The Anatomy of a Good RFI: What the Spec Asks For, and When It Becomes a Notice

Most RFIs are written in a hurry, by someone who needs an answer to keep the crew working. That is fine. But the RFI is also a record, and on a lot of jobs it is the first written trace of a change. Written well, it gets you a fast answer and protects your position. Written loosely, it gets bounced back, or it gets answered in a way that changes your work with nothing tying the change to cost.

Your specification usually tells you exactly how RFIs work on the project. Here is what one real one says: Section 01 26 13, Request for Information, from DFW Airport's Data Center 1 HVAC/BAS & Electrical Rehabilitation package (PA1971, bid March 2026).

What an RFI is for, and what it isn't

The spec is clear on both. An RFI is for "a clarification and/or interpretation of the Contract Documents due to an apparent inconsistency, error, or omission, or due to unanticipated existing conditions."

It is not for "substitutions, proposed changes to the Contract Documents, the resolution of any non-conforming work, or for general questions not related to the Contract Documents."

That second list matters. If you use an RFI to propose a substitution or a change, expect it to be rejected and the clock to have kept running in the meantime. Substitutions have their own process in the same specification book, and changes have theirs.

The parts of a good RFI

The DFW spec sets a few hard rules: submit a complete RFI with "all attachments necessary to adequately explain the subject," and limit it to "only one (1) Contract Item or only one (1) Specification Section reference." Built around those rules, a good RFI has six parts.

1. A number that follows the project's system. This spec wants sequential three-digit numbers (001, 002, 003), with a letter suffix for revisions (002A, 002B), and the earlier version marked as superseded.
2. One subject. One spec section or one contract item. Two questions in one RFI means one of them waits.
3. The exact reference. Drawing number and detail, spec section and paragraph. Quote the words that conflict.
4. What you see in the field, if the question comes from existing conditions. Photos, dimensions, locations.
5. A proposed answer. Not required, but it speeds things up. "We propose to follow detail 4/M-501 unless directed otherwise" is easier to approve than an open question.
6. The effect on the work. Say plainly if the answer could change cost or time. That one line is often the first written sign that a change is coming.

The small clock most teams miss

If the owner's representative asks for more information, the clock is short:

D. If the OAR requests additional information, the Contractor shall provide such information within [two (2) Calendar Days] unless otherwise allowed by the OAR. E. If the Contractor does not provide the requested information within [two (2) Calendar Days], the OAR will close the RFI.

What it means: A follow-up request needs an answer within two days, or you start again.

You can submit a new RFI later, but if it comes back without the information that was asked for, it will be rejected.

Two days is not much on a busy job. Someone has to own the RFI log, not just the RFIs.

When the answer changes your work

This is where an RFI stops being admin and becomes money.

An RFI response that changes the work is not a change order. The notice clause in the same contract is strict, and on this contract the notice also has to come before the work begins:

…the Contractor shall notify the Engineer in writing of his/her intention to claim such additional compensation within ten (10) calendar days after either occurrence of the event giving rise to such claim or within ten (10) calendar days after the Contractor first recognizes the condition giving rise to such claim, whichever comes first… If such notification is not given … the Contractor hereby agrees to waive any claim for such additional compensation and also any claim for additional time resulting therefrom.

What it means: Start the 10-day clock the day an answer changes the work, and send notice before the work starts.

So when an RFI answer comes back and the work just got bigger, two things have to happen fast:

• Start the notice clock that day. Ten calendar days goes quickly, and on this contract the notice has to come before the work starts.
• Tie the RFI to the cost. Reference the RFI number in the notice, in the change request and in the daily reports. Months later, that link is what shows why the work changed and who directed it.

Every contract words this differently, so check yours. But most have a notice requirement, and most of them are stricter than the team remembers.

A short checklist for every RFI

• One subject, one spec section, with the exact reference quoted
• A number that follows the project's system
• Photos or field measurements if it is about existing conditions
• A proposed answer where you have one
• A plain line on possible cost or time impact
• An owner for the RFI log who watches for follow-up requests
• When the answer changes the work: notice sent within the contract's window, and the RFI number carried into the change paperwork

Good RFIs get answered faster. The habit that protects your margin is the last one: connecting the answer to the notice and the cost while the people involved still remember why.