It is vital for contractors to follow the correct procedure for making claims for additional costs and/or extensions of time under the FIDIC contracts. The consequences for not doing so are severe, and will lead to a contractor being unable to claim successfully and potentially being liable for liquidated damages if completion is delayed.

This Practice Note looks at the procedure for notifying contractors' claims under the 1999 Red, Yellow and Silver Books, and the Pink (MDB) Book 2010 and Gold Book 2008. For information about the procedure for employers' claims in these contracts, see Practice Note: FIDIC contracts (pre-2017 editions)—Employer claims.

The claims procedure in the 2017 editions of the Red, Yellow and Silver Books is different—for example, Contractor and Employer claims are now subject to the same regime. For more information, see Practice Note: FIDIC contracts 2017—Contractor and Employer claims.