Electrical submittals are the documentation packages a contractor assembles to prove that every electrical component heading into a building matches the engineer’s design before anything is ordered or installed. Under standard construction contracts like AIA A201, no portion of the work that requires a submittal can be performed until the design professional has reviewed and approved it.1University of Wisconsin. AIA A201-2017 General Conditions of the Contract for Construction Getting these packages complete, correct, and in early is one of the biggest factors in whether an electrical scope stays on schedule or spirals into delays, change orders, and torn-out equipment.
Action Submittals vs. Informational Submittals
Not every submittal carries the same weight, and confusing the two main categories is one of the quickest ways to create unnecessary back-and-forth with the design team.
Action submittals require an explicit written response from the design professional before the contractor can order materials or begin installation. Shop drawings, product data sheets, samples, and delegated-design documents all fall here. Each one receives a formal disposition such as “Approved” or “Revise and Resubmit.”2Construction Specifications Institute. Shop Drawings and Submittals – Types of Submittals
Informational submittals document compliance without needing formal approval. Certificates, test reports, manufacturer serial-number logs, and installation instructions are typical. The design professional reviews them and logs acceptance, but the contractor does not need to wait on a written response to move forward. If an informational submittal fails to demonstrate compliance, the reviewer issues a written non-acceptance with specific reasons.2Construction Specifications Institute. Shop Drawings and Submittals – Types of Submittals
The practical difference shows up at procurement. Ordering switchgear before the action submittal is approved exposes the contractor to the cost of equipment that gets rejected. Informational submittals exist more to build the project record than to gate purchasing decisions.
What Goes Inside a Submittal Package
An electrical submittal package typically combines several document types. The exact mix shifts by specification section, but the core components show up on nearly every project.
Product Data and Cut Sheets
Manufacturer product data, usually called cut sheets, forms the backbone of most packages. The sheets show voltage ratings, dimensions, performance characteristics, and model numbers for the proposed equipment. Contractors pull them directly from manufacturer websites or authorized distributors so the data reflects current production. The reviewer compares every spec on the sheet against what the contract documents require, so highlighting or marking the relevant model numbers and options saves time and reduces the chance of rejection over ambiguity.
Shop Drawings
When off-the-shelf cut sheets cannot convey the full installation picture, contractors prepare shop drawings. These are custom illustrations showing wiring layouts, conduit routing, equipment mounting details, or panel schedules tailored to the specific project. A complex switchgear lineup, for instance, needs shop drawings showing internal bus arrangements, breaker configurations, and the physical clearances required by code. Shop drawings are where most coordination problems surface, and they account for a disproportionate share of “Revise and Resubmit” responses.
Samples
Physical samples come into play for components visible to the building’s occupants. Receptacle covers, switch plates, and lighting fixtures in architectural spaces may need color and material verification that a cut sheet cannot provide. The design team inspects these to confirm they match the aesthetic intent.
Cover Sheet, Stamp, and Tracking
Every submittal needs a standardized cover sheet identifying the project, the relevant MasterFormat specification section (Division 26 covers electrical work), and a unique tracking number. Before transmitting the package, the contractor must stamp it to certify that the materials have been reviewed internally for compliance with the contract. Both AIA A201 and EJCDC C-700 require this stamp.3Construction Specifications Institute. Shop Drawings and Submittals – Submittal Review Stamps By stamping, the contractor represents that field measurements have been verified, coordination with other trades has been checked, and the submittal matches the contract documents.1University of Wisconsin. AIA A201-2017 General Conditions of the Contract for Construction A missing stamp or incomplete cover sheet is one of the fastest ways to get a package kicked back without review.
BIM Coordination Documents
On projects that require Building Information Modeling, the subcontractor installing the electrical work is typically responsible for modeling it in 3D as well. The coordination process produces sign-off drawings that reflect the integrated model, confirming that conduit runs, cable trays, and equipment locations do not collide with mechanical or plumbing systems.4Associated General Contractors of America. MEP Spatial Coordination Requirements for Building Information Modeling These coordination drawings often accompany or replace traditional shop drawings. Participants in a BIM process are generally expected to have experience on at least two prior fully coordinated 3D projects.
Equipment That Triggers a Submittal
Nearly every piece of permanent electrical equipment on a commercial project needs a submittal. The depth of documentation scales with the complexity and safety implications of the gear.
Power Distribution Equipment
Switchgear, switchboards, panelboards, transformers, and busway carry the heaviest documentation burden. The package has to detail short-circuit current ratings, bus configurations, breaker trip settings, and available fault current at the point of installation. Reviewers scrutinize this data closely because an undersized or improperly rated component in the distribution chain can create arc-flash hazards or cascade into system-wide failures. Listed and labeled equipment must be installed per the manufacturer’s instructions under NEC 110.3(B), so those instructions belong in the submittal too.
Lighting and Controls
Lighting submittals verify lumen output, wattage, color temperature, dimming compatibility, and driver specifications. Beyond basic performance, the design team checks that the proposed fixtures comply with the lighting power density limits in the applicable energy code.5International Code Council. 2021 International Energy Conservation Code – C405.3.2 Lighting control submittals also need to show compliance with occupancy sensing, daylight harvesting, and dimming requirements.6International Code Council. 2021 International Energy Conservation Code – C405.2 Lighting Controls
Fire Alarm Systems
Fire alarm submittals go well beyond a device list. NFPA 72 Chapter 7 requires battery calculations, voltage drop calculations, manufacturer data sheets, design sound levels, strobe candela ratings, a sequence of operations, and floor-plan layouts showing every device location. Missing items typically result in immediate rejection by the authority having jurisdiction, which can stall the entire fire alarm installation.
Low-Voltage and Data Systems
Structured cabling, audiovisual systems, access control, and similar low-voltage infrastructure each need their own packages. Cable performance ratings (Category 6A for most current data applications), patch panel layouts, rack elevations, and pathway routing are the key data points. Because low-voltage work often runs through the same ceiling spaces and riser shafts as power distribution, coordination with the electrical and mechanical trades is critical.
EV Charging Infrastructure
Electric vehicle supply equipment is increasingly showing up on project specifications. Key details include the charging level (Level 2 or DC fast charging), amperage and circuit breaker sizing, the type of residual current device protection required, and whether the unit supports load management or demand response. Dedicated circuits are standard practice for EVSE installations, and the submittal needs to demonstrate that the panel feeding the chargers has adequate capacity.
Engineering Studies That Ride Along
Some electrical submittals go beyond product data and venture into engineering analysis. These studies are the most technically demanding documents in the process, and they frequently require a licensed professional engineer’s seal.
Selective Coordination Studies
The NEC requires that overcurrent protective devices in emergency systems, legally required standby systems, and critical operations power systems be selectively coordinated with all supply-side and load-side devices. A licensed professional engineer or other qualified person must select and document the coordination, and that documentation must be available to anyone authorized to design, install, inspect, maintain, or operate the system.7National Fire Protection Association. NFPA 70-2023 NEC Sections 700.32, 701.32, 708.54 The study typically takes the form of time-current coordination curves showing that a downstream breaker or fuse will clear a fault before its upstream counterpart trips, preventing a localized problem from blacking out a whole floor or building.
Healthcare facilities, elevator systems, and buildings with emergency generators are the most common triggers. Approving the coordination study early matters, because changes to breaker sizes or fuse types late in construction can ripple through the entire distribution design.
Arc-Flash Hazard Analysis
An arc-flash study calculates the incident energy a worker could be exposed to at each piece of electrical equipment and dictates the personal protective equipment ratings and safety boundaries required during maintenance. OSHA references NFPA 70E as the standard for electrical workplace safety, and that standard requires equipment labels showing nominal system voltage, arc-flash boundary, and either the available incident energy at a specified working distance or the minimum arc rating of required clothing.8Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Protecting Employees from Electric-Arc Flash Hazards The study is submitted alongside the power distribution package so the design engineer can verify the calculations before labels are printed and affixed.
Delegated Design Submittals
Some electrical components require the contractor to provide professional engineering design rather than simply selecting a manufacturer’s standard product. This is delegated design, and it shifts a portion of the engineering responsibility from the engineer of record to the contractor’s own licensed design professional.
Common examples include engineered lighting-control sequences, generator paralleling switchgear, complex grounding systems, and prefabricated electrical rooms. The contract documents establish the performance criteria such as load capacity, voltage regulation, and fault ratings. The contractor’s engineer develops the detailed design, calculations, and drawings to meet those criteria, and the resulting documents must be sealed by a licensed professional engineer in the project’s jurisdiction.9American Society of Civil Engineers. Engineering Issues Associated with Delegated Design
The engineer of record still reviews delegated design submittals, but the scope of that review can be ambiguous. The EOR checks that the delegated design meets the performance specifications and integrates properly with the rest of the system, not re-engineering the contractor’s work from scratch. This gray area is where disputes tend to arise, so the contract language defining who is responsible for what deserves careful attention.
Substitution Requests
When a specified electrical product is unavailable, discontinued, or significantly more expensive than a comparable alternative, the contractor can request a substitution. This is not the same as simply submitting a different brand on a shop drawing. A formal substitution request is a separate process with its own documentation requirements, and it must be approved in writing before the contractor orders the alternate product.
A substitution request typically requires:
- A point-by-point comparison of the specified product and the proposed substitute covering all relevant performance characteristics
- Itemized cost data showing the price difference between the specified and proposed products
- Reference installations with project names, dates, and contact information
- An impact assessment of whether the substitution affects other parts of the work, the construction schedule, or any warranties
- Stamped drawings from a professional engineer if the substitute requires changes to other design elements
The contractor bears all costs associated with a substitution, including any engineering redesign the change triggers. Slipping a different product onto a regular shop drawing without filing a formal substitution request is a common mistake. Design professionals will typically reject the submittal outright, and the contractor loses the time spent preparing it.
The Review Cycle and Status Designations
Once the electrical subcontractor finalizes a package, it gets uploaded to the project management platform such as Procore or Newforma. The general contractor performs a preliminary review for completeness before routing the file to the design engineer or architect for technical evaluation. This digital workflow creates an audit trail documenting who accessed the file and when each review action occurred.
The design professional assigns one of four standard dispositions that determine what happens next:
- Approved. The submittal is consistent with the contract documents and design intent. The contractor can purchase materials and begin fabrication.
- Approved as Noted. The submittal is conditionally approved, but the contractor must incorporate the design professional’s written comments. Failing to address those comments voids the approval.
- Revise and Resubmit. The submittal cannot be approved without corrections. This is not an approval. The contractor must fix the identified problems and go through another full review cycle.
- Rejected. The submittal is fundamentally non-compliant. This disposition is rare and usually signals that the proposed product is not even close to what the specifications require.
These dispositions come from CSI’s recommended framework and are used across most standard contract forms.3Construction Specifications Institute. Shop Drawings and Submittals – Submittal Review Stamps
Installing equipment before receiving an approved disposition is the single costliest mistake a contractor can make. Under AIA A201, no work requiring a submittal can be performed until the submittal is approved.1University of Wisconsin. AIA A201-2017 General Conditions of the Contract for Construction If non-approved equipment is installed and the engineer later rejects it, removal and replacement come out of the contractor’s pocket. On resubmissions, the contractor must call out any revisions beyond what the design professional originally requested. Otherwise the approval of the resubmission does not cover those silent changes.
Scheduling Around Long Lead Times
Standard construction contracts require the contractor to prepare a submittal schedule early in the project and coordinate it with the overall construction schedule. The idea is simple. Submittals need to be reviewed and approved in time for the materials to arrive when the field crew is ready to install them. This is where projects either run smoothly or start bleeding time.
The schedule has to account for the design professional’s review period (commonly two to three weeks per cycle, though contracts vary), the possibility of resubmission, and the manufacturer’s production lead time. A single “Revise and Resubmit” response adds at minimum another full review cycle on top of the time needed to correct the package.
Long-lead electrical equipment makes early submittal approval especially critical. Current industry lead times for major components can be staggering:
- Power and substation transformers: upward of 128 weeks
- Low-voltage switchgear: roughly 54 weeks
- Medium-voltage switchgear: around 44 weeks
- Switchboards: 32 to 41 weeks
- Panelboards: 15 to 23 weeks
These numbers shift with market conditions, but the pattern is clear. A delayed submittal on a transformer or switchgear lineup does not just push procurement back a few weeks; it can push the entire project completion date. Experienced project managers submit long-lead equipment packages within the first few weeks of a contract and flag them for expedited review.
Buy America Requirements on Federal Projects
Submittals on federally funded infrastructure projects carry an additional compliance layer under the Build America, Buy America Act. The law requires that all manufactured products used in federally funded infrastructure be produced in the United States, with the cost of domestically sourced components exceeding 55 percent of the total component cost.10eCFR. 2 CFR Part 184 – Buy America Preferences for Infrastructure Projects
Switchgear, panelboards, transformers, lighting fixtures, and generators all qualify as manufactured products under BABA. The submittal package must include documentation certifying domestic content compliance, and this requirement flows down to every subcontractor and supplier on the project regardless of tier.11Department of Energy. Build America, Buy America If a product cannot meet the domestic content threshold, the contracting agency may grant a waiver, but the contractor needs to identify that gap early. Discovering a BABA problem after equipment is fabricated and shipped creates delays that are difficult to recover from. On privately funded projects, these requirements do not apply.
Where Approved Submittals End Up
Approved submittals do not disappear into a filing cabinet once construction wraps up. They form the foundation of the project’s operation and maintenance documentation, which the owner needs to keep the building’s electrical systems running for years after the contractor leaves.
At closeout, the contractor compiles a digital folio containing the approved submittals alongside warranties, manufacturer installation instructions, arrangement drawings, and parts-identification details for every piece of operable electrical equipment. The architect reviews this package during the closeout phase before transmitting it to the owner. Any submittal that was approved with notations should reflect the final as-built condition, not the original submission. A building owner trying to reorder a breaker or match a dimming protocol five years after occupancy will rely on whatever the closeout documentation contains.