Guide

ASI vs CCD vs RFI vs bulletin: which ones change your price

Changes reach an electrical contractor on a lot of different paper: RFI answers, ASIs, bulletins, proposal requests, CCDs and change orders. Each one carries a different obligation, and treating one like another is how extra work gets built for free. Here is what each document means, whether it authorizes a price change, and what to do when it lands.

The short version

Document	What it is	Changes price or time?	What you do
RFI (request for information)	A question you ask; the answer clarifies the documents	No. An RFI answer is not a change order	If the answer adds work, send notice and price it before you build it
ASI (G710, architect's supplemental instructions)	Clarifies the documents or orders a minor change	No. Under A201 7.4 an ASI may not change price or time	If it changes your cost or time, notify the architect and do not proceed
Bulletin or proposal request (G709)	Revised drawings or specs sent out for pricing	Not yet. G709 is a request for a price, not a direction to proceed	Price it and submit by the due date; wait for a CO or CCD to start
CCD (G714, construction change directive)	Orders the work now, price settled later	Yes, the work proceeds; the price is decided afterward	Proceed, give notice, track cost separately, watch any not-to-exceed
Change order (G701)	The signed agreement on scope, price and time	Yes, price and time are agreed	Add it to the schedule of values and bill it

The G-numbers are the AIA forms. Your project may use the GC's own forms or different names, and your subcontract decides how each one flows down to you. What matters is what the document does, not what it is called.

RFI answers

An RFI is your question, and the response clarifies what the documents already require. It is not an instrument for changing the contract. The trouble starts when the answer quietly adds scope: "provide a dedicated circuit," "relocate the panel to the east wall," "see attached sketch."

Read every RFI answer against your base scope, not just against your question.
If the answer adds work, send written notice of change before you build it, and say the RFI response is the reason.
Price it like any other change and reference the RFI number on the change order so the GC can match it to their log.

ASIs (architect's supplemental instructions)

On AIA projects an ASI is issued on G710 to interpret the documents or order a minor change. A201 (2017) Section 7.4 allows the architect to order minor changes that are consistent with the intent of the documents and do not change the contract sum or time.

The catch is in the same section: if you believe a minor change will affect the contract sum or time, you must notify the architect and not proceed. If you perform it without that notice, A201 says you waive the adjustment. An ASI that moves twelve receptacles and adds a circuit is not minor to you, so speak up before the crew starts.

AIA's own guidance says a different form should be used when the contractor believes price or time is affected: a proposal request, a CCD or a change order. Ask the GC for the right one in writing.

Bulletins and proposal requests

A bulletin is usually a package of revised drawings and specs issued for pricing. On AIA projects the request may come on G709, which AIA describes as a request for a price quotation, not a change order and not a direction to proceed.

Do not start the work on a bulletin or proposal request alone.
Compare every clouded area against the previous revision. Uncloud changes happen; note them in your scope so they are priced too.
Submit by the requested date with your qualifications and the time impact, and state how long your price is good for.
If the GC tells you to proceed before the price is agreed, ask for a CCD or a written directive. That turns it into directed work.

CCDs

A construction change directive (G714, A201 Section 7.3) orders the work now and settles the price later. You proceed, give notice, track the cost separately and keep signed T&M tickets. Watch any not-to-exceed amount and ask for an increase before you reach it. Full CCD guide.

Change orders

The change order (G701) is the signed agreement on scope, price and time. Once it is executed, put it on the schedule of values and bill it. How to bill it on the pay app.

When the paper doesn't match the work

Common traps

Building an RFI answer that added scope because "the architect answered it."
Treating an ASI as no-cost because of the form it came on, then missing the notice window.
Starting bulletin work before a CO or CCD because the schedule is tight.
Pricing only the clouded areas of a revision and missing the unclouded changes.
Losing track of which document a change came from, so the GC can't match your CO to their log.

A habit that prevents most of them

Log every incoming document the day it arrives, decide whether it changes your cost or time, and if it does, send notice that week. The notice is cheap; a waived claim is not. Free notice letter tool.

Where software helps

Electrical Change Orders reads the documents behind a change (RFIs, ASIs, bulletins, CCDs, revised drawings and emails), ties each change item to the document it came from, and lists the open questions to settle with the GC before you price it.

This guide describes common practice and the AIA A201 (2017) general conditions and G-series forms. Your subcontract, the prime contract and local law control. This is not legal advice.