What Is a Notice to Proceed?
By Wyatt Cooper · Published · 3 min read
Key takeaways
- A notice to proceed (NTP) is a separate written notice after the contract is signed that tells the contractor to start.
- Its date often starts the clock: the days to mobilize and the days to finish, which set the completion date liquidated damages run from.
- On federal construction contracts that require bonds, the contractor must furnish them before it receives the notice to proceed or is allowed to start.
A notice to proceed (NTP) is the owner's written instruction to the contractor to start work. It usually follows the signed contract, once bonds and insurance are in, and its date often starts the contract time: the days the contractor has to finish, and the clock that liquidated damages run against.
How the NTP starts the clock
The federal construction clause ties both deadlines to it: the contractor must "commence work under this contract within" a stated number of "calendar days after the date the Contractor receives the notice to proceed," "prosecute the work diligently," and "complete the entire work ready for use not later than" a date, which may be stated as a number of days after the NTP (FAR 52.211-10). Bonds come first: the contractor furnishes them "before receiving a notice to proceed with the work or being allowed to start work" (FAR 28.102-1).
Notice to proceed and contract time
- Contract signed
- February 15, 2027
- Notice to proceed received
- March 2, 2027
- Start within 10 calendar days
- By March 12, 2027
- Complete within 300 calendar days after NTP
- December 27, 2027
Count calendar days from the day after the NTP is received: March 2 plus 300 days is December 27. If the owner issues the NTP late, a completion date stated as a fixed calendar date may need to move with it; the federal clause's Alternate I extends it day for day.
NTP vs. award vs. letter of intent
Award says who gets the contract. The signed contract says what they must do. The NTP says when to start. A letter of intent comes earlier and promises a contract, sometimes with limited work authorized. Bonds in between are performance and payment bonds, and the end of the clock is where liquidated damages start. Build the schedule from the NTP date: see how to read a construction schedule.
The bottom line
A notice to proceed is the written start signal, and on most contracts it starts the clock on finishing.
Get it in writing, date it, and count your contract days from it, not from the signing. Join the waitlist to try Conflo.
Sources
- FAR 52.211-10, Commencement, Prosecution, and Completion of Work — Acquisition.gov, U.S. General Services Administration. Read October 22, 2026.
- FAR 28.102-1, General (performance and payment bonds for construction) — Acquisition.gov, U.S. General Services Administration. Read October 22, 2026.
Questions
Can a contractor start before the notice to proceed?
Only at its own risk unless the owner authorizes it in writing, for example by a limited notice to proceed for submittals or early procurement.
Does a subcontractor get a notice to proceed?
Sometimes. Many subcontracts tie start to the GC's written notice or schedule, so ask for a dated start notice before mobilizing.
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