Submittal Review Codes, Explained

What Approved, Approved as Noted, Revise and Resubmit, and Rejected actually mean — and how "approved as noted" and silent deviations get jobs into trouble.

Why the stamp matters

When you send a submittal — a shop drawing, a product data sheet, or a sample — the architect or engineer returns it with a review code stamped on it. That code tells you whether you can order and fabricate. Read it wrong and you can fabricate rejected work or, worse, install something the design team never approved.

The four common review codes

• Approved / No Exceptions Taken — proceed. The submittal conforms; fabricate and install as submitted.
• Approved as Noted / Make Corrections Noted — proceed, but incorporate the reviewer's marks. You usually do not resubmit; you fabricate per the notes.
• Revise and Resubmit — do not proceed. Make the corrections and send it back for another review cycle before ordering.
• Rejected / Not Approved — do not proceed. The submittal does not conform; a corrected submittal is required.

"Approved as noted" is where jobs get in trouble

The trap in "approved as noted" is assuming the notes are minor. If a reviewer's note actually changes scope, cost, or schedule, accepting it silently can waive your right to a change order. Read every mark. If a note adds work, treat it like an RFI answer with an impact and open a change before you fabricate.

Deviations and substitutions

If your submittal knowingly differs from the contract documents — a substitution, a different manufacturer, a dimensional change — most contracts (for example AIA A201 section 3.12.8) require you to call out that deviation in writing. Approval of a submittal does not, by itself, authorize a deviation from the contract unless you specifically flagged it and it was specifically approved.

Explicitly flag any deviation from the contract documents on the submittal. Silent substitutions are a frequent source of disputes and backcharges.

Track the review cycle

Every "revise and resubmit" adds a cycle, and cycles cost time. Log the ball-in-court — who is holding the submittal and for how long — so a slow review doesn't quietly eat your fabrication lead time. If a long review threatens the schedule, that delay may itself support a time extension.