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FIDIC Notice of Claim Template: A Sample You Can Adapt

Last updated July 2026 · 10 min read

The excavator hits rock where the geotechnical report promised sand. Nobody is sure yet whether it costs a week or just money — more blasting, more mucking away, same completion date. The team debates whether this is "a delay thing" and decides to wait and see. Wrong debate. Time or cost, big or small, the protective step is the same letter: a notice of claim. This guide gives you the template and the rules that keep it valid under both FIDIC editions.

One Notice Protects Every Claim — Time, Cost, or Both

Under Sub-Clause 20.1 of the FIDIC 1999 Red Book, if the Contractor considers itself entitled to an Extension of Time or additional payment, it must give notice describing the event within 28 days of becoming aware of it. The clause draws no distinction between a time claim and a money claim — one instrument covers both.

That is what teams miss when they treat the notice as "the delay letter." An event that costs money without moving the completion date — more expensive dewatering, re-routed haulage, standby plant — still needs the same notice within the same 28 days. Waiting to see whether the event "turns into a delay" is spending the notice period answering a question the notice never asked.

The consequence of missing it is written into the clause with unusual bluntness: the Time for Completion shall not be extended, the Contractor shall not be entitled to additional payment, and the Employer is discharged from all liability in connection with the claim. The 2017 Second Edition moves the machinery to Clause 20.2, names the letter a "Notice of Claim," and — notably — applies it to Employer claims too.

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Key Takeaway: The notice of claim is one instrument for every entitlement — time, cost, or both, under Sub-Clause 20.1 (1999) or Clause 20.2 (2017). Cost-only events need it just as much as delays do, and missing the 28 days can extinguish the claim entirely.

The Five Parts of a Valid Notice of Claim

A clear label — say it is a notice of claim under the claims clause. Under the 2017 forms this is effectively mandatory; under 1999 it removes the argument that the letter was mere correspondence.
The clauses — the cause clause that gives the entitlement (4.12, 1.9, 2.1, 13, 8.4…) plus the claims clause itself.
The date of awareness — when the Contractor knew or should have known of the event. This date is what the 28 days are measured against.
The event, factually — what happened, where, when. Two or three sentences, no adjectives doing the work of evidence.
What is claimed and a reservation — Extension of Time, additional payment, or both, with detailed particulars to follow within the contractual period.

What stays out: quantum. No day counts, no amounts, no percentages. The fully detailed claim follows — within 42 days under FIDIC 1999, within 84 days under the 2017 forms — and early numbers only create anchors the analysis has not yet earned.

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Key Takeaway: Five parts: the label, the clauses, the awareness date, the facts, and what is claimed with a reservation for particulars. Keep every number out of it — quantification belongs to the detailed claim that follows (42 days on 1999, 84 on 2017).

Notice of Claim Template — Copy and Adapt

Replace everything in square brackets and delete the brackets. Tick the remedy that applies — or keep both when the event touches both.

[Date] To: [Engineer's name and company] Project: [Project name and contract reference] Notice of Claim under Sub-Clause [X.X] and Sub-Clause 20.1 The Contractor gives notice of claim under Sub-Clause [X.X] of the Conditions of Contract in respect of the event described below. The Contractor became aware of this event on [date of awareness]. The event is as follows: [factual description — what happened, where on the Site, and the relevant dates]. As a consequence of this event, the Contractor considers itself entitled to [an Extension of Time under Sub-Clause 8.4 / additional payment / an Extension of Time and additional payment], and gives this notice in accordance with Sub-Clause 20.1. Detailed particulars of the claim will be submitted within [42] days in accordance with the Contract, or sooner if practicable. The Contractor is maintaining contemporary records of the event and its effects, which will be made available on request. The Contractor's rights under the Contract are fully reserved. Yours faithfully, [Name] [Designation, for the Contractor]

Two adaptations to watch. On a FIDIC 2017 contract, head the letter "Notice of Claim under Sub-Clause 20.2.1" and change the particulars period to the contract's figure (84 days on the unamended form). And check the cause clause for its own separate notice duty — Sub-Clause 4.12, for example, requires unforeseeable physical conditions to be notified when encountered, in addition to the claim notice. When both apply, serve both.

If the event is happening now and the drafting is the delay, this is the letter ChatNotice drafts from a plain-language description — with the cause clause and claims clause already matched to the event.

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Key Takeaway: One skeleton serves every claim — swap the cause clause, the facts, and the remedy line. On 2017 contracts, cite Sub-Clause 20.2.1 and the 84-day particulars period. Check whether the cause clause carries its own separate notice duty, and serve both when it does.

1999 vs 2017: Same Discipline, More Machinery

If your project runs on the 2017 Second Edition, the notice of claim discipline is familiar but the procedure around it grew:

Both Parties are bound. Clause 20 now governs Employer claims too — an Employer wanting delay damages must notice them, not just deduct them.
The Engineer polices the time bar early. Under Clause 20.2.2, if the Engineer considers the notice late, an initial response is due within 14 days — the fight over lateness happens at the start, not at the final account.
A late notice is not automatically dead. The 2017 forms allow the circumstances of the lateness to be taken into account. It is a safety valve, not a licence — the working assumption on Site should remain that day 29 is fatal.
The particulars window is longer. Eighty-four days for the fully detailed claim, against 42 under 1999 — more time for the analysis, no more time for the notice.

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Key Takeaway: The 2017 forms keep the 28-day notice but add machinery: Employer claims are caught too, the Engineer rules on lateness within 14 days, a justified late notice can survive, and detailed particulars get 84 days instead of 42. Plan to the same discipline either way.

Common Notice of Claim Mistakes

Waiting to see if it becomes a delay. The notice protects cost claims too. The wait-and-see month is exactly the notice period, spent answering the wrong question.
Burying it in progress correspondence. A paragraph inside a weekly report is easy to argue was never a notice. One event, one letter, clearly labelled.
No awareness date. Without it, the Engineer cannot test the notice against the 28 days — and will assume the answer least helpful to the Contractor.
Quantifying too early. A guessed "approximately 3 weeks and $250,000" in the notice becomes the ceiling the Engineer remembers, whatever the analysis later shows.
Serving only the claim notice when the cause clause wants its own. Events like unforeseen conditions carry a separate notification duty. One letter can do both jobs only if it expressly does both jobs.
Stopping the records. Sub-Clause 20.1 requires contemporary records to be kept. A perfect notice followed by an evidence gap produces a protected entitlement that cannot be proven.

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Key Takeaway: The recurring failures: waiting to see if the event delays, hiding the notice inside routine correspondence, omitting the awareness date, guessing numbers too early, forgetting the cause clause's own notice, and letting the daily records lapse after the notice goes out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a notice of claim different from a delay notice?

A delay notice is one kind of notice of claim. The notice of claim is the general Clause 20.1 instrument — it protects any Contractor entitlement, whether the remedy sought is time, cost, or both. A delay notice is that same instrument applied to a delay event. Cost-only events — say, unforeseen ground conditions that need more expensive dewatering without moving the completion date — still need a notice of claim within the same 28 days, even though no Extension of Time is being sought.

What happens if the notice of claim is served late?

Under FIDIC 1999 Sub-Clause 20.1, the consequence is severe: if notice is not given within 28 days of awareness, the Time for Completion is not extended, the Contractor is not entitled to additional payment, and the Employer is discharged from all liability for the claim. The 2017 forms keep the same bar in Clause 20.2 but add a safety valve — the DAAB can take account of the circumstances of a late notice. Neither edition makes lateness safe; the 1999 form makes it usually fatal.

Does the notice of claim have to state an amount or number of days?

No — and it should not try. The notice's job is to identify the event and preserve the entitlement; quantification belongs in the fully detailed claim that follows (42 days under FIDIC 1999, 84 days under the 2017 forms). Estimating figures in the notice creates anchors the Contractor may regret once the programme analysis is done. Describe the event, state that time and/or cost is claimed, and reserve the detail for the particulars.

What changed about the notice of claim in FIDIC 2017?

Three main things. First, claims moved to their own Clause 20, with the 28-day Notice of Claim in Clause 20.2 — and it now expressly applies to both Parties, Employer claims included. Second, the fully detailed claim is due within 84 days of awareness, up from 42 under the 1999 form. Third, the procedure gained checkpoints: the Engineer must give an initial response on the time bar within 14 days, and a late notice can survive if the DAAB finds the circumstances justify it. The discipline is the same; the machinery is more elaborate.

Can one event need both a notice of claim and other notices?

Yes, and this is a common trap. Several FIDIC clauses carry their own notice requirements in addition to the Clause 20.1 claim notice — for example, Sub-Clause 4.12 requires the Contractor to notify unforeseeable physical conditions when encountered, separately from the claim notice that follows. The safe habit is to check the entitlement clause for its own notice wording and serve both: the event notice under the cause clause, and the notice of claim under Clause 20.1, each within its own period.

Authoritative Sources

This guide reflects the FIDIC Conditions of Contract and established construction-law authority. 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 20.1 claims procedure and the 2017 Clause 20.2 Notice of Claim regime.
Obrascon Huarte Lain SA v HM Attorney General for Gibraltar — the leading authority on the validity and timing of a notice of claim under Clause 20.1.

About the Author

Maisam 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.

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