What Is the AIA A101? The Owner-Contractor Agreement, Article by Article

By Erik Tishenko, Modern Northwest · Published November 4, 2026

The AIA A101 is the American Institute of Architects' standard agreement between an owner and a contractor when the job has one fixed price, called a stipulated sum. The current edition, A101-2017, holds the project-specific terms: the price, the start and finish dates, alternates and allowances, payment terms and dispute resolution. It adopts the A201 general conditions by reference and comes with Exhibit A for insurance and bonds. Most of what matters to an owner is in the blanks you fill in.

Article titles from the A101-2017 table of articles. A contractor's plain-language guide, not legal advice; have your attorney review any contract.

Signing a build-out contract? We will go through the price, the dates and the allowances with you before you sign. Licensed in Oregon (CCB #198582) and registered in Washington (L&I MODERNI888R7). Call (360) 326-2747.

When the A101 is the right form

The A101 fits any job where the price is fixed in advance, whether it came from competitive bids or a negotiation. That usually means the drawings are far enough along to price the whole scope. AIA describes it as suited to large or complex projects and points smaller jobs to the A104 (limited scope) or A105 (residential or small commercial). If the price is cost plus a fee, the A102 (with a guaranteed maximum price) or A103 (without) is the matching form. Our cost-plus vs lump sum guide compares the three.

Articles 1 and 2: what you are buying

Article 1 says the contract is the agreement plus the conditions, drawings, specifications, addenda and later modifications, and that it replaces earlier negotiations. Article 2 is one sentence: the contractor does all the work described in the contract documents, except what is marked as someone else's responsibility. That puts the weight on the documents. If something is not drawn or specified, or it is marked "by owner," it is not in the price.

Article 3: dates

Section 3.1 picks the start: the date of the agreement, a date in a notice to proceed, or another date or method you write in. If nothing is checked, it defaults to the agreement date. The contract time runs from that start. Section 3.3 sets substantial completion as a number of calendar days or a fixed date, can set earlier dates for portions of the work, and points to liquidated damages if the date is missed.

Article 4: the price and its moving parts

• Contract sum (4.1): the fixed price, in words and figures.
• Alternates (4.2): options already accepted into the price, plus options you can still accept after signing, each with its price and any deadline.
• Allowances (4.3): amounts carried for items not chosen yet, like finishes. The final cost is adjusted to what you actually pick.
• Unit prices (4.4): per-unit rates for work whose quantity may change.
• Liquidated damages (4.5) and incentives (4.6): the late-finish amount and any early-finish bonus, if used.

Articles 5 through 9: payment, disputes and the fine print

Article 5 sets how often the contractor bills and when you pay, how retainage works and when it is reduced, and what triggers final payment. Progress billing runs on a schedule of values through pay applications. Article 6 makes mediation a required, non-binding first step and has you choose the binding method after it. Article 7 covers termination and suspension, including a fee the owner can agree to pay if it ends the contract for convenience. Article 8 names each side's representative and requires the insurance and bonds in Exhibit A, from companies licensed where the project is. Article 9 lists every drawing, specification section and addendum, so check it against the set you actually priced.

Fill out Exhibit A at the same time as the agreement, with your insurance broker. AIA warns that skipping it could leave the parties with little or no coverage for a loss. More terms are in our commercial construction glossary.

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

The A101 is a fixed-price agreement that leans on the A201 for the rules and on the drawings for the scope. What an owner controls is the blanks: the start trigger, the completion date, alternates and allowances, retainage, the dispute method, Exhibit A and the Article 9 list. Fill them in deliberately and have your attorney review the whole package.

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