Adjudication Timetable

Enter the date the notice of adjudication was given to see the referral deadline, the decision date and the extensions, with the working shown.

Updated: 26 September 2026. By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.

Adjudication is a fast, independent decision on a dispute under a construction contract. It starts when one side gives a notice of adjudication.

The dates follow section 108 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. If your subcontract's rules fall short of it, the dates follow Part I of the Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998.

Work out the timetable

The timetable

Enter the date of the notice. The timetable and its working appear here.

Each period starts the day after its date and leaves out Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays. Weekends still count.

If your subcontract’s rules set other periods or count days another way, follow them.

These dates are for guidance only. Whoever runs your adjudication should confirm them.

How the dates are worked out

Under the Scheme, the nominating body must tell you who it has chosen as adjudicator within 5 days of your request (paragraph 5). We assume you send the request on the day of the notice.

Your referral notice sets out the full case and goes to the adjudicator within 7 days of the notice of adjudication (paragraph 7).

The adjudicator must reach a decision within 28 days of the referral. Under the Scheme, those 28 days run from the day the adjudicator receives it (paragraph 19).

The adjudicator can take up to 14 more days if the party who referred the dispute agrees. Both parties can agree a longer extension once the dispute has been referred.

Neither the Act nor the Scheme sets a date for the other side’s response. The adjudicator sets it in the timetable (paragraph 13).

Section 116 of the Act sets how days are counted. A period starts the day after its date, and leaves out Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays. Weekends still count. We apply it to the Act's periods and to the Scheme's, because the Scheme applies through the Act (section 114). If your subcontract's own rules count days another way, follow them.

Bank holidays come from the Government's list of UK bank holidays for 2025 to 2028, checked on 26 September 2026.

Scotland has its own Scheme. For Scotland, the dates shown are the England and Wales Scheme's, counted with Scottish bank holidays. Northern Ireland has its own law, which this timetable does not cover.

Sources

If this is happening to you

We prepare the money side of an adjudication: the figures, the schedule and the evidence behind them. Your solicitor, or whoever runs the adjudication, conducts it and can confirm which rules apply. Find the claim that fits, and the services that deal with it.

I've been underpaid. We value the shortfall and challenge unsupported reductions. See Underpayment Claim.

I haven't been paid. We check what is due and pursue overdue payments. See Late Payment Claim.

My variations aren't being paid. We value instructed changes and pursue unpaid variations. See Variation Claim.

Delays and disruption are costing me. We organise delay records and prepare evidenced claims for the cost. See Delay & Disruption Claim.

Money is being deducted from my account. We check the evidence and challenge unsupported deductions. See Contra-Charge Claim.

My final account is being undervalued. We value your final account and challenge disputed assessments. See Final Account Claim.

A claim has been made against me. We test the evidence and answer claims against you, figure by figure. See Counterclaim Defence.