French DOE for Building Works: Contents, Responsibility and Submission Deadlines

The DOE (dossier des ouvrages exécutés), or as-built works file, is the file that describes what was actually built on a site. Each contractor submits it for its own trade package at the end of its work. The client, meaning the person for whom the structure is built, uses it to operate, maintain and modify the building.

The DOE for works has no single form, because it is defined by the contract documents. The CCTP (cahier des clauses techniques particulières, the special technical specifications) sets out the technical documents to be supplied. The CCAP (cahier des clauses administratives particulières, the special administrative specifications) sets the administrative rules, including the submission of documents. In a public contract, the CCAP may refer to the CCAG Travaux, the general administrative specifications applicable to public works contracts. In a private contract, the agreement may refer to the reference standard for private building contracts. That standard applies only if the contract mentions it, and you then need to check which version it refers to. The first thing to read is therefore always your own contract documents.

The file serves as a reference document because the project changes during the works. A pipe is rerouted, a piece of equipment is replaced with an equivalent model, a partition is moved. The DOE records the final state, not the planned state.

What is the DOE used for in practice?

• Locating a structure: knowing where a duct, cable or drain runs before drilling or demolishing.
• Replacing a part: finding the exact reference of a piece of equipment without taking it apart to read its plate.
• Maintenance: applying the manufacturer's instructions and maintenance schedules.
• Making a warranty claim: having the manufacturers' warranties and the certificates that document what was installed.
• Transforming the building: starting from up-to-date plans for a refit or an extension.

Take a common case. A plumber moves a drainage stack to get around a beam, without the original plans being corrected. If the DOE does not show this route, the contractor who later works on the slab risks drilling through the pipe.

What is the DOE in practice for a company owner?

It is a deliverable in its own right, like the final invoice. It is prepared during the works and checked before acceptance. Depending on the contract terms, it may be a condition of acceptance or of final payment. Treating it as a last-minute formality exposes the owner to delayed payment and a strained relationship with the client, where the contract links these items.

Key takeaways The DOE describes the structure as it was executed, not as it was planned. It allows the client to operate, maintain and modify the building. Its exact contents and submission terms are found in the contract documents (CCTP, CCAP, contract) and in the texts they refer to. It is prepared during the works, not in the last few days.

A building DOE brings together the documents needed to know, use and maintain the structures built. The list below is a common baseline, not a uniform obligation: each contract sets its own requirements, package by package. The contractor confirms it in the CCTP, the CCAP or the contract before putting its file together.

• As-built drawings (plans de récolement): graphic documents showing the structures as executed, with their changes compared with the original plans.
• Technical data sheets for the materials and equipment actually installed, with their references.
• Maintenance and servicing manuals for the equipment, so that the operator knows how to use and maintain it.
• Certificates and conformity attestations issued for products, installations or structures, when the contract requires them.
• Test and inspection reports produced during or at the end of the works.
• Manufacturers' warranties on the equipment and materials concerned.

Does the DOE content change from one trade package to another?

Yes, significantly. A package's DOE depends on the structures installed and on what the contract requires for that package. The table below gives common trends, to be confirmed in the documents of each contract.

What formal requirements apply when submitting the DOE?

The contract may regulate the presentation: paper, digital files or both, number of copies, drawing format, organization into folders by package. Even when nothing is imposed, a readable file is submitted faster. Each document bears the name of the site, the package and the contractor, and the sheets follow the order of the list of required documents.

Do not rely on a generic list A list found online does not replace the CCTP, the CCAP or the contract. Reread these documents package by package as soon as the contract is signed and note each required document, its format and its recipient.

In a private contract, the signed agreement and its appendices play the role of the CCTP and the CCAP. When a requirement remains unclear, the contractor asks the project manager for a written clarification before the end of the works. Example: the CCTP requires a test report on a network, but the test takes place after the crew has left. If nobody is responsible for collecting the document, it is missing at submission. One line in the document list, with a name and a deadline, prevents this oversight.

Each contractor prepares the part of the DOE that corresponds to its package. It gathers the as-built drawings, data sheets, manuals, certificates and reports relating to its own structures. It is best placed to produce them, because it knows what it installed and under which references.

The DOE submission route depends on how the contract is organized. When a subcontractor is involved, it submits its part to the main contractor, which integrates it into its own file. The main contractor then sends the whole to the project manager (maître d'œuvre), who is in charge of design and supervision of the works, or directly to the client, depending on the contract. The project manager often checks the completeness of the file before passing it on, but this task is read from their contract and from the contract documents.

1. The subcontractor or supplier submits its documents to the contractor holding the package.
2. The contractor holding the package checks and assembles the file for its package.
3. It sends it to the project manager or to the client, depending on the contract.
4. The recipient checks completeness and flags what is missing.
5. The contractor corrects and completes the file, then has the submission confirmed in writing.

Who is responsible for the DOE in a company of a few employees?

In a small building company, the DOE often has no dedicated department. The owner remains responsible for submission to the client, but appoints a person who follows the file site by site: works supervisor, site foreman, administrative assistant, or the owner personally when they run their own sites. Two rules prevent oversights. The name of the person responsible appears in writing in the site file, with the list of documents to be supplied. And the installation crews hand over a report, a sheet or a photo the same day, rather than keeping them in a vehicle or on a phone.

How does a subcontractor submit its DOE?

Subcontracting is, according to the BOFiP, the operation by which a contractor entrusts, by a subcontract and under its own responsibility, all or part of the performance of the works contract to another person called the subcontractor. The subcontractor therefore relies first on its subcontract, which should specify the expected content, the submission format, the deadline and the contact person at the main contractor. If the contract is silent, it takes up the requirements of the main contract and confirms them in writing. The main contractor remains the client's point of contact: it sets internal deadlines well before the date expected by the project manager.

What does the project manager check when receiving the file?

Checks usually cover the presence of the documents listed in the contract, the legibility of the documents and the consistency between the as-built drawings and the site. A drawing that does not match the visible structure goes back to the contractor for correction. It is better to review the file on site before sending it, with the works supervisor.

The DOE, the DIUO and the as-built drawings (plans de récolement) are three distinct notions that are often confused. The DOE is the file of the structure as executed, prepared by the contractors. The DIUO (dossier d'intervention ultérieure sur l'ouvrage, the file for later work on the structure) concerns the safety of those who will work on the building later. The as-built drawings are graphic documents that form part of the DOE.

The three documents are not interchangeable. A set of as-built drawings, however carefully made, is not a complete DOE: the data sheets, manuals and certificates are missing. A complete DOE does not replace the DIUO either, which serves another purpose, preventing risks during future work.

Is there a DIUO on every site?

No. The French Labour Code organizes health and safety coordination (SPS) on building sites involving several contractors, and the DIUO falls within that framework. It is therefore tied to the presence of an SPS coordinator. On a site without a coordinator, this file is not prepared on that basis. The contractor does not assume it: it checks in its contract documents whether a coordinator is appointed and what they expect from it.

Information from one document can feed the other. The as-built drawings and manuals supplied by the contractors help fill in the DIUO. To know what it must supply for each, the contractor rereads its contract and asks the project manager or the coordinator, rather than assuming that submitting one file covers the other.

A frequent case: a roofer installs a lifeline and anchor points. Its manuals and position plans are in its DOE, but they also serve whoever fills in the DIUO, because future roof workers need them. The contractor supplies these documents as soon as its package is finished, without waiting to be asked a second time.

The timing of DOE submission depends on the contract. Depending on the contract documents, the contractor submits it before acceptance of the works, at acceptance or after. Acceptance is the act by which the client declares that it accepts the structure, with or without reservations. No single rule applies to all sites, and a deadline found online does not replace reading the contract.

What is the link between the DOE, acceptance, final payment and the retention?

The sensitive point is the link between acceptance, reservations and payment. In a public contract, the CCAP and the CCAG Travaux to which it may refer govern acceptance and final payment. For this type of contract, the public procurement section and the page on solutions for public works give additional guidance.

In a private contract, the agreement and, if it refers to it, the reference standard govern these stages. The retention (retenue de garantie), a sum held back by the client, follows a legal framework there: the contract states the retention provided for and the conditions for its release, detailed in the dedicated article on the retention. The DOE affects these stages only if the contract organizes it that way. If it makes the DOE a condition of acceptance or of final payment, a missing file can block them. If it provides for submission after acceptance, the delay weighs rather on the reservations or on possible penalties.

Where can the DOE submission deadline be found in the contract documents?

What if the DOE submission deadline remains unclear?

1. Note the passages of the CCAP, the contract and the CCTP that deal with the DOE, acceptance and final payment.
2. List any contradictions between these documents.
3. Write to the project manager to ask for the deadline and the submission conditions.
4. Have the answer recorded in site minutes or a dated letter.
5. Set an internal complete-file date earlier than the one that was confirmed to you.

Anticipate rather than discover the deadline at acceptance Note the DOE submission rule as soon as the contract is signed. Set an internal complete-file date, earlier than the date expected by the client. Tell your subcontractors about this date as soon as their contract is signed.

A DOE that is submitted late or incomplete exposes the contractor to several possible consequences. Their extent depends on the contract terms: the same delay may have no consequence or may block the closing of the site. The table below links each risk to the condition that makes it real.

Some contracts expressly link payment of the final balance to submission of the DOE, others treat the subject more flexibly. The answer to the question of final payment is therefore found in the signed clauses, not in a general rule applied without reading them.

What is the retention and how can a missing DOE delay it?

The retention (retenue de garantie) is a sum withheld from payments and held by the client to guarantee that reservations are lifted, over a period tied to acceptance. In a private contract, its rate is set by law, and its release is read from the contract.

Imagine a package that finishes its works and issues its last invoice. The project manager notes that the test reports are missing and lists them among the reservations. If the contract makes lifting the reservations conditional on submitting these documents, the retention stays in place until they are supplied. To understand this mechanism, see the article on the retention in construction works. To track payments during the works, also see the progress payment statement.

Reread the clauses as soon as the contract is signed Find in the contract or the CCAP the clauses on the DOE, penalties, final payment and the retention. Note the conditions for lifting reservations. If in doubt about a clause, seek legal advice before committing.

The best protection remains prevention. A contractor that knows its obligations from the start and tracks the progress of its file limits the risk of a blockage when it is waiting for payment.

Building the DOE throughout the works requires a simple method, applied as soon as the contract is signed. The contractor lists the required documents, appoints a person responsible, collects documents as the phases progress, archives them by package and reviews everything before acceptance.

1. List the required documents: reread the CCTP, the CCAP or the contract, then draw up the list of expected documents per package, with format and recipient.
2. Appoint a person responsible: a works supervisor, site foreman or administrative assistant follows the file and chases subcontractors. In a very small company, the owner can take this role, provided it is put in writing.
3. Collect as the phases progress: data sheets at procurement, certificates at the end of a phase, reports on the day of the tests, photos before structures are closed up.
4. Archive by package with the same filing system from one site to the next.
5. Review before acceptance: compare the file with the initial list and correct any gaps.

What is an example collection schedule for a plumbing package?

Fictional practical case: a plumbing company works on a residential building. The deadlines below are relative markers to be adapted to the contract documents.

What tools help track DOE collection?

A site management tool makes this collection easier by centralizing on site the documents and photos of each package. To align collection deadlines with the progress of the works, the site schedule in Excel can serve as a basis. For a public contract, the requirements are in the contract documents: find guidance in the guide to bidding on public construction contracts. The works supervisor checks the progress of the file at each site meeting, and the owner verifies completeness before the submission date.