NEC contracts

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About the NEC contracts

The NEC4 suite of contracts was published by the Institution of Civil Engineers on 22 June 2017. Some minor amendments were published in March 2019 (see News Analysis: Amendments to NEC4 contracts published), a second published in October 2020 (see News Analysis: NEC4 contracts—October 2020 amendments) and a third set in January 2023.

The previous suite of NEC contracts, NEC3, was published in 2005 and then revised in 2013 (see Practice Note: NEC3 contracts—April 2013 changes [Archived]).

NEC also has a subscription-based online drafting platform which provides smart tools, real-time collaboration features and contextual, tailored guidance intended to support users of NEC Contracts. See: LNB News 27/10/2025 52.

For information about the key differences between NEC3 and NEC4, see Practice Note: NEC4 contracts—what’s changed? [Archived].

The NEC3 and NEC4 forms (together referred to as NEC contracts) are written in a different style of language and use different terminology to most other standard form contracts, and focus on good project management, co-operation and communication. The core principles are flexibility, simplicity and clarity and a stimulus for good management. For

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