FIDIC reference
Sub-Clause 20.2 — Claims procedure
A single claims procedure for both parties: 28-day notice and 84-day fully detailed claim.
Applies in: Red BookYellow BookSilver Book
The 2017 edition introduced a single procedural mechanism for claims by both the Contractor and the Employer for extra time (EOT) and/or money. A party must give a Notice of Claim within 28 days of becoming aware (or of when it should have become aware) of the event. Missing this period bars the claim (time-bar). A fully detailed claim follows within 84 days, and the Engineer acts under Sub-Clause 3.7 (Agreement or Determination).
Key points
- Notice of Claim — 28 days from awareness (20.2.1).
- Missing 28 days bars the claim unless successfully challenged.
- Fully detailed claim — within 84 days (20.2.4).
- The mechanism applies to both the Contractor and the Employer.
How this works in practice
Claims are rarely lost on interpretation. They are lost at step one, when a party cannot prove when it actually became aware of the event. The Engineer counts 28 days from the date it considers awareness; the Contractor counts from a later one. Whoever holds a dated event log, incoming correspondence and minutes wins that argument. The second common failure is confusing a Notice of Claim with an ordinary letter describing a problem: a letter that is not labelled as a notice and does not cite 20.2 can legitimately be disregarded.
Common traps
- Particular Conditions cut the 28 days to 14 or 7 — check this before signing, not after the event.
- The notice goes to the wrong addressee or by a method other than the one set in Sub-Clause 1.3, and the period is treated as missed.
- A single notice for a continuing event instead of a series: continuing circumstances require interim claims.
Versions: 1999 → 2017 → 2022
- 1999
Only Sub-Clause 20.1 and only for the Contractor; the Employer’s claims went through Sub-Clause 2.5.
- 2017
A single 20.2 mechanism for both parties, clear 28/84-day periods and an explicit time-bar.
- 2022
The 2022 reprint kept the 2017 structure with editorial clarifications.
Clause FAQ
Which FIDIC books use Sub-Clause 20.2?
The clause applies in Red Book, Yellow Book, Silver Book. Particular Conditions may change the standard risk allocation, so always check the project contract.
What counts as the moment of awareness for the 28-day count?
The point at which the party became aware, or should have become aware, of the event. The second limb is an objective test: if the circumstance was obvious on site or recorded in project documents, arguing that management did not know will not help. In a dispute the first diary entry or first letter on the subject usually becomes the effective start date.
Can a claim be saved if the 28 days were missed?
Sometimes. The 2017 edition provides a route for a party to challenge the time bar, and the Engineer must consider the circumstances — including whether it already knew of the event and whether late notice caused prejudice. But this is an exception, not a fallback plan: it cannot carry a strategy, and in civil law jurisdictions the outcome also turns on the governing law.
Glossary terms
Related clauses
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Reference material, not legal advice. Always check your contract and the Particular Conditions.