Construction RFI Log Template

A construction RFI log (also called an RFI register or RFI tracker) is a running record of every Request for Information on a project — who submitted it, when, what discipline it targets, when a response is required, what the response was, how many days it stayed open, and what the cost and schedule impact turned out to be. It is the single most important commercial document on a construction project. Unanswered or late RFIs are the number-one cause of documented delay claims in North American construction. A well-maintained RFI log is what turns "we were waiting on an answer" into a defensible, dollar-quantified delay claim that settles in mediation rather than court.

A complete RFI log should include at minimum 14 columns: RFI number, date submitted, submitted by (trade or company), submitted to (GC, architect, engineer, or owner), subject and description, discipline (architectural, structural, MEP, civil, other), detailed question, date response required, status (open, in review, answered, closed, on hold), date answered, response summary, cost impact in dollars, schedule impact in days, and attachments or drawings affected. Most vendor templates stop at 6 to 8 columns — they miss the impact fields that matter when the RFI becomes a change order, delay claim, or notice of impact. This template covers all 14, and the summary panel at the bottom rolls them up into aging buckets, risk categories, and total cost and schedule exposure.

Most construction contracts specify a response window of 7 to 14 calendar days. Industry data from the Navigant Construction Forum puts the actual average time to answer an RFI at 9.8 days on U.S. commercial projects. This template uses 4 aging buckets: 0 to 7 days (fresh, on track), 8 to 14 days (watch, follow up), 15 to 30 days (overdue, escalate with a written notice), and 30+ days (critical, file notice of impact per the contract). Any RFI in the 30+ bucket that is tied to a critical-path activity should be treated as an active delay claim from day one — not after the delay has already occurred. Waiting until the delay is actual forfeits the right to most damages under standard ConsensusDocs and AIA form contracts.

Yes, completely free. No email required, no account, no trial period, no watermark. Download the editable HTML file, fill it out in your browser, and print to PDF or save for later. The template auto-calculates aging buckets, response rate, overdue count, and total cost exposure as you type — no formulas to write, no spreadsheet skills needed. Plan of Day also offers industry-specific construction templates for 68 industries (solar, wind, bridge, highway, pharma, data center, and more) — all free, all ungated, all with one-click Google Sheets copy.

Most RFI log templates from other vendors are 6 to 8 column spreadsheets with no aging buckets, no cost impact tracking, no schedule impact fields, and no auto-calculation — and most require email capture to download. This template has 14 columns, 4 auto-calculated aging buckets, a cost exposure rollup, a schedule exposure rollup, and risk categorization across critical, high, medium, and low. It is also completely ungated. The bigger difference is what happens after the template: Plan of Day replaces manual RFI tracking with an AI platform that routes each RFI to the right discipline automatically, triggers aging alerts before the contract deadline, predicts schedule impact based on the RFI content, and escalates to the owner when an RFI stays open more than 14 days. The template is a free lead-in to the real product.

When an RFI passes its contractual response deadline, three things must happen simultaneously. First, document the late date in the RFI log — this template auto-calculates aging in days so the overdue flag is automatic. Second, issue a written notice to the responsible party citing the contract article and the specific RFI number, sent by email AND registered mail. Third, calculate and record the ongoing cost and schedule impact in the impact columns — every day the RFI remains open adds to the exposure, and the log is what proves it. Without this three-step documentation, a late-RFI delay claim will be dismissed on the basis that the contractor failed to mitigate or failed to give timely notice. The log is the evidence. A well-maintained RFI log has settled more construction delay claims in mediation than any other single document.

Yes. The template includes a dedicated schedule impact column measured in days, plus a cost impact column measured in dollars — both on every RFI row. Fill these in the moment the impact becomes known (usually when the RFI is answered, when a work-stop is declared, or when a revised drawing is issued). The summary panel at the bottom rolls up total schedule exposure, total cost exposure, RFIs tied to the critical path, and RFIs requiring an owner decision. This is what transforms the log from a list into a defensible commercial document. Plan of Day goes further — the AI platform predicts schedule impact from the RFI content itself, flags critical-path exposure in real time, and alerts the owner when the total days-at-risk crosses a contractually significant threshold.

A formal escalation has five parts. One: update the RFI log to reflect the exact days overdue (the aging bucket shows this automatically). Two: issue a written notice via email and registered mail to the responsible party — cite the contract article, the RFI number, the original submission date, the response-required date, and the days elapsed. Three: copy the owner or owner representative on the notice. Four: calculate the ongoing cost and schedule impact and attach the log entry to the notice. Five: if no response is received within 48 hours of the escalation, file a formal notice of impact per the contract articles that govern delays and changes. Plan of Day automates the entire escalation sequence — the platform sends the notice, copies the owner, calculates the running impact, and logs every step in the audit trail so the escalation itself becomes evidence in any future dispute.