A construction RFI, or request for information, is a recorded question used to clarify missing, conflicting or ambiguous project information. A useful RFI identifies the exact location and document revision, explains what is unclear, asks a specific question and states when a response is needed. It then needs an owner, a tracked answer and a clear record of what happened next.
This practical guide is for UK project teams and clients who want a clearer information process. It is not a contract template or legal interpretation. Use the communication, instruction and notice procedures agreed for your own project. Sources checked on 5 November 2026.
What is an RFI for?
Construction information comes from several places: drawings, schedules, specifications, surveys and conversations. An RFI gives a question a traceable place in that information flow. It should help the responsible person understand the issue without having to reconstruct a conversation that happened on site days earlier.
Designing Buildings describes an RFI as a formal question between project parties, often a contractor and the client’s consultant team. The important point is the question and the authorised route for answering it, rather than the name of the software used.
An RFI is useful where you cannot confidently determine what an issued document means. It is less useful as a substitute for reading the documents, recording a decision already made or asking someone to approve an undefined change. Before raising one, identify the gap you actually need to close.
Check the available information first
Start by checking the current issued revision, not simply the drawing saved on your own device. Look for a relevant detail, specification clause, schedule entry or previously answered query. Ask the project information manager or other agreed contact where authoritative documents are held if that is unclear.
This is a practical check, not permission to delay raising a time-sensitive issue. If conflicting documents remain, describe both references. An RFI that says only “drawing wrong” sends the recipient back through the investigation you have already done.
Our construction project brief guide deals with information before quotes are sought. An RFI serves a different purpose: resolving a particular question as information is reviewed or work progresses. Keep the broad brief and the specific query connected, but do not expect one document to perform both jobs.
The information to include in a useful RFI
Procore’s UK RFI guide emphasises clear, specific questions and a manageable response process. A project can adapt its form to that purpose. The following is an editorial checklist, not a mandatory UK form:
- Reference: a unique number and concise subject.
- Location: the room, level, grid, asset or work package concerned.
- Documents: drawing numbers, revision letters and relevant clauses.
- Issue: a short factual description of the missing or conflicting information.
- Question: the decision or clarification you need.
- Supporting material: a marked-up extract, photograph or sketch where appropriate.
- Timing: a realistic response-needed date and the reason for it.
- Routing: the sender, intended respondent and people who need the answer.
Choose a subject that still makes sense in a log a month later. “First-floor door opening: drawing and schedule conflict” is easier to retrieve than “urgent question”. If several unrelated issues need answers from different people, separate them rather than hiding them inside one long message.
An illustrative RFI example
The following is an invented project example to show the structure. Its references, dimensions and dates are fictional and must not be used as construction information.
RFI 014: first-floor meeting-room door opening
References: drawing A-210 revision C and door schedule D-01 revision B, door D105.
Issue: the opening dimension shown on the drawing differs from the dimension in the door schedule. Both documents are listed as current in the project register.
Question: please confirm the required structural opening and identify the document that will be revised to resolve the inconsistency.
Response needed: before the opening is set out. Please advise the agreed response date so the programme can be reviewed.
Attachments: marked-up extracts showing both references. No change has been instructed through this request.
The example identifies a single conflict and asks for a usable answer. It avoids suggesting that the sender has authority to select a dimension, redesign the opening or approve the cost of a change. Those responsibilities need to be established through the project’s arrangements.
Keep a query separate from an instruction
A helpful response may reveal that a drawing needs revision or that the team must consider a change. Do not assume the RFI reply alone authorises every resulting action. Identify which project procedure applies and who has authority to issue the necessary information or instruction.
Autodesk’s RFI guide distinguishes RFIs from other documents used to manage construction work and information. In practice, keep the question, clarification, design revision and any commercial follow-up linked but distinguishable. A tidy thread should not conceal different decisions.
For example, an answer might establish what was intended but leave a disagreement about responsibility or programme effects. Record that disagreement in the appropriate process. Avoid labelling the RFI “closed” in a way that suggests all associated issues have been settled when only the technical question has been answered.
Track the response without creating an inbox maze
A simple log can be enough for a small project if everyone understands how it is maintained. Record the reference, subject, sender, owner, date raised, response-needed date, status and a link to the answer. The log should point to the information, not replace it with a vague summary.
Agree meaningful status descriptions. For example, “submitted”, “being reviewed”, “awaiting further detail” and “answered” can distinguish different situations. Decide who updates each status and how the team learns about a reply. A colour on a spreadsheet means little if nobody knows what it represents.
When a response is late, follow the agreed escalation route and explain the dependency. A factual message such as “the setting-out team needs clarification before this task can proceed” is more useful than repeatedly marking a message urgent. Do not promise a standard turnaround time for every query; complexity and project arrangements vary.
Check that the answer is usable
Before closing a question, compare the reply with the original request. Does it answer the actual conflict? Does it identify the relevant revision? Are attachments accessible to the people who need them? Is further design coordination required? These checks can reveal that a polite reply is not yet a complete answer.
Keep obsolete extracts identifiable as superseded where your document process requires it. A well-written response will not help if somebody later works from an unmarked old print. Check that the answer reaches affected work packages, not only the person who raised the query.
For background on the disciplines involved, see our guide to types of civil engineering. Where responsibilities overlap, ask the project lead to establish coordination rather than assuming the first person copied into an email owns every part of the answer.
Review the process after a project stage
When a work package finishes, review a small sample of its questions with the team. Ask which queries were easy to answer, which needed repeated clarification and which reached the wrong person. This is a practical learning exercise, not a reason to set an arbitrary target for fewer RFIs. A low count may reflect clear information, but it may also mean that questions are being handled elsewhere without a useful record.
Choose one improvement for the next stage. You might revise a subject-line convention, add a location field or agree who checks attachments before submission. Keep the change proportionate to the problem. A short form that people use consistently is more useful than a complicated form that sends everyone back to informal messages.
Frequently asked questions
What does RFI stand for in construction?
Request for information. It records a specific question or need for clarification between project parties. Some teams use related terminology such as technical query.
Is there one standard UK RFI form?
Do not assume so. Use the project’s agreed system and required fields. A form is useful only when the question, ownership and response process are clear.
Does an answered RFI authorise extra work?
Do not assume it does. Follow the relevant instruction, change and notice procedures and confirm who is authorised to make each decision. Obtain project-specific advice where the position is uncertain.
Can a small project use a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet can track references and status, but it still needs reliable links to questions, answers and current documents. Agree access, ownership and how changes are communicated.
How many questions should an RFI contain?
Aim for one clearly defined issue. Closely related clarifications may belong together, but unrelated questions with different owners are generally easier to route and close separately.