About Recommended Practice 120R-21:

This recommended practice (RP) addresses the necessary elements to determine technical entitlement for a change order request (COR) or claim as applied in engineering, procurement, and construction. While any definitions provided by contract documents would supersede this RP, in the absence of clarity in the contract, this RP defines key elements of the change request process. These elements of a COR or claim apply to any typical design, procurement, and construction contracting strategy or delivery method.

The purpose of this RP is to provide guidelines concerning the critical elements to demonstrate technical entitlement in support of a change order request or claim on a capital construction project, that most practitioners would consider to be a good practice, that can be relied on, and that they would recommend be considered for use where applicable. Additionally, entitlement in the terms of the RP is how a contractor administers the EPC contract (including the relevant purchase orders and subcontracts) entered into using the guidance of their legal advisor. This RP is focused on the technical administration of the contractual terms and conditions. Therefore, all usage of the term entitlement, throughout this RP, refers to technical entitlement and not to legal entitlement.

This recommended practice is relevant to stakeholders on a capital construction project; this includes owner, contractor, subcontractor, construction manager, or other stakeholders. Although this recommended practice is written in the context of a contract between an owner and contractor, it is equally applicable to any parties contracted to perform a project including owners and architect-engineers (A/E), as well as general contractors and their subcontractors. This RP can also be used as an internal change management guideline within an organization’s management procedures. In the context of this recommended practice, the contractor is assumed to be the claimant. Of course, this is not always the case. The owner/employer, A/E, and a subcontractor can also be claimants as well.

It is important for all parties to a contract to understand the contract provisions, as well as laws, regulations, and standards that govern the contract. It is also highly recommended that an attorney be consulted to review the change management process of a contract and the terms defining the responsibilities of the claimant to demonstrate entitlement to requested change orders or claims.

About AACE Recommended Practices:

The AACE International Recommended Practices (RPs) are a series of documents that contain valuable reference information that has been subject to a rigorous review process and recommended for use by the Technical Board. RPs are intended to be the main technical foundation of AACE educational, and certification products and services. All RPs are available to AACE members free of charge.

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