A construction draw request form is the package you submit to your lender to release the next installment of a construction loan, and on most projects it’s built around the AIA G702 Application and Certificate for Payment with its G703 Continuation Sheet, though many residential lenders substitute their own simplified version. The form reports how much of each budgeted line item is complete, how much retainage is being withheld, and how much money you’re asking for this period. Get the math, the lien waivers, and the reported percentage of completion right, and funds move. Miss one of those, and the request bounces back.
Which Form You’ll Actually Use
The AIA G702 is a one-page summary; the G703 is the detailed grid behind it. Together they’re the industry standard, and both are available digitally through the AIA Contract Documents platform or on paper from the AIA Design Shop. Many residential lenders and title companies hand you their own template instead. The fields and the logic are the same either way: identify the project, list every line item from the schedule of values, report progress against each, subtract retainage and prior payments, and arrive at a current payment due.
Before you fill anything out, pull your loan agreement. It tells you how many draws you’re allowed, whether individual draws are capped, and whether specific draws are tied to inspection milestones like a passing rough-in. Those constraints govern what you can put on the form.
Get the Schedule of Values Approved First
The schedule of values is the backbone of every draw request that follows. It breaks the entire contract price into line items — foundation, framing, roofing, plumbing, electrical, and so on — with a dollar amount assigned to each. Every draw references those line items and reports progress against them.
The schedule of values is submitted and approved before the first draw, not with it. Lenders and architects review it against the construction contract to catch front-loading, the practice of padding early line items to pull more money out of the loan before the expensive work begins. If a line item looks inflated, expect to produce a cost breakdown showing how you arrived at the number. Vague catch-alls like “miscellaneous” or “other” get flagged because they don’t give the lender enough detail to verify anything later. Clean this document up at the start and you avoid arguments on every draw for the rest of the project.
Filling Out the G702 Header
The G702 header captures the identifiers the lender, architect, and owner all use to track the payment. The fields:
- To (Owner): the property owner’s name and address as listed on the construction contract.
- From (Contractor): your company name, address, and contact information.
- Via (Architect): the architect of record who will certify the payment. On projects without an architect, the lender or construction manager fills this role.
- Project: the formal project name and site address matching the loan documents.
- Application No.: a sequential number starting at 1 for your first request, increasing by one with each submission. Skipping or repeating numbers creates tracking problems.
- Period To: the cutoff date for work and materials included in this request. Only labor performed and materials delivered before this date belong on the form.
- Contract Date: the date the construction contract was executed.
Below the header, the G702 summarizes the math from the G703: original contract sum, net change by change orders, total contract sum to date, total completed and stored to date, retainage, total earned less retainage, less previous certificates for payment, and current payment due. The architect signs a certification block stating that, based on site observations and the supporting data, the contractor is entitled to the amount certified.
Filling Out the G703 Line by Line
The G703 is a grid with nine columns. Each row is one line item from your approved schedule of values, and the columns build on each other mathematically. An error in one column cascades through the rest.
- Column A — Description of Work: the line item name pulled directly from the approved schedule of values (for example, “Concrete Foundation,” “Rough Electrical”).
- Column B — Scheduled Value: the dollar amount budgeted for that line item.
- Column C — Work Completed from Previous Application: the cumulative dollar amount billed for this line item in all prior draws. On your first draw, every row is zero.
- Column D — Work Completed This Period: the dollar value of new work completed during the current billing period.
- Column E — Materials Presently Stored: the value of materials purchased and stored (on-site or in an approved off-site location) that haven’t yet been installed.
- Column F — Total Completed and Stored to Date: the sum of Columns C, D, and E.
- Column G — Percentage Complete: Column F divided by Column B. This is the number the inspector will verify against the physical state of the job.
- Column H — Balance to Finish: Column B minus Column F.
- Column I — Retainage: used when retainage rates vary by line item. On projects with a flat retainage rate, this column can be left blank because retainage is calculated on the G702 summary instead.
After you complete every row, total each column at the bottom and transfer the grand totals to the corresponding fields on the G702. The numbers must match exactly. Spreadsheet formulas help, but check them. A broken formula that silently returns the wrong total is one of the most common reasons draw requests get sent back.
How Retainage Shows Up on the Form
Retainage is the portion of each payment the lender withholds as a cushion against incomplete or defective work. The standard rate is five to ten percent of each draw. On a $50,000 draw with ten percent retainage, the contractor receives $45,000 and the remaining $5,000 stays in escrow.
Retainage accumulates over the life of the project and is typically released at substantial completion, the point when the building is usable for its intended purpose even if minor punch-list items remain. Some contracts split the release: part at substantial completion and the balance after the punch list clears and final inspections pass. Both your construction contract and loan agreement specify the terms, so check both. The G702 has a dedicated line for total retainage withheld, and that figure must reconcile with the cumulative retainage across all previous draws.
Change Orders and Stored Materials
Two areas trip up otherwise clean draw requests: change orders that aren’t fully approved, and materials sitting in storage.
Change orders alter the original contract scope, schedule, or price. Once approved, a change order has to be reflected in an updated schedule of values before it appears on a draw request. Some contractors add the change order as a new line item on the G703; others adjust the affected existing line item’s scheduled value. Either approach works as long as the updated total contract sum on the G702 equals the original contract sum plus all approved net changes. Never include change-order work on a draw before the change order is formally signed by both parties. Lenders treat unapproved change-order billings the same way they treat overbilling, and they’ll sometimes hold the entire draw until the paperwork is resolved.
Column E on the G703 lets you request payment for materials purchased but not yet installed. Materials stored on the project site are straightforward because the inspector can verify them during the site visit. Off-site storage is more complicated. Most lenders require proof of ownership, insurance covering the stored materials against theft and damage, evidence that the materials are segregated from other projects’ inventory, and sometimes photographs or inventory logs showing current condition. Some lenders also cap the total value of stored materials you can claim at any one time, or limit how long materials can sit in storage before they must be incorporated into the project. Confirm your lender’s specific rules before submitting. One missing document on stored materials can delay the entire draw, not just that line item.
Supporting Documents That Go With the Form
The form itself is one piece of the submission. The attachments prove the money you’re requesting corresponds to real work and real expenses.
Lien Waivers
Lien waivers get the most scrutiny in the package. A conditional waiver states that the signer gives up the right to file a lien against the property, but only once payment is actually received. You submit conditional waivers from yourself and from every subcontractor and supplier involved in the current draw period. After payment clears, you follow up with unconditional waivers confirming the money arrived and the lien rights are permanently released. Lenders will not process a new draw if unconditional waivers from the previous draw are still outstanding.
Invoices and Receipts
Include itemized invoices from every subcontractor and material supplier active during the draw period. Each invoice should show the work performed, quantities, unit prices, and total cost. For materials purchased directly by the contractor or owner, original receipts do the same job. The dollar amounts on these invoices should tie back to Columns D and E of the G703.
Insurance Certificates
Lenders require current certificates of insurance for builder’s risk, general liability, and workers’ compensation. The lender is typically named as an additional insured and loss payee. Expiration dates must extend past the projected completion date. An expired certificate can freeze the draw even when every other document is perfect, so check policy dates before each submission.
Sworn Statement or Contractor’s Affidavit
Many lenders, especially on residential loans managed through title companies, require a sworn statement listing every contractor, subcontractor, and supplier on the project along with their contract amounts, amounts paid to date, and balances remaining. The affidavit gives the lender visibility into where the money is flowing downstream.
Other Attachments
Depending on the project and lender, you may also need progress photographs, building permits or inspection certificates for completed phases, and certified payroll records for public works projects subject to prevailing wage requirements.
Submitting the Request
Most lenders accept draw requests through a construction management portal where you upload the G702, G703, and every supporting document as a single package. Some regional banks and credit unions still accept physical submissions with a printed and signed G702 and hard copies of every attachment. Either way, keep a complete copy of what you submit. If the lender questions a figure three draws from now, you need to pull the backup instantly.
Timing matters. Many lenders process draws on a set schedule, weekly or biweekly, and submissions received after the cutoff wait for the next cycle. Ask your lender’s draw administrator about the processing calendar so a two-week gap doesn’t catch you off guard.
What Happens After You Submit
The lender dispatches a third-party inspector to the job site. The inspector walks the project and compares the percentage of completion you reported in Column G against the physical state of the building. Inspectors typically photograph every area of active work, verify that materials listed as stored are actually on site, and check whether any change orders match what they see.
If the inspector finds your reported percentage is higher than reality — you claimed framing is 90 percent complete but only three of four walls are up — the lender will reduce the approved amount for that line item. The review and inspection cycle generally takes five to ten business days. Third-party inspection fees typically run a few hundred dollars per visit, and the loan agreement specifies whether the borrower or lender absorbs that cost.
Once approved, the lender releases funds by wire transfer or check. On many residential projects, the disbursement goes to a title company or third-party funds control agent, who then pays the individual subcontractors and suppliers. On commercial projects, or where the general contractor has a direct relationship with the lender, funds may go straight to the contractor. Either way, this is when your conditional lien waivers become live, and when the clock starts on collecting unconditional waivers for the next draw.
Why Draw Requests Get Rejected
The rejections cluster around a few predictable problems:
- Math errors: column totals on the G703 that don’t match the summary on the G702, broken spreadsheet formulas, or transposed numbers.
- Missing lien waivers: forgetting a waiver from a subcontractor who worked during the draw period, or submitting conditional waivers when unconditional waivers from the prior draw are still open.
- Overbilling a line item: requesting more than the inspector can verify. Inspectors are trained specifically to catch front-loading.
- Expired insurance: a general liability or builder’s risk certificate that lapsed between draws.
- Unapproved change orders: billing for work from a change order that hasn’t been formally signed off.
- Incomplete schedule of values: vague line items that don’t give the lender enough detail to verify progress.
Most of these are avoidable with a pre-submission checklist. Before you upload, verify every column on the G703 foots correctly, every active subcontractor has a matching lien waiver and invoice in the package, all insurance certificates are current, and the total on the G702 matches the G703 to the penny.