How Do You Set Up a Submittal Log From the Specs?

A submittal log (the federal specs call it a submittal register) is the list of every submittal the contract requires, with where each one stands. It does two jobs. Before work starts, it is the plan: what must be submitted, by whom and by when. During the job, it is the tracker: what has gone out, who has it now, and what came back approved.

It is also a contract duty on most jobs. Under the AIA's general conditions, A201–2017 §3.10.2, the contractor submits a submittal schedule for the architect's approval "promptly after being awarded the Contract", coordinated with the construction schedule and allowing the architect reasonable time to review. A contractor that doesn't, or that falls behind it, gives up any increase in price or time "based on the time required for review of submittals". The log is where that schedule comes from. Your contract may change these words, so read yours.

Commercial specifications are organized by CSI MasterFormat: 50 divisions, each split into sections numbered with at least six digits, such as 08 11 13 (WBDG's MasterFormat summary). Two places in that book build your log.

• Division 01, usually section 01 33 00 Submittal Procedures, sets the rules: how to number and transmit submittals, how long review takes, what the review codes mean, and whether you must keep a register.
• Each technical section lists its own submittals near the start of Part 1 (General), in an article titled Submittals, grouped by type. Part 2 (Products) and Part 3 (Execution) sometimes ask for more, such as test reports or field samples, so skim them too.

The federal guide specification for steel doors, UFGS 08 11 13, shows the pattern. Its paragraph 1.2 Submittals lists shop drawings for doors, frames and accessories, product data for the same items, and samples of the factory finish. Items marked "G" (or "S", for sustainability proof) need government approval; the rest are reviewed by the contractor's quality control and are for information only. Your spec will use its own marks, but it will draw the same line between items that need approval and items that are just for the record.

1. Read Division 01 first. Note the review time, the review codes, the numbering rule and the form the architect wants submittals sent on.
2. Go section by section through the technical divisions, in spec order. For each Submittals article, add one row per item. Write the spec section and paragraph so anyone can find the requirement.
3. Give every row a number in one sequence for the whole job. Many teams also group rows by section so the log reads like the spec book.
4. Fill in the type, the sub or supplier who prepares it, and who reviews it: the architect, a consultant, or the GC only for information items.
5. Mark each row action (it needs approval before the work proceeds) or information (it is filed for the record).
6. Add the schedule activity each item holds up and the date the material must be on site. Ask the sub or supplier for the lead time from approval to delivery.
7. Work back to the approve-by date (on site minus lead time) and the submit-by date (approve-by minus the review time in Division 01). If the sub sends it to you first, also take off your own review days to get the sub's date. Sort by submit-by: that is your submittal schedule.
8. Send each sub its rows and dates with the subcontract or at buyout, and send the schedule to the architect for approval.

Don't rely on a list someone else made. On federal jobs the government supplies an initial register, but UFGS 01 33 00 says it "may not be all-inclusive", and approval doesn't excuse a submittal the contract requires that was left off or marked "N/A". The same goes for a list exported from software or handed over by the architect. Check it against the book. If you want a ready layout, start from our free submittal log template.

Here is the start of a log on a made-up job, the Mill Creek Clinic, where Division 01 allows 14 calendar days for review. Each date is worked back from when the material is needed on site.

Notice the lead times. The doors are needed on site only two weeks after the panelboards, but the panelboards have to be submitted six weeks earlier, by November 23, because their 70-day lead time eats the difference. A log sorted by required-on-site date hides that; one sorted by submit-by shows it. Track it on the procurement log once it is approved and ordered.

Once submittals start moving, the log becomes the tracker. The City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering's document control procedure tracks each record's number, description, date received, date returned, reviewer and remarks, and the federal register adds the contractor's and reviewer's action codes. A working log needs at least these:

Go through the open items at each owner-architect-contractor meeting, oldest first, and update the log the same day. When an answer you need is a question about the documents rather than a review of a product, that is an RFI, not a submittal.

In Conflo's Submittals tool, each row of your log is a numbered submittal (SUB-001, SUB-002…) with its title, spec section, type, the sub who prepares it, a package, a location, the date it is needed on site and its lead time. Conflo works out the approve-by date (required on site minus lead time) and flags submittals at risk of missing it. It doesn't read your specifications: you add each item yourself, and it doesn't subtract the review time to give a submit-by date.

The log shows each submittal's spec section, package, whose court the ball is in, its status, days in review, the date it is required on site and when the current review is due, with tabs for what's waiting on you, in review, at risk, drafts, revise and resubmit, and approved. A resubmittal stays under the same number as Rev 1, Rev 2. You can export the log as a PDF for the meeting.

Build the log from the spec book, section by section, one row per required item. Give every action item a required-on-site date and a lead time, work back to submit-by, and send the schedule to the architect and each sub their rows.

Then keep it current: date sent, date returned, ball in court and review code, reviewed at every meeting.

See how submittals work in Conflo

1. Summary: A201–2017, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction — AIA Contract Documents. Read October 17, 2026.
2. UFGS 01 33 00 Submittal Procedures (August 2026) — Whole Building Design Guide, USACE / NAVFAC / AFCEC. Read October 16, 2026.
3. UFGS 08 11 13 Steel Doors and Frames — Whole Building Design Guide, USACE / NAVFAC / AFCEC. Read October 16, 2026.
4. CSI MasterFormat — Whole Building Design Guide (SpecsIntact help). Read October 16, 2026.
5. Project Delivery Manual, 16.5 Construction Document Control — City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering. Read October 16, 2026.