Provides practical guidance to contract administrators including appointment, roles and responsibilities and administrative procedures.

The purpose of this guidance note is to provide practical guidance to RICS members in England and Wales who undertake the role of 'contract administrator' (CA).
The role of the CA covers a wide range of possible services and projects from the smallest residential scheme through to larger commercial projects. The responsibilities of the CA will be defined by the form of building contract and the professional appointment under which the CA is appointed. As the majority of surveyors only deal with small to medium sized contracts, this guidance note will concentrate on the role of CA at this level; and in particular within the provisions of contracts issued by the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT - minor works, intermediate and standard building contracts). In addition, many of the principles set out in this guidance note will also apply where no standard form of contract has been entered into, particularly for smaller works. While the guidance note does not deal with full 'design and build contracts, the issue of the employer's responsibility for design is considered.
On this basis it should be noted that this guidance note does not cover other forms of JCT contract, GC works, BPF/NEC or ICE forms, other than to distinguish the role of the CA. It also does not deal with the responsibilities of employers' representatives under design and build arrangements, where the responsibility is to act exclusively in the interests of the employer, albeit honestly and with integrity.

Archived May 2022 due to out-of-date JCT contract clause references and it is planned to be revised and re-issued in due course, and as part of a wider review and update of the QS Black Book series of guidance notes. These Black Book titles cover much of the same ground as the withdrawn CA GN, although in greater detail and more from a QS standpoint