Client approval of drawings: record which revision was signed off

TimeBinder adds a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes. For an architect, that means a dated, checkable record of exactly which drawings the client was shown when they said yes.

The argument that costs practices the most time is rarely “did the client approve?” It is “approve what?” A client signs off the layout in March, the drawings go through two more issues, and in July someone says the approved plan had the stair on the other side. Both sides remember approving something. Neither can show which file.

This guide is about closing that gap at each design stage, using the approval steps that the RIBA Plan of Work 2020 and the standard AIA owner-architect agreement already describe. It covers what to ask the client to sign, what to keep, and how a dated record of the exact files fits in. It is general information for architects in the UK, Europe and the US, not legal advice.

What the RIBA and AIA documents already say about approval

Neither framework leaves approval to chance. The point is to build your record around the approval steps that are already in the process.

RIBA Plan of Work 2020. The Plan of Work 2020 Overview lists, among the client’s tasks, to “sign off the Stage Report at the end of each stage”. It gives the Stage 2 outcome as an “Architectural Concept approved by the client and aligned to the Project Brief”. It also explains that at the end of each stage “all information required for a client to sign off a stage is captured properly within a set of documentation”, and that the information exchanged should record “the basis on which this information was determined”. For Stage 3 it says changes to the Architectural Concept “should be agreed via the Change Control Procedure”.

AIA B101-2017. In the AIA B101-2017 sample, the architect prepares Schematic Design Documents “for the Owner’s approval” (§3.2.5) and must “submit the Schematic Design Documents to the Owner, and request the Owner’s approval” (§3.2.7). The next phase is then based on that approval: Design Development begins “based on the Owner’s approval of the Schematic Design Documents” (§3.3.1), and Construction Documents on the approval of the Design Development Documents (§3.4.1).

These are standard forms. Signed agreements are often modified, so read your own contract for who approves, in what form and by when. RIBA and AIA stages are not a one-to-one match, but the pattern is the same: a defined set of information goes to the client, the client approves it, and the next stage builds on it.

Where approval records usually fall apart

• The approval names no revision. “Looks good, go ahead” in a reply to an email with four attachments.
• The approval covers a PDF, but the live model moved on. The drawing the client saw and the drawing now in the project folder are not the same file.
• Verbal approval in a meeting. Nothing written, and the minutes say “design discussed”.
• Approval of an option, then later changes. The client approved Option B, but Option B was revised twice before the next issue.
• Dates that depend on one party’s systems. File dates, email dates and folder history can be changed or recreated.

A good record answers three questions: which exact files, who approved them (in the client’s own words), and when did those files exist?

The five parts of an approval record

1. A frozen issue set. Export the PDFs, DWGs or IFC you are about to send and stop editing those copies. Give every sheet its revision code, so the set itself says what it is.
2. A transmittal that lists the revisions. One line per sheet or model: number, title, revision, date. Send it with the set.
3. A written request for approval that names the set. See the sample wording below.
4. The client’s reply, kept as received. Save the email or signed sheet next to the issue it refers to. It is the evidence of agreement; your files are not.
5. A dated record of the exact files. A TimeBind made before you send gives you a checkable record that this exact set existed by that time and still matches.

Sample wording for the approval request

Short and specific beats formal and vague. Adapt this to your contract:

Attached is the Stage 3 design set, issued 12 March 2027: drawings A-100 to A-140 at Revision C, and the outline specification at Revision B (transmittal attached). Please confirm by reply that you approve this set so that we can begin Stage 4. If you want any change, please mark it on this revision and we will reissue it as Revision D.

The client’s reply “Approved” now points at a transmittal that names every sheet and revision. If they approve verbally in a meeting, send a same-day email: “To confirm today’s decision: you approved set Revision C.”

A routine you can run at every gate

1. Close the set. No new edits to the issued copies. Revision codes on every sheet.
2. Create a TimeBind of the set in the TimeBinder app before you send it. Up to 10 files per TimeBind, or a single zip of the set.
3. Send the set with the transmittal and the approval request. Note the TimeBind date in your issue log.
4. File the client’s reply and the certificate together in the stage folder.
5. Treat later changes as a new revision. Anything changed after approval goes through your change process and gets a new revision code and, where it matters, a new TimeBind.

Keep it to the sets that leave your practice. Dating every working version creates noise, not evidence. For the revision-round view of the same habit, see what architects should timestamp at each revision round.

When the client changes their mind after approving

Change after approval is normal. The problem is when it arrives dressed as a correction: “the approved design always had a bigger kitchen”. Your record lets you say, calmly, “here is Revision C as approved on this date, and here is the request that produced Revision D”.

The standard forms treat this as a change, not a correction. RIBA Stage 3 says changes to the Architectural Concept go through the Change Control Procedure, and the AIA B101-2017 sample lists, among Additional Services, “services necessitated by a change in the Initial Information, previous instructions or approvals given by the Owner” (§4.2.1.1), which the architect must notify and begin only on written authorisation (§4.2.1). If that is where your project is heading, read extra design revisions and fee disputes.

How a TimeBind fits, and what it does not show

The approval itself is the client’s written agreement. A TimeBind supports it from the other side: it gives you a record, held outside your own systems, of exactly which files existed when you asked for approval. If the question later becomes “was the set you showed us the same as the one in your archive?”, you can fingerprint the stored file again and check it matches the certificate. Used this way it is one layer in a set of records. It also makes human error and after-the-fact edits easier to spot, because a changed file no longer matches.

A TimeBind shows that this exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches its fingerprint. TimeBinder makes the fingerprint in your browser and the file stays on your device. It does not show who made the file, who owns it, or that anyone agreed to it. It does not record what the client said, whether they approved, or what they understood. It complements your contract, the RIBA or AIA documents you use, and legal advice; it does not replace them. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources checked

Checked on 10 November 2026. We quote only what these documents say and mark where a point depends on your own contract or local law.

• RIBA Plan of Work 2020 Overview: client tasks (sign off the Stage Report), Stage 2 outcome, information exchanges, Stage 3 change control
• AIA Document B101-2017 (sample, contractdocs.aia.org): §§3.2.5, 3.2.7, 3.3.1, 3.4.1, 4.2.1. Standard form; signed agreements are often modified

Record the set before you ask for approval

Make the fingerprint in your browser, keep the files on your device, and save the certificate with the issue you send. Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required. After that, Pooled TimeBinds start from US$5, and an ASAP TimeBind is US$15. Prices checked 10 November 2026. See plans and pricing. Open TimeBinder