Notice to proceed and contract time, worked out

Why there is a separate notice

Owners often sign the contract before they are ready for work to begin. They may still be waiting for a permit, financing, land, or the contractor's bonds and insurance. Issuing a separate NTP lets the owner fix the start date once those are in place. Before issuing it, owners commonly want:

• the signed agreement
• performance and payment bonds, where required. See the Miller Act and Little Miller Acts for public work.
• certificates of insurance. See certificate of insurance and additional insured.
• in some contracts, a preliminary schedule and a schedule of values

Some contracts also allow a limited notice to proceed, letting the contractor order long-lead materials or do design work before full mobilization. A limited NTP authorizes only what it names.

Two ways to state contract time

• A duration: for example, 150 calendar days from the date of the NTP.
• A fixed date: substantial completion by a named date, whenever the NTP issues. That puts the risk of a late NTP on the contractor unless the contract says otherwise.

Durations come in calendar days, which count every day including weekends and holidays, or working days, which count only the days the contract defines as working days. Read the definition. Working days often exclude weekends and listed holidays, and some contracts also exclude days when weather prevents the controlling work.

A worked date count with invented dates

The NTP is dated 2 February 2027 and allows 150 calendar days. The contract counts the NTP date as day 1.

• February 2 to February 28: 27 days (2027 is not a leap year), running total 27
• March: 31 days, total 58
• April: 30 days, total 88
• May: 31 days, total 119
• June: 30 days, total 149
• 1 July is day 150. Completion date: 1 July 2027.

Check: 27 + 31 + 30 + 31 + 30 + 1 = 150.

If the contract instead counts the day after the NTP as day 1, every day shifts by one and the completion date is 2 July 2027. One day can matter when liquidated damages run per day, so read the counting rule.

An extension. The owner grants 6 calendar days for a change. From 1 July: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 July. New completion date: 7 July 2027. Check: 150 + 6 = 156 days, and 156 - 149 (through 30 June) = 7, so the 7th day of July.

Working days, worked

A different contract allows 100 working days, with working days defined as Monday to Friday and no holidays in the period, for simplicity.

• Weeks: 100 / 5 = 20 weeks
• Calendar days: 20 x 7 = 140 calendar days

Check: 140 / 7 = 20 weeks, and 20 x 5 = 100. Add listed holidays and weather days under the contract's definition, and the calendar span grows.

What moves the date

• Time extensions granted by change order for owner changes, excusable delays and differing site conditions, each under the contract's notice rules.
• A late NTP, where contract time is a duration. The clock starts later, and so does the finish.
• Suspension by the owner, under the contract's suspension clause.

What does not move it on its own: the contractor's slow start, a sub's late delivery the contractor is responsible for, or an unwritten promise from the field.

Common mix-ups

• Starting the clock at contract signing. On most contracts it starts with the NTP. Read the agreement.
• Mixing calendar and working days. The difference over a long job is months.
• Forgetting the counting rule. Whether the NTP date is day 1 or day 0 moves the finish by one day.
• Assuming a verbal extension counts. Extensions go in writing, usually by change order.

On the NASCLA exam

The bulletin lists subject areas, not topics. We place contract time under Procurement and Contracting Requirements, 31 of the 115 scored questions, and scheduling under General Requirements, 25. Construction Project Management fits scheduling by its title. Date counts are arithmetic: write out the months and keep a running total.

Practice it

Build the activities that fill those 150 days in CPM scheduling and float, then see what a late finish costs in liquidated damages.

Take the free 10-question check

Start the free 10-question check. It is weighted to the twelve NASCLA subject areas, needs no signup and explains every answer, so you see which area to study first.

The NASCLA Commercial course has a lesson for each of the 12 subject areas that shows which listed reference to open and how to apply it, original practice questions with every answer worked, and four timed practice exams of 115 questions on a 330-minute clock. Your scores come back by subject area, so you know where the next study hour goes. See the course.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by NASCLA or PSI. NASCLA and PSI are named only to identify the exam and its test vendor.

Sources

Show the list

• PSI Candidate Information Bulletin 1458, content outline and reference list, updated 7 Jul 2026. Retrieved 5 Nov 2026.
• NASCLA Commercial Exam, NASCLA. Retrieved 5 Nov 2026.
• All examples use invented dates and terms. Each contract defines its own days and counting rule.