Party, but this exception is rarely relied on successfully. Treat 28 days as an absolute deadline, not a target.
Does the 84-day deadline for the fully detailed claim run from the notice date or the awareness date?
It runs from the same awareness date that starts the 28-day Notice of Claim clock, not from the date the notice was actually sent. In practice the two periods overlap, since a compliant notice is filed early in that window — but the fully detailed claim deadline is calculated independently from the original date of awareness.
Does Clause 20.2 apply to Employer's claims too?
Yes — this is the headline change from 1999. Where the 1999 Red Book gave the Employer a separate, less formal route under old Clause 2.5, the 2017 edition puts both Parties through the same Clause 20.2 mechanism: the same 28-day notice, the same contemporary-records duty, and the same 84-day detailed claim.
Authoritative Sources
This guide reflects the FIDIC Conditions of Contract and established construction-law commentary on the 2017 Second Edition. For the primary materials, see:
- FIDIC Conditions of Contract — the official contract suite published by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers, which sets out the Sub-Clause 20.2 claims procedure in the 2017 Second Edition.
- SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol — the Society of Construction Law's guidance on notice, contemporary records, and the evidential basis of delay and disruption claims, applicable across FIDIC editions.
About the Author
Muhammad M. Jiwani is a Project Director with 15 years' experience on major infrastructure and energy projects administered under FIDIC contracts. He writes from first-hand experience serving notices and managing contractual claims on live projects.