A drawing register is the list of every drawing in a project with its current revision and status: drawing number, title, scale, sheet size, revision, status (what the drawing may be used for) and date. It answers one question, "which version of each sheet is current?", and is the reference everyone checks a printed or PDF sheet against. Alongside it, an issue sheet (or transmittal record) records what was sent to whom and when. On UK projects managed under ISO 19650, the register also carries status codes (S0 to S5, A1 to An) and revision codes (P01, C01) from the UK National Annex, which this guide explains.
Register, sheet index, issue sheet and transmittal
| Document | Answers | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Drawing register | Which drawings exist, and what is the current revision and status of each? | Spreadsheet, document management system or common data environment |
| Sheet index | Which sheets are in this set? | The cover or general sheet of the set (US practice: the G sheets) |
| Issue sheet | Which revision of each drawing went out on which date, and to whom? | A matrix kept with the register |
| Transmittal | What is in this one delivery, and why was it sent? | A cover document for each issue. See what is a transmittal. |
What a drawing register contains
- Drawing number, unique across the project (see sheet numbering).
- Title, as it appears in the title block.
- Discipline and, on larger jobs, area or level.
- Scale and sheet size.
- Current revision, its date and a short description of the change.
- Status or suitability: what the drawing may be used for (information, review, construction).
- On contractor-side registers: dates received or submitted, approval status, the date it was issued for construction, who it was issued to and the transmittal number.
The issue sheet adds one column per issue date, with the revision issued on that date in each cell, plus the purpose of issue and the distribution list. Read across a row and you see a drawing's whole history; read down a column and you see exactly what went out that day.
Status codes under the UK National Annex to ISO 19650
On UK projects managed under ISO 19650, each drawing in the common data environment carries a status code from the UK National Annex to ISO 19650-2. The codes fall into two groups:
- S codes (S0 to S5): shared, not contractual. S0 is work in progress inside the author's team. The S1 to S5 codes mark shared information on its way through coordination, review and sign-off, ending with acceptance by the appointing party (the client). Information with an S code only ever carries a preliminary (P) revision.
- A codes (A1, A2 … An): published, contractual. Information authorized and accepted for use at a project stage, where the number is the stage.
The Annex was updated in 2021, and the meaning of several codes changed: the review and sign-off steps were redefined (S5 now means final acceptance by the appointing party, where the 2018 Annex listed S5 as withdrawn), the S6, S7 and CR codes of the older guidance were removed, and B codes (partial sign-off) are advised against. Many templates and older registers still show the 2018 set, and secondary sources describe the S1 to S3 steps in slightly different words. The project's information standard defines exactly what each code permits, so read it there rather than from a generic table.
One rule holds in both versions: a status code is not the same as the purpose of issue. The UK guidance notes that information issued for construction should carry a published (A) status, and that information shared only for review should not be used for procuring materials, agreeing costs or building the works.
ISO 19650 revision codes: P01 and C01
Under the UK National Annex a revision has a prefix and a number:
- P means preliminary (not contractual), C means contractual. C does not mean "construction", a common misreading.
- P01.01, P01.02 … are work-in-progress versions; P01 is the first shared revision; the next round of work is P02.01 and so on.
- When a drawing is authorized and accepted it becomes C01, then C02 if it changes again.
So a register row such as "S4, P04" reads as: a shared (non-contractual) status, fourth preliminary revision. Some information, such as coordination models, may stay preliminary; drawings and schedules are more often needed in contractual form.
Older and other conventions
BS 1192:2007 and PAS 1192-2, which many UK offices still quote, are withdrawn and replaced by the BS EN ISO 19650 series; the old file naming fields carried over into the ISO 19650 National Annex, and the 2021 update renamed some of them and removed the fixed field lengths. Some teams still use older D1 to D4 codes or a home-made "T" for tender: if a register mixes systems, the project's information requirements say which applies. In US practice the equivalent is usually the sheet index on the cover sheet plus a drawing log kept by the contractor or construction manager, alongside the RFI and submittal logs.
Generating the register from Revit and ArchiCAD
Revit
A Sheet List schedule (View tab, Create panel, Schedules, Sheet List) lists the project's sheets and can be placed on the cover sheet as the sheet index; placeholder sheets can stand in for consultants' drawings. The title block's revision schedule shows the revisions on each sheet, driven by revision clouds and by the sheet's Revisions on Sheet setting. A sheet list shows the current revision per sheet; a full issue-history matrix usually needs extra parameters, an add-in or a spreadsheet.
ArchiCAD
Project Indexes include a Layout Sheet list (the sheet index) and a Drawing List, which lists every placed drawing, so a layout with three drawings appears three times. Revision Management (in recent versions with Transmittal Sets) creates a new layout revision when a linked change appears and locks the data of transmitted revisions; the predefined Change List and Transmittal History indexes give the issue matrix. A company template may need these indexes imported from the standard ArchiCAD template.
How a contractor uses the register
- Before work on an area, check the sheet's revision in the title block against the register's current revision.
- If they differ, stop and find out which is current: the register, the title block, or both may be wrong.
- Remove superseded sheets from site, or mark them clearly; many costly errors are simply work built to an old revision.
- Read the status: a drawing for information or review is not a drawing to build from.
- When a new revision arrives, compare it with the previous one sheet by sheet. Our guide to reviewing a revised drawing set walks through it.
Common mistakes
- The register and the title block show different revisions, often because a revision was not marked as issued before plotting.
- Superseded sheets left in circulation on site.
- Missing revision codes or dates.
- Status confused with purpose of issue, or a register still using the 2018 code set on a project that follows the 2021 Annex.
- "C" read as "construction".
- Consultants' sheets listed without their revisions.
Frequently asked questions
What is a drawing register?
A list of all project drawings with their current revision, status and date, used to check that everyone works from the current set.
Who maintains the drawing register?
Usually the document controller or the lead designer's project team; contractors often keep their own register of drawings received.
What is the difference between a drawing register and a transmittal?
The register shows the current state of every drawing. A transmittal records one delivery: which drawings were sent, to whom and why.
What do S codes and A codes mean on a drawing?
Status codes from the UK National Annex to ISO 19650: S codes mark shared, non-contractual information on its way through review and sign-off; A codes (A1, A2 …) mark information authorized and accepted for use at a project stage. The project's information standard defines each code exactly.
What does P01 or C01 mean on a drawing?
The ISO 19650 revision: P is a preliminary (non-contractual) revision, C a contractual one, and the number counts the revisions.
Ncored is the desktop PDF editor we built in our architecture studio for drawing sets from AutoCAD, Revit, and ArchiCAD, on Windows and Mac (Apple Silicon). When a new revision arrives, its revision compare lays the old and new sheet over each other, with added work in blue and removed work in red, so you can confirm what the register says changed. Mark questions with revision clouds and comments; markups are saved as standard PDF annotations that open in Acrobat, Bluebeam and other standard PDF viewers. 14 days free. No signup, no email, nothing to enter.
Related: what is a transmittal, what is a drawing revision, issued for construction drawings.
All product names, standards and organisations mentioned on this page are trademarks or registered names of their respective owners and are used for identification only. Ncored is an independent product by Noir architects and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any of them. Codes summarised from the UK National Annex to ISO 19650-2 as updated in 2021 and the UK BIM Framework guidance; the project's information requirements govern. Individual experiences may vary.