Fees, timelines and documents
One set tells the site team how to build. The other records what was actually built. Here is who prepares each, who reviews them, and which one you need on a Dubai project.
Shop drawings show how a contractor intends to make and install the work, and they are prepared before it is built. As-built drawings record what was actually built, including every change made on site, and they are finished at the end. Shop drawings are reviewed by the project's consultant. As-built drawings become the permanent record that owners, tenants and later designers rely on. One can't replace the other, because the first shows the intention and the second shows the result.
This guide from the DXB Approval Team compares the two, shows where they sit among the other drawings on a Dubai project, and explains what authorities and developers ask for at each stage. We prepare both types in AutoCAD, but what your project needs depends on your contract, your consultant and the authority for your plot, so confirm the details for your own case.
| Compare | Shop drawings | As-built drawings |
|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | How will this be made and installed? | What was actually built? |
| When it is prepared | Before fabrication and installation | During the works, and finished at completion |
| Who usually prepares it | Contractor, subcontractor, fabricator or supplier | Contractor from site mark-ups, often drafted or checked by a consultant, or a surveyor for an existing building |
| Who reviews it | The project's consultant | The consultant at handover; the authority's inspection compares the building with what was approved |
| Based on | Design drawings, specification, product data and site dimensions | Site mark-ups, measurements and inspection |
| Level of detail | Deep detail for one element or trade | The whole building or unit, as finished |
| Main users | Fabricators, installers and the site team | Owners, tenants, facility managers and future designers |
| What it proves | The contractor's proposal was reviewed | The final condition of the property |
Shop drawings turn the design team's intent into something a workshop or site crew can build. Design drawings show what the finished work should achieve. They rarely show how each item is made or fixed, because that depends on the products and methods the contractor chooses.
A shop drawing fills that gap. It typically shows the selected products and materials, exact dimensions, fixings and connections, setting-out and levels, and where the work meets other trades. Common examples on Dubai projects are joinery and kitchens, partition and ceiling layouts, steel mezzanines and canopies, and duct and pipe routes.
The contractor submits them to the consultant, who returns each drawing with a status. Names vary, but the usual categories are approved, approved with comments, revise and resubmit, and rejected. Work should not be fabricated until the status allows it, because the cost of an error rises sharply once material is cut.
A consultant's approval has limits. It normally confirms the drawing follows the design intent. Depending on the contract, it doesn't usually take away the contractor's responsibility for dimensions, site checks, coordination and methods. Read your contract's wording on this.
For more on what goes into a set and how the review cycle runs, see our shop drawing services.
As-built drawings show the building or unit as it really stands. They capture what changed between the plan and the finished work: a wall moved to clear a column, a door that changed swing, a duct that took another route, a distribution board on a different wall.
They reach their final form in one of two ways:
You will also hear the term record drawings. Some teams use it to mean the same thing. Others mean the as-built set after the consultant has checked and issued it. If a contract uses either term, ask what it requires, who signs it and in what format.
An as-built drawing doesn't approve anything. If a change needed approval and didn't get it, drawing it accurately records the problem, but doesn't solve it. See our as-built drawings service for survey and regularisation work.
Much of the confusion comes from the number of drawing sets on a project. In a typical order:
Smaller jobs merge some of these stages. A small office fit-out may go from approved layout to joinery shop drawings to a simple as-built set, but the logic stays the same.
It is tempting to hand over the approved shop drawings as the final record. They look detailed, they are already signed and they cost nothing extra. The problem is that they show what was proposed, and site work rarely follows a proposal exactly.
There is evidence of how often that matters in Dubai. A Heriot-Watt University study, published in 2014, reviewed technical reports from more than 170 Dubai projects at the final inspection for the completion certificate. It found mismatches between the final drawings and the building in 53% of the buildings studied, mainly in external elevations, internal features and fixtures, specifications and omitted works. The study is over ten years old and doesn't reflect today's systems, but its lesson still holds: drawings drift from buildings unless someone records the changes as they happen.
The practical costs show up later. A new tenant designs around a duct that isn't there. A buyer finds the built-up area doesn't match the file. An engineer can't assess a wall without knowing what is behind it.
Authorities and developers mostly deal with approved drawings at the start and the finished building at the end. Shop drawings are usually a matter between the contractor and consultant.
| Stage | What is usually needed | Who looks at it |
|---|---|---|
| NOC and permit | Architectural, structural and MEP drawings for approval | Developer or landlord, then the permit authority |
| Fabrication and installation | Shop drawings | The project's consultant; some fire protection items may also need Civil Defence approval |
| During construction | Revised drawings for any change that affects the approval | Consultant, and the authority or developer where required |
| Completion | As-built information and the completion file | The authority's inspection, which compares the building with what was approved |
The details vary by authority. In DDA zones, a third party building survey by a surveyor registered with the Dubai Land Department is mandatory before a completion certificate, except for villas. It relies on AutoCAD drawings of the as-built building. Under Dubai Municipality and Trakhees, the building completion certificate depends on the building matching its approvals, so unrecorded changes tend to surface at the final inspection. Our guide to drawing approval across DM, DDA, Trakhees and Civil Defence compares the routes.
| Your situation | What you need |
|---|---|
| Contractor about to fabricate joinery, steel or MEP work | Shop drawings, reviewed by the consultant |
| Owner or tenant finishing a renovation or fit-out | As-built drawings, as part of the handover |
| Project approaching its completion certificate | As-built information, plus any revised approvals for site changes |
| Buying or selling, or planning work on an older villa | A measured as-built survey, compared with the approved drawings |
| Work done without a permit | Measured as-built drawings first, as the start of regularisation |
| Starting a new design with no records | As-built drawings as the base, then PDF to CAD conversion if only scans exist |
Owners and tenants often pay for a project and leave without a usable record. A few requests avoid this:
A tenant fits out an office. The approved layout shows six meeting rooms. The contractor's ceiling shop drawing, approved by the consultant, sets out lights, diffusers and sprinkler heads. On site, a beam turns out lower than expected, so a bulkhead is added and two sprinkler heads move. The site team marks this up, and the change is checked with the fire consultant before it is closed in.
At handover, the as-built drawings show the bulkhead and the new sprinkler positions. The approved shop drawing still shows the old ones. Two years later, when the tenant wants to split a room, the designer starts from the as-built set and doesn't have to open the ceiling to find out what is there. Had the shop drawing been handed over as the record, the design would have started from the wrong layout.
Usually the project's consultant, who reviews them against the design and specification. Some items, such as fire protection systems, may also involve an authority like Dubai Civil Defence.
Usually the contractor, from site mark-ups, often with a consultant drafting or checking the final set. For an existing building with no records, a surveyor or consultant measures it and prepares them.
No. They show what was proposed, not what was built. They can be a starting point, but only after every site change is added and checked.
It depends on the authority and the project. In DDA zones, an as-built survey is mandatory before a completion certificate, except for villas. Elsewhere, the inspection compares the building with what was approved, so accurate records are still important.
Often, but not always. Some teams use record drawings to mean the as-built set after the consultant has checked it. Check what your contract means.
IFC drawings are the design team's set released for construction. Shop drawings are the contractor's more detailed drawings showing how each element will be made and installed.
Most fit-outs need them for joinery, ceilings and services, although a small job may need only a few sheets. It depends on the contract and the consultant.
A measured survey can recreate them. Compare the result with any approved drawings, because the differences may need attention before your next application.
Tell us what stage you are at and what you already have. We prepare shop drawings for contractors and subcontractors, and survey and draft as-built drawings for owners, tenants and consultants. If your project is near handover, we can also coordinate the completion certificate.
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