At a glance
| Check | What to look for | Compare it with |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Title block, revision | Project, item code, drawing number, revision letter and date, status (“for approval”), scale, sheet; what changed since the last revision. | The drawing register; the item code on the FF&E schedule. |
| 2 Datum, levels | Finished floor level stated, heights taken from it, any raised floor or build-up noted. | The survey; the floor build-up on the architect’s drawings. |
| 3 Overall sizes | Width, height, depth, scribe allowances, clear openings; whether sizes come from the survey or from the design drawing. | The signed site survey. |
| 4 Layout, handing | Door swings and hinge side, drawer and shelf counts and positions, leaf sizes. | The design drawings and elevations. |
| 5 Material, grain | Species, cut, board and thickness; veneer match and sequence; grain direction marked on each face. | The specification; the veneer layout. |
| 6 Finish, sample ref | A finish reference and a sample reference on every visible face, and a stated finish for insides, edges and backs. | The finishes schedule; the signed control samples. |
| 7 Hardware | Hinge type, number and opening angle; runners and load class; handles; locks; each by reference and finish. | The hardware schedule or specification. |
| 8 Fixings | How the unit is fixed to wall and floor, fixing positions, the wall construction assumed, who confirms it will carry the load. | The wall build-up; an engineer where load matters. |
| 9 Services, cut-outs | Sockets, switches, lighting, ventilation, cable routes, appliance and sink sizes with their cut-out sizes. | M&E drawings; appliance data sheets. |
| 10 Tolerances, gaps | Shadow gaps, scribe pieces, door gaps, flushness and alignment, as numbers. See joinery tolerances. | The tolerance clause of the specification. |
| 11 Access, joints | Where the unit splits, joint positions, assembly sequence, the largest section against the route. See the delivery access survey. | The route measured on site. |
| 12 Notes, exclusions | Assumptions, items “by others”, any departure from the design drawings, marked and numbered. | The design drawings; the basis of pricing. |
The numbers match the balloons on the drawing. Wording of the stamps varies between firms and contracts: agree it, and what each stamp lets the maker do, in writing.
What your signature does, and what it does not
A shop drawing takes the design team’s drawings and specification and develops them to show in detail how an item will actually be made, assembled and installed. Designing Buildings, a commentary site, describes the usual review: the design team may check the drawing against the design drawings and specification before fabrication, and to see that packages of work are coordinated. It adds that review does not relieve whoever prepared the drawing of responsibility for preparing it correctly.
Two points from NBS shape how you build the review in. First, shop drawings made from prescriptive information are, in many instances, not issued for comment, so the review step has to be asked for in writing, with a date. Second, who holds design responsibility depends on the specification: with a descriptive specification it lies with the contractor and is likely to be passed to a specialist subcontractor carrying professional indemnity insurance, while on design and build it rests with the contractor whoever does the design.
The wording of your approval should match that position. In our own process the drawing set and the control samples are signed off before production is released, which is why the checklist below is written to be run against both. Not every item needs the full treatment: for simpler items a signed sample may be enough to release production, so agree at the start which items get shop drawings and which do not.
Check it sheet by sheet
The table at the top is the checklist. The drawing shows where each check sits on a typical sheet. Work through it in four passes: identity first (1 and 2), then fit (3, 8 and 11), then what is built (4 to 7, 9 and 10), and last the notes (12).
Where the shop drawing departs from your design drawings, the departure should be marked on the shop drawing and brought to your attention, because the people making the piece are likely to read only the shop drawing. Look for it before you look for anything else. The site survey sheet marks dimensions taken from the drawing rather than measured with a D, and a shop drawing should carry the same mark until the survey replaces them.
The four outcomes, and what each lets the maker do
A submission usually comes back with one of four outcomes. The words are conventions, not defined by a standard, and ‘approved as noted’ in particular comes from US practice, so write down what each stamp means on your project:
| Outcome | Means | The maker may | You should |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approved | The drawing conforms to the design intent as stated. | Release the items for manufacture to this revision. | File the signed copy against the revision. |
| Approved as noted | It conforms once the marked corrections are made. | Proceed after making the corrections, if the wording says no further review is needed. | Say whether the corrected sheet must be reissued for the record. |
| Revise and resubmit | It does not conform yet. Changes are needed before anything is made. | Not start the affected items. | List each correction, then check the next revision against the list. |
| Rejected | It cannot be approved as submitted (wrong product, wrong scope). | Not proceed with it. | State the reason, and settle any change in scope as a variation. |
Whatever you decide, record the date, the revision and the name of the person who signed. A drawing marked ‘approved’ without a revision letter approves nothing in particular.
Sign-off wording that limits approval to design intent
The wording below is for you to adapt. It says what the review was for, what it does not take over, and which revision it covers. It is practice wording, not a form that has been tested in a contract, so show it to whoever advises you on design responsibility first.
Two habits go with it. Do not sign dimensions you did not check: if the sizes come from the design drawing rather than the survey, put a hold on manufacture until the survey record is signed. And do not approve a drawing that cites a sample reference that is not yet signed: approve the two together, or approve the drawing on condition that the sample is signed first. Our sample hierarchy sheet sets out which sample binds production.
Five questions before you sign
If the full checklist is more than the moment allows, these five catch most of what matters:
- Is it the latest revision, and has everything that changed been marked?
- Where did the sizes come from? The survey record, or the design drawing?
- Does every visible face carry a finish and a sample reference, and is that sample signed?
- Can it get in? The largest section against the measured route.
- Who confirms the wall, the services and the loads? A name against each.
After approval, treat the signed revision as fixed. A later change is a new revision, approved in writing, with its effect on price and programme stated before work changes. When the work is made and fitted, the same drawing and samples are what the snagging criteria are agreed against.
Specification wording
Paste into your schedule or specification and replace anything in [square brackets] with your own figures. Wording is a starting point: your specification governs.
Reviewed for general conformity with the design intent and specification only. This review does not relieve [Supplier] of responsibility for the correctness of dimensions, quantities, fit, construction, fixing and compliance with the contract documents, or for coordination with other trades. Approval applies to revision [letter] only and not to any later change, whether marked or not. Signed [name, role], [date].
Approved subject to the corrections marked. [Supplier] makes them and issues revision [letter] for record [before manufacture of the affected items / without further review]. Items not marked are approved as drawn.
Manufacture of [items] is not to start until [the site dimensions are verified and signed on survey record [ref]] [and sample [S-nn] is signed]. [Designer] will return each submission within [number] working days of receiving a complete set, marked with one of the four outcomes. An approved drawing changes only by a new revision approved in writing by [designer]; a change to price or programme is agreed as a variation before work changes.
Terms used on this page
- Approved as noted
- A common review outcome meaning the work may proceed once the noted corrections are made, without a further full review. Anything marked 'revise and resubmit' must not be made until reissued.
- Prescriptive specification
- A specification in which the design team states exactly what products, materials and workmanship are required, leaving the contractor to supply and install them as described. Design responsibility stays with the design team.
- Descriptive specification
- A specification that states the required result and performance, and leaves a specialist or contractor to design and detail how to achieve it. Design responsibility for that part generally passes to whoever completes it.
Standards and sources
- NBS: RIBA Plan of Work 2020 and specification: Dale Sinclair, 17 Jun 2020, read 5 Nov 2026.
- Designing Buildings: Shop drawings; Submittals: commentary, not an authority; read 5 Nov 2026.
- BS 8888: Technical product documentation and specification: paywalled, not read: confirm the current edition.
- Make Bespoke Studio: Design development: drawings and control samples signed before production.
Questions we are asked
What does ‘approved as noted’ mean on a shop drawing?
It usually means the work may go ahead once the marked corrections are made, without a further full review. The wording is a convention, mostly from US practice, and is not defined by a British Standard, so state on your project what it allows and whether the corrected sheet must be reissued.
What does my signature on a shop drawing commit me to?
That depends on your appointment, the contract and who holds design responsibility. Commentary describes review as a check against the design intent and specification that does not relieve whoever prepared the drawing of responsibility for it, but a careless approval can still carry risk. Limit your wording to what you checked, and take advice before using it.
Do I have to check the dimensions on a shop drawing?
Check where they came from. If the sizes were taken from the survey record, check that the record is signed and the drawing cites it. If they came from the design drawing, hold manufacture until the survey is signed.
How many rounds of review should I allow?
There is no standard number. Ask the maker to state how many rounds its price includes, so the figure can be compared across quotes, and state in the specification how quickly you will return each submission. This sheet gives no durations.
Who produces the shop drawings?
Usually the maker or supplier, from the design team’s drawings and specification. In our process, production drawings are issued from the approved design set, with materials, finishes and hardware called up against the control samples.
Can I approve a shop drawing before the samples are signed?
You can, but it is a conditional approval. A drawing that cites a sample reference is only as firm as that sample, so approve the two together or make the drawing approval depend on the sample being signed.
Download the factsheet
A two-page A4 PDF with the twelve-point checklist, the annotated drawing and the stamp, hold-point and change wording, to keep with your project file.