Every document a commercial GC must collect and verify before a subcontract is fully executed and the sub mobilizes. The practitioner’s punch list, not the legal-blog version.
Why commercial GCs need a subcontract package checklist that goes beyond the agreement
A subcontract isn’t done when the GC and the sub sign the agreement. It’s done when the package is complete. The executed agreement plus 11 other documents that prove the sub is insurable, payable, and authorized to perform the scoped work. Get the agreement signed without the package and you’ve created a compliance trap: the sub mobilizes thinking they’re cleared, the GC finds gaps two weeks in, and now you’re in a fight about who pays for the standby time when the COI gets rejected.
The official AIA documentation describes A401-2017 as the “Standard Form of Agreement Between Contractor and Subcontractor.” It’s the contractual skeleton. ConsensusDocs 750 is the GC-favorable equivalent. Whichever form you use, the AIA’s own instructions list “subcontract documents” as the prime contract, the subcontract agreement, plans, specifications, and addenda, and that list is intentionally minimal. The practitioner’s checklist for a subcontract package is much longer because real-world execution requires the supporting compliance documents that the agreement references but doesn’t include in itself.
This is the practitioner’s checklist. It’s the artifact a commercial GC’s contracts admin actually uses to clear a subcontract package for execution. Twelve documents. Every one of them either evidences something the contract requires (insurance, tax-payable status, scope clarity, payment ability) or activates a downstream workflow (the lien waiver template, the SOV breakdown for pay apps, the change-order process). Skip any of them and you’re either delaying mobilization or creating downstream problems.
What makes a commercial package different from a federal package: lower CGL limits typically (federal floors are higher under FAR 28.106), no mandatory Miller Act bond unless the prime contract or lender requires it, and no requirement to cite federal flow-down clauses. But the package documents themselves, agreement, scope, COI, W-9, SOV, lien waiver template, signer authorization, are the same. The federal version of this checklist (with stricter limits and Miller Act coordination) is the related template at the bottom of this page.
Run this checklist on every subcontract before mobilization. Use it as the gating artifact for releasing the first pay app. Most package gaps cost less to fix on day 1 than on day 30.
Who this checklist is for
- Commercial general contractors managing 30–200+ active subcontracts per project
- Contracts administrators assembling and gating subcontract packages
- Project executives who need to verify the package is clean before authorizing mobilization
- Accounting and AP teams holding pay apps until package is complete
- Risk and compliance officers auditing the contract file for missing documents
If you’re working federal projects, the federal version of this checklist has stricter limits and Miller Act coordination. Use that one for any contract where the agency is the federal government.
The 12-document commercial subcontract package
The checklist covers 12 documents that must be in every commercial subcontract package before the sub is cleared to mobilize:
- Executed subcontract agreement with all exhibits attached. The signed AIA A401-2017, ConsensusDocs 750, or your firm’s standard subcontract form, with every exhibit named in the agreement physically attached. Exhibits commonly include: Exhibit A (scope of work), Exhibit B (insurance requirements), Exhibit C (lien waiver template), and Exhibit D (general conditions or A201-2017 reference). A contract with “see Exhibit A” referenced but not attached is unenforceable on the scope dispute that follows.
- W-9 with matching legal name and TIN. The IRS Form W-9 must list the legal entity that signed the subcontract, with a Taxpayer Identification Number that matches the IRS records. Mismatches between the W-9 and the subcontract signature block are the most common reason 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC forms get rejected at year-end. The TIN matching service (IRS TIN Matching) confirms the W-9 is valid before payment cycles begin.
- Certificate of insurance with required endorsements. ACORD 25 (or equivalent) showing CGL, Auto, WC, and Umbrella coverage at limits matching the subcontract. The certificate is informational; the actual endorsements must be collected separately. See item 4 for the endorsement-specific verification.
- Additional insured + waiver of subrogation language. Confirm CG 20 10 (additional insured ongoing operations), CG 20 37 (additional insured completed operations), and CG 24 04 (waiver of subrogation) are listed on the certificate. Demand copies of the actual endorsement forms. Box-checks alone are not enforceable coverage. The state-specific WC waiver-of-subrogation form is also required.
- Signed scope of work with inclusions and exclusions. Exhibit A to the subcontract. The scope must be specific enough that a third party can read it and identify exactly what the sub will and won’t do. “Per the drawings” is not enough; reference specific drawing numbers, specification sections, and addenda. Exclusions are as important as inclusions. They prevent the gray-area disputes that turn into back-charges.
- Schedule of values cost-loaded to contract sum. Exhibit B (or wherever your firm puts it). The SOV breaks the subcontract amount into line items that map to AIA G702/G703 pay-app forms. Each line item has its own dollar value. The total reconciles to the subcontract sum. Without a cost-loaded SOV, monthly pay apps become re-negotiations.
- Conditional progress lien waiver template attached. Pre-printed lien waiver template the sub will use for monthly pay-app submissions. Conditional progress waivers (e.g., California Civil Code §8132 form) waive lien rights only upon receipt of the specified payment amount. Templates must be state-specific. A Texas-form waiver doesn’t satisfy California requirements. Including the template at package-execution time prevents the back-and-forth at the first pay-app cycle.
- Bond requirements (performance and payment, if required). Commercial subcontracts don’t always require bonds, but when the prime contract or the lender requires bonds, the GC must require them on the relevant subcontracts. Common triggers: subcontract amount over $250K-$500K (firm-specific), prime-contract bond requirement that flows down, or lender-required bonding on speculative-build projects. Bond forms attach as a separate exhibit.
- MSDS / safety program acknowledgment from sub. Material Safety Data Sheets for any hazardous materials the sub will use, plus a signed acknowledgment that the sub has received and understands the GC’s site-specific safety program. OSHA 1926 records-retention requirements make these documents mandatory regardless of project size. The acknowledgment is typically a one-page form signed by the sub’s site superintendent.
- Authorized signer list with title verification. A list of every individual at the sub authorized to sign change orders, pay apps, and amendments to the agreement on the sub’s behalf. Title verification (typically via secretary of state filings or operating-agreement excerpts) confirms each signer has corporate authority. A mid-level superintendent signing a change order they didn’t have authority to sign is a common dispute trigger.
- Insurance limits matching prime contract flow-down. The subcontract’s required insurance limits must equal or exceed what the prime contract requires of the GC for that scope. If the prime requires $5M umbrella and the subcontract only requires $2M, the GC carries the gap exposure. Verify the flow-down match before execution; cross-reference is a common contracts-admin oversight.
- Tax exemption certificates where applicable. State and municipal sales/use tax exemptions when the project qualifies (tax-exempt owner, public-works exemption, manufacturer’s exemption on equipment, etc.). The exemption certificate goes in the package so the sub doesn’t charge taxes that don’t apply. Missing certificates create either over-billing (sub charges tax that’s then disputed) or under-billing (sub absorbs tax they could have invoiced through). Both are avoidable.
How to gate every subcontract package on this checklist
Run this checklist before clearing any subcontract for sub mobilization. For each item:
- Mark
- In package (document is current, signed, attached),
- Pending (requested from sub, not yet received), or
- Rejected (received but doesn’t meet requirements, sub must resubmit).
- Anything
- Pending has a 7-day SLA from package draft date. Subs not delivering inside 7 days don’t get pay-app cycles started.
- Anything
- Rejected stops mobilization until cured. Don’t release the first pay app while a Rejected item is open.
- File the completed checklist as the cover sheet to the project’s subcontract folder for that vendor. Project-life retention plus statute of limitations (typically 5-10 years post-substantial-completion).
Most commercial GCs find that running this checklist consistently reduces the average time-to-first-pay-app by 20-30 days, because the AP team isn’t blocking on missing documents that should have been collected pre-execution.
Stop chasing missing package docs
The 12 documents above take a contracts admin 30-45 minutes to chase per package when half are still in the sub’s email outbox. Multiply by 50 active subs across 4 commercial projects and you’ve built a full-time job out of email follow-ups. Contracts Connected’s Contract Intelligence feature reads every subcontract the moment it’s drafted, identifies which exhibits and supporting documents are required from the sub, requests them automatically, validates each as it comes in, and flags any of the 12 items that fail. Before the package ever lands in your contracts-admin queue. Same checklist, runs itself, on every package on every project.
Frequently asked questions about commercial subcontract packages
What goes in a complete subcontract package?
A complete commercial subcontract package contains: the executed subcontract agreement (AIA A401-2017, ConsensusDocs 750, or your firm’s form), all exhibits referenced in the agreement (typically scope, insurance, lien waiver, general conditions), the sub’s W-9, certificate of insurance with required endorsements (CG 20 10, CG 20 37, CG 24 04), signed scope of work with inclusions/exclusions, cost-loaded schedule of values, conditional progress lien waiver template, bond forms if required, MSDS and safety acknowledgment, authorized signer list, insurance limits matching prime flow-down, and any applicable tax exemption certificates. Twelve documents total.
Do I need a bond on every commercial subcontract?
No. Bonds are typically required only above a dollar threshold (firm-specific, usually $250K-$500K) or when the prime contract or lender requires them. If the prime contract requires the GC to bond, that requirement typically flows down to subs above the threshold. Speculative-build and lender-financed projects often require bonds on every sub regardless of dollar amount. Confirm the bond requirement during the subcontract drafting phase, not after.
Should the COI be reviewed before or after the subcontract is signed?
Before. Non-compliant insurance is the most common reason a sub gets paused after award. The agreement is signed, the sub mobilizes, then someone in contracts admin discovers the COI is missing endorsements or has the wrong limits. Reviewing pre-signature lets the GC require fixes at zero cost. Reviewing post-signature creates the standby-time-and-back-charge dispute that nobody wants.
What endorsements should I require on the COI?
CG 20 10 (additional insured ongoing operations), CG 20 37 (additional insured completed operations), CG 24 04 (waiver of subrogation on the CGL), the state-specific WC waiver of subrogation form, and CG 20 01 or carrier-equivalent for primary and non-contributory wording. On federal projects, also CG 25 03 (per-project aggregate). The certificate confirms these are in place; demand the actual endorsement copies for proof.
Does the scope of work need to be a separate document?
Yes. Keep it as a labeled exhibit (typically Exhibit A) so amendments to the scope don’t rewrite the master agreement. Scope changes are the most common subcontract amendment; isolating the scope as an exhibit means a Change Order amends only that exhibit, not the underlying agreement. It also makes the scope auditable and disputable independently. Useful when a back-charge or change-order claim arises.
Who keeps the original executed package?
The GC’s contracts admin holds the master executed package. The sub gets a fully countersigned PDF (or paper) of the agreement and exhibits. Both parties retain for the project life plus the statute of limitations on the relevant claims (typically 5-10 years post-substantial-completion, varies by state). Some GCs digitize and archive the master in their contract management system; the original physical hard copy goes to permanent records storage.