FIDIC Notices & Time Bars: Red Book 1999 & 2017

Master FIDIC contract notices for Contractors, Employers and Engineers: time bars, determinations, records and delivery

Created byPMC Edge

Last updated 10/2026

English

ArabicEnglish [Auto],

What you'll learn

Decide when a FIDIC Notice of Claim is required and separate it from ordinary correspondence, reports and supporting records.
Apply Red Book 1999 Sub-Clause 20.1 and original 2017 Sub-Clause 20.2 correctly, without mixing the two editions.
Calculate 28-, 42- and 84-day deadlines from the correct awareness trigger and record every counting assumption.
Separate event, awareness, issue and receipt dates, including the 2017 next-day deemed receipt for electronic Notices.
Draft a specific, measured initial Notice that states known facts and open impacts without overstatement.
Check sender, recipient, address, copies and delivery evidence before a Notice is released.
Handle detailed claims, Employer claims, Engineer determinations and the 2017 Notice of Dissatisfaction.
Diagnose late, defective or misdirected notices, plan a recovery, and see how the rules apply to Yellow and Silver Books.

Course content

4 sections • 13 lectures • 1h 16m total length

Course Introduction1:45
See why a missed or misdirected Notice can cost time, money or both, and what this course will equip you to do. Meet the fictional Riverside Link project, the separate 1999 and original 2017 Red Book tracks, the course resources, and how to get the most from each practical lecture.
Why Notices and Time Bars Matter6:55
Understand why notice discipline matters before the merits are ever argued. You will learn to recognise a notice issue early, separate a deadline from its consequence, and open an evidence-led event file on the Riverside Link project that you will build on throughout the course.
Notice, Correspondence, Evidence, Entitlement7:03
Notice, correspondence, evidence and entitlement each do a different job. You will learn to assign every document its correct function, avoid relying on the wrong one, and see why an informal email rarely carries the Notice, so your file protects the position it is meant to protect.
Contract Edition and Communication Control7:00
Before drafting anything, confirm what governs. You will check the edition, incorporated amendments and the communication route, including sender, recipient, address, system and copies, so that a well-written Notice is not undermined by being sent under the wrong rules or to the wrong place.

Red Book 1999: The Contractor Claim Route6:31
Walk through the Red Book 1999 Contractor claim route: the 28-day notice, the 42-day detailed claim, the Engineer's response and continuing effects. The Employer route is kept separate, so you can apply each step confidently and avoid mixing obligations that belong to different parties.
Original Red Book 2017: The Claim Route7:11
Master the original 2017 claim route: classifying the Claim, the 28-day Notice, the Engineer's 14-day response, the 84-day fully detailed Claim and the basis-statement mechanism. You will see how each stage connects, and where the 2017 edition differs from the 1999 approach.
Triggers, Receipt and Deadline Assessment7:29
Event, awareness, issue and receipt are different facts, and each can move a deadline. You will calculate worked candidate dates transparently, document competing triggers and delivery risk, and record your evidence and assumptions instead of forcing a single uncertain answer.

Drafting the Initial Notice5:12
Turn your analysis into a clear, factual initial Notice for the selected edition. You will separate required content from good practice, avoid wording that weakens your position, and run a disciplined pre-issue review before the Notice leaves your desk, using editable templates you can reuse.
Event-Specific Notices and Route Triage5:43
Access, late drawings and unforeseeable physical conditions each follow their own steps. You will triage each event to the correct route, see where early warning genuinely helps, and understand why it does not replace a Claim Notice, so practical events do not slip through the gaps.

Records, Detailed Claims and Continuing Effects5:09
Build contemporary records around responsibility, causation and relief, then assemble a detailed claim that the records actually support. You will also manage continuing effects, running interim and final submissions from their own triggers so that no part of the claim is left exposed to a time bar.
Employer Claims, Determination and NOD5:32
Look at the process from the other side and work through Employer claims, agreement and determination. You will also learn the separate 2017 Notice of Dissatisfaction, including its recipient, title, reasons and period, and how to handle a corrected determination without losing your position.
Late, Defective and Misdirected Notices5:05
When a Notice has gone wrong, diagnose the problem by timing, content, authority and delivery. You will then plan a realistic, honest recovery, without backdating documents or claiming false certainty, so you can protect whatever remains of the position on the record.
Integrated Case and Final Recap5:47
Bring route, chronology, Notice, delivery evidence and follow-up together in one complete file. You will compare both editions on the same Riverside Link facts, consolidate the course's key checks, and see what changes when you apply them under the Yellow and Silver Books.
Final Quiz

Requirements

Basic familiarity with construction projects and project correspondence.
Comfort reading practical construction documents in English.
A PDF reader and a spreadsheet application. Exercises can also be completed on paper.
No prior FIDIC certification or paid software is needed. All case material is supplied.

Description

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

Picture a road project. Site access is late on 3 March. The team takes photographs, writes a diary entry and waits for the cost estimate. On 31 March, the 28-day notice limit passes with nothing sent. Under FIDIC Red Book 1999 Sub-Clause 20.1, the consequence is written into the Contract: the Time for Completion shall not be extended, the Contractor shall not be entitled to additional payment, and the Employer is discharged from all liability in connection with the claim. A good claim can be lost before anyone argues its merits.

This course teaches you to stop that from happening. It is a focused, practical course on FIDIC notices, claims and time bars under the Red Book First Edition 1999 (Sub-Clause 20.1) and the original Second Edition 2017 (Sub-Clause 20.2).

What you will be able to do

Recognise when a Notice is required
Choose the correct procedure for the edition that actually governs your Contract
Calculate every deadline from the right trigger: the 28-day Notice, the 1999 42-day detailed claim, the 2017 14-day Engineer response and 84-day fully detailed Claim, and the 28-day Notice of Dissatisfaction
Separate event, awareness, issue and receipt dates
Draft a specific and measured initial Notice
Prove delivery
Plan a recovery when a notice is late, defective or misdirected

What is inside

Twelve focused lectures of about eight to ten minutes each, built around one fictional road-and-drainage project, Riverside Link, from the first site event to a complete notice file. Every lecture has a worked document lab with a completed model and a change-one-fact exercise. You also get:

A 4-page Quick Reference with periods, triggers, consequences and checklists
54 pages of Extended Lecture Notes with the full commentary for every slide
The Riverside Link case file, document-lab forms, a notice and deadline register and editable templates
An integrated capstone with a 100-point rubric and a model guide
A final 10-question quiz with an explanation for every answer

Why this course is different

Most FIDIC courses walk through the whole contract clause by clause; this one goes deep on the step where claims are most often lost: the notice
The 1999 and original 2017 editions are taught side by side and never blended, so you always know which rule belongs to which edition
Every worked date is shown with its trigger and counting convention (for example 3 March + 28 days = 31 March; + 42 days = 14 April; + 84 days = 26 May), so you can check the reasoning and adapt it to your own Contract
A short final segment shows how the same mechanics apply to the Yellow and Silver Books and what changes, such as the Silver Book's Employer's Representative in place of the Engineer

Who this course is for

Contracts and claims engineers, quantity surveyors, project managers, planners, site engineers, and PMC, consultant or Employer staff who prepare, review or receive contractual notices on FIDIC projects.

Scope and honest limits

This is independent practical training by PMC Edge. It is not endorsed by FIDIC, it is not FCCM examination preparation and it is not legal advice. The course teaches the Red Book 1999 and the original, unamended 2017 edition. Later amendments, Particular Conditions and governing law must be checked against your actual Contract. The course does not promise any claim outcome. All project names, people and records are fictional.

By the end, you will be able to turn a site event into a clear route decision, a defensible deadline record and a well-drafted Notice with proof of delivery.

Who this course is for:

Contracts and claims engineers who draft, review or track notices on FIDIC projects.
Quantity surveyors and planners who support claims, records and deadline registers.
Project managers and site engineers who must spot notice events and escalate them on time.
PMC, consultant and Employer staff who receive, assess or respond to contractor notices.
Professionals moving into FIDIC contract administration who want a practical, procedure-first method.

FIDIC Notices & Time Bars: Red Book 1999 & 2017

What you'll learn

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Course content

Notice Recognition and Contract Control4 lectures • 23min

Claim Routes and Deadline Assessment3 lectures • 21min

Drafting and Event-Specific Notices2 lectures • 11min

Records, Determination and Integrated Practice4 lectures • 22min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: