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The revision review checklist

A new revision of a drawing has arrived. Before anyone sets out, orders or builds to it, these are the questions to answer. They work with or without software, for one sheet or a whole issue.

By Ian Yeo, PlanOps · Last updated 13 October 2026 · Free to use, print and adapt.

Download the checklist (PDF)Compare two revisions freeWhat the revision and status codes mean

1. Is it the right sheet and can you use it?

  1. Do the drawing number and title match the sheet it replaces?

    A renumbered or retitled sheet is easy to file against the wrong drawing and then the register shows the wrong issue as current.

  2. Is the revision later than the one you're working from and is it the one on the transmittal?

    Compare against the issue the site actually used, not just the last one received. If revisions were skipped, the change is bigger than one step.

  3. Does the status code allow the use you intend?

    A sheet shared for information or comment (an S code with a P revision) isn't for building from. Check the A code your project uses for construction.

2. What does it say changed?

  1. Read the revision note in the title block. What does it say changed and why?

    A note that only says "general revisions" or "updated to comments" tells you to compare the whole sheet, not the clouded parts.

  2. Are all the changes clouded and do the clouds match the note?

    Clouds are often drawn by hand. Changes outside them are common, and the ones that cause trouble are the ones nobody pointed at.

3. What actually changed?

  1. Compare the two issues across the whole sheet, not only inside the clouds.

    An overlay or a flick between the two shows geometry that moved. It won't show every change in text, so read the notes as well.

  2. Have dimensions, levels, gridlines or setting-out points changed?

    These are the changes that turn into work already set out in the wrong place.

  3. Have notes, specification references, materials or schedules changed?

    A changed specification clause or schedule entry can carry more cost than a moved line, and an overlay can miss it entirely.

  4. Do cross-references to other sheets and details still point at the right revisions?

    A detail that changed on another sheet can make this one wrong without a single line moving on it.

4. What does it affect?

  1. Has any of the changed work already been set out, built, ordered or fabricated?

    This is where a revision costs more than just admin time. Find it before more abortive work is done.

  2. Which packages and subcontractors work from this sheet and do they have the new issue?

    A subcontractor working from their own copy of the old issue will carry on building to it.

  3. Do any RAMS, temporary works designs, permits or lift plans rely on this sheet?

    A method statement or temporary works design written for the old layout may no longer be valid for the new one.

  4. Does the change affect the programme, or the work of another trade or designer?

    A clash introduced by one discipline usually shows up on another discipline's drawing first.

5. Is it an instruction?

  1. Who issued the revision and do they have authority under the contract to instruct a change?

    Under NEC4 a Project Manager's instruction changing the Scope is generally a compensation event (clause 60.1(1), with exceptions) and only the Project Manager or a delegate can give it. Under JCT a Variation is valued when it is instructed or confirmed in writing by the Architect or Contract Administrator. A drawing sent by a designer without that authority may be neither.

  2. If there's no instruction, have you asked for one before building to the change?

    Building to an uninstructed change can leave the cost with you. Ask for the instruction or for written confirmation and keep the request.

  3. Does the change need an early warning or notifying under your contract's time limits?

    NEC4 has early warnings (clause 15) and an eight-week limit for notifying compensation events (clause 61.3). The limit doesn't apply where the event arises from the Project Manager giving an instruction, so a properly instructed change is protected; an uninstructed one isn't. Check the notice provisions in your own contract, including any amendments.

  4. Have you kept the comparison, the transmittal and the date you received the revision?

    If the change is disputed later, this is the evidence of what changed and when you knew.

6. Who needs to know and when is it closed?

  1. Has everyone who works from the sheet been told and have superseded prints been removed or marked?

    Superseded in the system isn't superseded on site until the old prints have gone from the cabin and the work face.

  2. Is the drawing register updated with the new revision, its status and the date?

    The register is how anyone checks whether the sheet in their hand is current.

  3. Does each change have an owner and a record of what was decided?

    A change nobody owns turns up later as something built to the wrong issue, or a variation claimed for something site was never told about.

  4. Can you say when each change is closed?

    Closed means the work, the subcontractor, the documents and the commercial position have all caught up with the new issue.

This checklist is general guidance, not legal or contractual advice. Your contract, its amendments and your project's information standard decide what applies on your job.

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