To fill out an AIA form, you start on the AIA Contract Documents platform at aiacontracts.com, open the correct document for your project relationship, enter your information into the shaded fields marked with chevron characters (« »), keep any customizations in supplementary conditions rather than rewriting the standard text, and finalize the draft through the platform so it generates a signed-ready PDF with a variance markup of every change you made. Knowing how to fill out AIA forms correctly is mostly about two things: picking the right form in the first place, and respecting the platform’s editing rules so your changes are visible and your document remains enforceable.
Pick the Right Document First
Every AIA document belongs to a lettered series that identifies the relationship it governs. A-Series forms are owner-contractor agreements. B-Series forms cover the owner-architect relationship. C-Series handles other professional arrangements such as architect-consultant or contractor-subcontractor. D-Series addresses miscellaneous project needs. E-Series exhibits cover specialized topics like digital data and sustainable design. G-Series forms handle day-to-day project administration: change orders, payment applications, and completion certificates.1AIA Contract Documents. Understanding AIA Contract Series: Approved List of All AIA Contract Documents by Series
Within each series, the three-digit number tells you the payment structure. A101 is an owner-contractor agreement for a stipulated (fixed) sum. A102 is cost-of-the-work-plus-fee with a guaranteed maximum price. A103 is cost-plus with no cap.1AIA Contract Documents. Understanding AIA Contract Series: Approved List of All AIA Contract Documents by Series
The right form also depends on how the project is being delivered. Conventional Design-Bid-Build uses A101, B101, A401, and A201 (general conditions). Construction Manager as Adviser shifts to A132, B132, and C132. Construction Manager as Constructor uses A133 or A134 paired with B133. Integrated Project Delivery uses either the single multiparty C191 or the transitional set A195, B195, and A295.2AIA Contract Documents. AIA Contract Documents by Delivery Method: Design-Bid-Build, CMc For smaller jobs, the Small Projects family offers shortened forms: A105 (owner-contractor) and B105 (owner-architect).3AIA Contract Documents. B105: Owner and Architect Agreement – Small Projects
You won’t fill out A201 directly on most projects. The owner-contractor and owner-architect agreements incorporate it by reference, and you tailor it through supplementary conditions attached to the agreement.4AIA Contract Documents. A201-2017, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction
Get the Form the Legal Way
All official AIA documents live on the AIA Contract Documents platform. There is no free download. Documents are sold as single one-time-use purchases or through annual unlimited-license subscriptions, and pricing changes periodically, so check the AIA subscriptions page before buying.5AIA Contract Documents. AIA Contract Documents
Copying matters here. AIA documents are protected by federal copyright, and scanning, retyping, photocopying, or redistributing them without written AIA permission is prohibited.6AIA Contract Documents. FAQs: Copying AIA Contract Documents Your license is non-exclusive and nontransferable. You can’t resell documents, scan completed documents for further editing, or strip out AIA headers, footers, or sidebars.7AIA Contract Documents. Terms of Use Beyond the legal exposure, retyped or photocopied older forms often carry outdated language that no longer matches current practice.
Fill in the Agreement
The platform gives you two working modes: edit online in the browser, or download a Microsoft Word draft, edit offline, and import it back. In both, the fields waiting for your input show up shaded gray and wrapped in chevrons (« »). Leave the chevrons where they are. They format automatically at finalization and drop out of the final PDF.8AIA Contract Documents. Beginner’s Guide to Using ACD5
Using A101-2017 as the working example, here is what you need on hand before opening the form.
Party and Project Information
- Owner: full legal name, legal status (corporation, LLC, individual), and address.
- Contractor: the same three items.
- Architect: the same three items. The architect is not a party to A101 but is named because A201 assigns them administrative duties.
- Project: name, location, and a detailed description of the work.
Dates and Schedule
Section 3 asks you to set the commencement date. You can tie it to the date the agreement is signed, to a notice to proceed, or to a specific calendar date. Then set the substantial completion deadline, either as a number of calendar days from commencement or as a fixed date. Phased projects can list each portion of the work with its own substantial completion date.
Contract Sum and Payment Terms
Section 4 is where the contract sum goes as a dollar figure, followed by space for alternates (priced options the owner may accept), allowances (budgeted amounts for items not yet specified), unit prices, and liquidated damages. Section 5 handles payment mechanics: the billing cycle, the day of the month payment applications are due, the retainage percentage withheld from each payment (typically 5 to 10 percent in commercial construction), and the interest rate on late payments.
Dispute Resolution
Section 6 asks you to choose how binding disputes get resolved. A101 offers three options: arbitration, litigation, or another method you specify. You also name the Initial Decision Maker, the person who rules on claims before they escalate. Leave that field blank and the architect becomes the default under A201.
Contract Documents and Exhibits
Section 8 captures miscellaneous provisions including the owner’s and contractor’s designated representatives. Section 9 lists every document that forms part of the contract: the agreement itself, A201, drawings, specifications, addenda, and any exhibits such as E204, the sustainable projects exhibit used when the project targets LEED or another green certification.9AIA Contract Documents. E204: Sustainable Projects Exhibit
Insurance coverage types and limits usually sit in A201 and get customized through supplementary conditions, not in the A101 fill-in fields. Get your insurance broker’s input before finalizing these terms. Inadequate coverage limits are one of the most common post-signing problems on construction projects.
Customize Through Supplementary Conditions
Any time you add, delete, or modify standard text, the platform’s Variance Checker flags the change and generates a markup that shows every deviation from the published template.8AIA Contract Documents. Beginner’s Guide to Using ACD5 That transparency is a feature, not a hurdle. Reviewers and courts can see exactly what departed from the standard.
For A201, don’t edit the general conditions directly. Write supplementary conditions in a separate document instead. Project-specific information should sit in one of four places: the bidding requirements, the owner-contractor agreement, supplements or modifications to the general conditions, or the specifications (particularly Division 1 general requirements).10AIA Contract Documents. Guides to Amendments and Supplementary Conditions The AIA publishes model language for supplementary conditions. Target specific provisions that need adjustment for your project’s risk profile, local requirements, or lender conditions. Rewriting whole sections from scratch is how internal contradictions creep in.
The Forms You’ll Fill Out During Construction
Once the agreements are signed and work starts, three G-Series forms come up on almost every project.
G702: Application and Certificate for Payment
The contractor uses G702 to request a progress payment. It requires the current contract sum, the total value of work completed and materials stored to date, retainage withheld, a summary of change orders, and the net amount requested. A continuation sheet, G703, breaks the contract sum into a schedule of values so the architect can verify progress line by line.11AIA Contract Documents. Instructions: G702-1992, Application and Certificate for Payment
The contractor signs G702 and has it notarized. Anyone signing for a company should indicate their title and authority, and if signing authority is in doubt, attach a copy of the corporate resolution. The architect reviews the application, and if the certified amount differs from what the contractor requested, the architect initials the changed figures and attaches a written explanation.11AIA Contract Documents. Instructions: G702-1992, Application and Certificate for Payment
G701: Change Order
When the owner, architect, and contractor agree to change the scope, price, or schedule, G701 documents that agreement. Fill in a description of the change, any adjustment to the contract sum or guaranteed maximum price, and any change to the contract time. All three parties sign.12AIA Contract Documents. G701: Change Order
G704: Certificate of Substantial Completion
When the project reaches the point where the owner can use it for its intended purpose, G704 marks that milestone. The contractor prepares a punch list of items still to complete or correct, the architect verifies and amends the list, and the form issues only after the architect determines the work is substantially complete. The parties then agree on a deadline for finishing punch-list items, the date the owner takes occupancy, and who is responsible for maintenance, utilities, and insurance during close-out.13AIA Contract Documents. G704: Certificate of Substantial Completion
Finalize and Sign
When every fill-in field is complete and negotiations are done, finalize the document through the platform. For offline Word drafts, import the file back into the system, then click Finalize. For online drafts, finalize directly from the Projects tab. Either way, the system generates a read-only PDF with a variance markup showing every change from the standard template.8AIA Contract Documents. Beginner’s Guide to Using ACD5
Sign the finalized PDF. Digital signature platforms are widely accepted; traditional wet signatures still work. Every signatory should receive an identical, fully executed copy. Store the original somewhere secure, whether that’s a digital repository or a physical safe.
Watch the Retirement Clock
The AIA updates its documents on roughly a ten-year cycle, though not every document is revised each cycle. When a new version is published or an older document is retired without replacement, an eighteen-month transition period begins. During that window you can still finalize drafts using the older version. Once the retirement date passes, at midnight Eastern Time on the posted date, the old version disappears from the platform. You cannot purchase it, and any open drafts of the retired version cannot be finalized.14AIA Contract Documents. FAQs: What Is the Policy for Updating and Retiring AIA Documents?
One-time-use digital documents carry an extra constraint. They must be finalized within one year of purchase or before the document’s retirement date, whichever comes first. Buy a document close to its retirement, miss the finalization window, and you lose access. Unlimited subscription users face only the retirement deadline.14AIA Contract Documents. FAQs: What Is the Policy for Updating and Retiring AIA Documents? Contracts already executed under an older version remain valid. The retirement policy affects only the platform’s ability to generate new documents, not the enforceability of agreements you’ve already signed.