AIA Contract Documents Explained, by Family
By Wyatt Cooper · Published · 8 min read
Key takeaways
- AIA contract documents are sorted two ways: by series, a letter that says what the document is for, and by family, the set of documents written to work together for one delivery method.
- The A series is owner and contractor agreements, B is owner and architect, C is other agreements, D is miscellaneous, E is exhibits, F is facility management and G is the administration forms used during the job.
- In the conventional design-bid-build family, A201 General Conditions is the keystone: AIA says it is adopted by reference in the owner-architect, owner-contractor and contractor-subcontractor agreements.
- Mixing documents from different families, or editions, can leave gaps and conflicts; AIA's own pages warn against some combinations, so check each pairing before you sign.
AIA contract documents are standard construction contracts and forms published by the American Institute of Architects. Each has a letter for its series: A for owner-contractor agreements, B for owner-architect, C for other agreements, D for miscellaneous, E for exhibits, F for facility management and G for administration forms such as change orders and pay applications. Documents are also grouped into families by delivery method, such as conventional design-bid-build, construction manager, design-build and integrated project delivery.
What AIA contract documents are
The American Institute of Architects publishes a library of standard agreements and forms for design and construction. Owners, architects, contractors and subcontractors use them because the terms are familiar and the documents are written to refer to one another. They are sold through AIA's own service; this guide names documents and says what each is for, and reproduces none of their text.
Every document has a code, a number and an edition year, such as A201–2017. The letter is the series, the number places it in a family, and the year is the edition. Editions matter: a 2017 agreement is written to work with the 2017 general conditions, and AIA lists older editions separately.
The series: one letter for each purpose
AIA sorts its documents into series by purpose (AIA Contract Documents, list of current documents). The letter tells you who the document connects and when it is used.
| Series | What it covers | Examples you will meet |
|---|---|---|
| A | Owner and contractor agreements, plus the general conditions, bonds and bidding documents that go with them | A101 (stipulated sum), A102 (cost of the work plus a fee with a GMP), A201 General Conditions, A401 contractor-subcontractor agreement, A310 bid bond, A312 payment and performance bonds |
| B | Owner and architect agreements and the architect's scopes of service | B101 owner-architect agreement, B133 (construction manager as constructor edition), B201 design and construction contract administration services |
| C | Other agreements: consultants, construction managers as advisers, program managers, joint ventures | C401 architect-consultant agreement, C132 owner and construction manager as adviser |
| D | Miscellaneous documents | D200 project checklist |
| E | Exhibits that attach to an agreement | E201 and E202 BIM exhibits, E204 sustainable projects exhibit |
| F | Facility management: maintenance agreements and forms after the building is in use | F101 master maintenance agreement |
| G | Contract administration and project management forms used during the job | G701 change order, G702 application and certificate for payment, G703 continuation sheet, G704 certificate of substantial completion, G714 construction change directive, G716 request for information |
The families: documents that work together
AIA also groups documents into families by project type or delivery method (AIA Contract Documents, synopses by family). A family is a set whose definitions, roles and cross-references line up, so the owner-architect agreement, the owner-contractor agreement and the general conditions all describe the same project the same way.
| Family | When it fits, in AIA's description | Anchor documents |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional (A201), design-bid-build | Separate contracts for design (with the architect) and construction (with one or more contractors); AIA calls it the most commonly used family | A101 or A102, A201 General Conditions, B101, A401 |
| Construction Manager as Adviser (CMa) | A construction manager advises the owner through design and construction while the owner holds multiple prime trade contracts | A132, A232 General Conditions (CMa edition), B132, C132 |
| Construction Manager as Constructor (CMc) | One firm provides preconstruction advice and then builds the work, with or without a guaranteed maximum price | A133 (with a GMP), A134 (without a GMP), B133 |
| Design-build | The owner contracts with one design-builder, who hires the architect and the construction contractors | A141 owner and design-builder, B141 design-builder and architect (which replaced B143 in 2024), A441 design-builder and subcontractor |
| Integrated project delivery (IPD) | Owner, architect and contractor sign one multi-party agreement or form a single purpose entity | C191 multi-party agreement, A195 and A295, B195 |
| Small projects, residential, interiors, international, facility management | Shorter or specialized documents for those kinds of work | A105 and B105 short forms; A110 to A113 residential; B152 interiors; B161 international; F series |
Edition years differ within a family: AIA revised its design-build documents in 2024, for example, while the conventional family's core agreements are 2017 editions. Use the documents AIA lists as matched, not whatever editions are on file.
Which AIA documents you meet on a design-bid-build job
On a conventional job, the documents appear in a predictable order. The flow below names them by stage. Who signs which form is set by the contract, so treat this as the common pattern, not a rule.
- 1Owner and architectB101 owner-architect agreement sets the design and contract administration services
- 2BiddingA701 instructions to bidders, A310 bid bond with the bid, A305 contractor's qualification statement where asked
- 3Owner and contractorA101 (or A102) agreement with A201 General Conditions incorporated, and A312 payment and performance bonds
- 4Contractor and subcontractorsA401 contractor-subcontractor agreement, which follows the prime contract's terms
- 5During constructionG702 and G703 each pay period, G701 change orders, G714 construction change directives, G716 RFIs
- 6CloseoutG704 certificate of substantial completion, then G706, G706A and G707 before final payment
Two of these are where money moves. The G702 summary and G703 continuation sheet carry the retainage calculation and the period's billing, and the G701 change order changes the contract sum, which is why pricing a change order carefully matters before it is signed. The closeout forms ask the contractor to state that debts and liens are paid or released, which ties the AIA set to state lien law and to lien waivers.
General conditions: the document the others lean on
In the conventional family, the agreement sets the price, the schedule and the payment method, and A201 General Conditions sets the rules for everything else: the parties' rights, the architect's role during construction, changes, payment procedures, claims and termination. AIA describes A201 as adopted by reference in the owner-architect, owner-contractor and contractor-subcontractor agreements of that family, which is why it is often called the keystone document.
The other families have their own general conditions: A232 for the construction manager as adviser family, and A295 for integrated project delivery. AIA's synopses warn, for example, not to use A232 with agreements where the construction manager is the constructor, such as A133 or A134.
What AIA documents do not settle
- State law. Lien rights, retainage limits and prompt-payment deadlines come from statutes the contract cannot always change. See retainage laws in the five largest construction states and what prompt payment acts require.
- Your job's specifics. The documents leave blanks for price, dates, retainage percentage, insurance limits and the parties' choices; supplementary conditions modify the general conditions for one project.
- Public-agency rules. Government owners often use their own contract forms and conditions instead of AIA's, or alongside them.
- Forms the job actually uses. Many owners and contractors use their own subcontracts or pay application formats; the G702/G703 layout is common, but nothing requires it.
The bottom line
Read an AIA document's code before its text: the letter tells you the relationship, the family tells you which other documents it expects, and the edition year tells you which versions it was written to work with.
Before a job starts, list every AIA document named in the prime contract and the subcontracts, check they are from the same family and matching editions, and have a construction attorney in your state review the modifications.
Sources
- Understanding AIA Contract Series: Approved List of All AIA Contract Documents by Series — AIA Contract Documents. Read October 16, 2026.
- List: Document Synopses by Family — AIA Contract Documents. Read October 16, 2026.
Questions
What are the AIA contract document series?
AIA sorts its documents by letter: A for owner and contractor agreements, B for owner and architect agreements, C for other agreements, D for miscellaneous documents, E for exhibits, F for facility management and G for contract administration and project management forms.
What is the difference between an AIA series and a family?
The series is the document's purpose, shown by its letter. The family is the set of documents written to work together for one delivery method, such as conventional design-bid-build, construction manager as adviser, construction manager as constructor, design-build or integrated project delivery.
Why is A201 called the keystone document?
Because in the conventional family the owner-architect, owner-contractor and contractor-subcontractor agreements all adopt A201 General Conditions by reference, so it sets the shared rules for the whole job: roles, changes, payment, claims and termination.
Are G702 and G703 required for pay applications?
No law requires the AIA forms in general. A contract may require them, and many owners do, but others use their own pay application format with the same summary and continuation-sheet structure. Read your contract's payment article.
Can I mix AIA documents from different families?
Be careful. Documents in a family share definitions and cross-references, and AIA warns against some combinations, such as using A232 with construction-manager-as-constructor agreements. Mixing families or editions can leave gaps or conflicts; have a construction attorney in your state check them.
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