Clause 11 — Defects after Taking Over (DNP)

The Defects Notification Period: remedying defects after taking over until the Performance Certificate.

Applies in: Red BookYellow BookSilver Book

After taking over, the Defects Notification Period (DNP) begins, with a length set in the Contract Data (often 365 days). During it the Contractor remedies defects and damage at its own cost where the cause is its obligations. After the DNP and the remedying of defects, the Engineer issues the Performance Certificate (11.9), which signifies completion of the Contractor’s obligations. The DNP may be extended under 11.3 where a defect prevents use.

Key points

The DNP starts at taking over (length per Contract Data).
The Contractor remedies defects at its own cost (11.1–11.2).
The Performance Certificate (11.9) ends the obligations.
The DNP can be extended (11.3).

How this works in practice

The Defects Notification Period is not a warranty in the everyday sense but a window in which the Employer may notify defects and the Contractor must rectify them. Two practical knots. First, telling a defect apart from fair wear or misuse: with no record of how the asset was operated, the argument becomes unresolvable. Second, extension of the DNP: under FIDIC the period for a particular item can be extended where that item could not be used because of the defect, which sometimes surprises contractors at the very end of a project.

Common traps

The DNP is extended for each replaced item and the overall period drifts well past the planned close-out date.
There is no operating log, so there is nothing to show a failure was caused by misuse.
Particular Conditions stretch the DNP to something comparable with the local statutory latent-defects period — double cover at the Contractor’s expense.

Versions: 1999 → 2017 → 2022

1999
Clause 11 with the DNP and Performance Certificate.
2017
The remedying process and DNP extension were clarified.
2022
No substantive change in the 2022 reprint.

Clause FAQ

Which FIDIC books use Sub-Clause 11?

The clause applies in Red Book, Yellow Book, Silver Book. Particular Conditions may change the standard risk allocation, so always check the project contract.

Who pays for rectification when the cause of the defect is disputed?

Where the defect arises from a cause the Contractor is responsible for, rectification is at its own cost. Where the cause sits with the Employer — operation outside the manuals, for instance — the work is paid for as additional work. Contested cases go to a determination under Sub-Clause 3.7, and the outcome usually turns on monitoring data and operating logs rather than correspondence.

How does the Performance Certificate differ from the Taking-Over Certificate?

Taking over records acceptance of the works and starts the defects period. The Performance Certificate is issued at the end of the DNP and signifies that the Contractor’s obligations are discharged; it, rather than taking over, is normally the trigger for release of the performance security and the retention balance. Confusing the two is a common cause of premature demands for release of security.

Glossary terms

Defects Notification Period (DNP) Defects Notification Period Performance Certificate Performance Certificate Tests after Completion Tests after Completion

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Reference material, not legal advice. Always check your contract and the Particular Conditions.