How Does a Subcontractor Write a Notice of Delay?

By Wyatt Cooper · Published October 22, 2026 · 7 min read

Key takeaways

A notice of delay is a short written letter telling the GC that something outside your control is delaying your work, sent within the deadline in your subcontract.
Your subcontract's deadline is usually shorter than the prime contract's, because the GC needs time to pass your notice up to the owner within its own deadline.
Say what happened, when it started, which work it affects, that it isn't your fault, and that you reserve the right to more time and money; you don't need the final number yet.
Send it in the form and to the person the subcontract names, keep proof it was received, and follow it with updates and a priced request when the impact is known.

To write a notice of delay as a subcontractor, send a short letter to the person your subcontract names, within its notice deadline. State what is causing the delay, the date it started, the work and schedule activities it affects, that it is beyond your control, and that you reserve your right to a time extension and added cost. You can give the days and dollars later; the notice has to go now.

Why the notice matters more than the delay

Most subcontracts let you recover time, and sometimes money, for a delay you didn't cause, but only if you told the GC in writing and on time. Miss the notice and a strong delay can be lost on paper. The notice doesn't prove anything; it keeps your right to prove it later.

Prime contracts set short clocks, and yours sits inside them. On federal work, FAR 52.249-10 excuses a delay from causes beyond the contractor's control only if the contractor notifies the contracting officer in writing "within 10 days from the beginning of any delay (unless extended by the Contracting Officer)". Under the suspension of work clause, FAR 52.242-14, a claim isn't allowed "for any costs incurred more than 20 days before" the contractor gave written notice of the act or failure to act involved. The AIA's summary of A201–2017 notes that claims made before the end of the correction period are "subject to a 21- day notice period".

Those deadlines bind the GC. Your subcontract will set your own, usually shorter, so the GC can pass your notice on in time. Read your subcontract's notice clause before anything else.

What to put in the notice

The parts of a subcontractor's notice of delay
Part	What to write	Example
To and from	The person and address the subcontract names for notices	GC project manager, by email and letter, as §12 of the subcontract requires
Reference	Project, subcontract number and the clause you are giving notice under	Subcontract 26-014, §8.3 (delays)
The cause	What is delaying you, in facts	Level 2 deck is not ready for overhead rough-in; framing is incomplete
When it started	The date the delay began, not the date you noticed it was costly	April 13
What it affects	Your activities on the schedule and the crew held up	Activity 2-310, level 2 overhead rough-in; 6 electricians
Not your fault	That the cause is outside your control	The area was scheduled to turn over April 13 and has not
Reservation	That you reserve the right to time and cost, amount to follow	Time and cost to be submitted when known
What you need	What would end the delay, and what you will do meanwhile	Turnover of level 2 east; crew moved to level 1 where possible

Keep it to facts. A notice that blames, speculates or argues the claim gives the other side something to fight with. Save the argument for the request that follows.

A sample notice of delay

Notice of Delay — Alder Street Medical Office — Subcontract 26-014 (electrical)

Date: April 14
To: Project manager, Granite Peak Builders (the GC), by email and by letter to the notice address in §12
From: Project manager, Northline Electric
Notice under: Subcontract §8.3, delays
Cause: Level 2 east is not ready for our overhead rough-in. The schedule shows framing there complete on April 10 and turnover to us on April 13; framing is about half complete.
Start of delay: April 13
Work affected: Schedule activity 2-310, level 2 overhead electrical rough-in, east half. Six electricians were planned for the area from April 13.
Cause outside our control: The delay comes from the preceding framing work, which is not in our scope.
Mitigation: We have moved four electricians to level 1 work that is open. Two are idle until level 2 east is turned over.
Reservation: Northline reserves its right to an extension of time and to recover added cost from this delay. We will submit the days and the cost when the impact is known, and update you weekly until then.
Request: Please confirm the new turnover date for level 2 east.

A subcontractor's notice of delay on a fictional job. Every name, number and date is made up.

Notice what it doesn't do. It doesn't name a number of days or a dollar amount, because nobody knows them yet. It doesn't blame the framer by name or by fault. It records the facts, preserves the right and asks for the one thing that ends the delay.

After the notice

1SubcontractorSends the notice within the subcontract's deadline
2General contractorLogs it and gives its own notice to the owner if the cause is upstream
3SubcontractorRecords the delay daily: crews idle, moved, hours lost
4SubcontractorSends a priced request for time and cost when the impact is known
5General contractor and ownerReview and settle it, usually by change order

A delay from the sub's notice to a change in time or price

Back the notice with daily records: your foreman's log of who was idle, who moved and for how long. The City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering's delay procedure wants delays "identified in a contemporaneous manner" and has the contractor submit a time impact analysis for any delay it wants the schedule adjusted for. Delay costs are priced like any change: see how to write a change order request.

Common mistakes

Telling the superintendent on site and stopping there. A conversation is rarely notice; the subcontract says what is.
Waiting until you know the cost. The deadline runs from the start of the delay, not from when you can price it.
Sending it to the wrong person or address. Use the notice clause's exact address, and keep the proof of delivery.
One notice for a delay that keeps going. Update it in writing as it continues or changes.
Writing it like a claim. The notice is facts and a reservation; the numbers come in the request.

Getting paid for the time lost is part of getting paid at all; the subcontractor's guide and how to get paid faster as a subcontractor cover the rest. The GC's side of a weather delay is in how to document a weather delay.

The bottom line

A notice of delay is a short factual letter, sent within your subcontract's deadline to the person it names: what happened, when it started, what it affects, that it isn't your fault, and that you reserve time and cost. The numbers can follow; the notice can't wait.

Conflo puts subcontractors on the same job as the GC, with their change orders and pay apps on the same record the GC works from. Join the waitlist to try it.

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Sources

FAR 52.249-10, Default (Fixed-Price Construction) — Acquisition.gov, U.S. General Services Administration. Read October 22, 2026.
FAR 52.242-14, Suspension of Work — Acquisition.gov, U.S. General Services Administration. Read October 22, 2026.
Summary: A201–2017, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction — AIA Contract Documents. Read October 22, 2026.
Project Delivery Manual, 18.4 Analyzing Delays/Granting Time Extensions — City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering. Read October 22, 2026.

Questions

What is a notice of delay in construction?

A written notice from a contractor or subcontractor that something outside its control is delaying its work. It preserves the right to ask for more time, and sometimes money, under the contract's delay and claims clauses.

How long does a subcontractor have to give notice of delay?

Whatever the subcontract says, which is often shorter than the prime contract's deadline so the GC can pass it on. For comparison, FAR 52.249-10 gives a federal prime contractor 10 days from the beginning of the delay.

Does a notice of delay need the number of days and the cost?

Usually not at first. Give the cause, the start date, the work affected and a reservation of rights now, and send the days and cost when the impact is known, as the subcontract requires.

Is an email enough for a notice of delay?

Only if the subcontract's notice clause allows it. Many name a person, an address and a method; follow it exactly, and keep proof that the notice was received.

What happens if a subcontractor misses the notice deadline?

Depending on the contract and the state, it can lose the right to the time or money it would otherwise have recovered. Give notice on time even when you're unsure the delay will matter.