What is a CVI (Confirmation of Verbal Instruction)?

Why it exists

Verbal directions happen on every site on earth, every day. Somebody senior points at something and says do it this way instead. The crew does. Nobody writes anything down.

The CVI is the mechanism that converts that moment into something that exists contractually. Without it, under FIDIC, the work you did on the strength of a verbal instruction is work you have donated — there is no instruction, so there is nothing to value.

How the JCT mechanism works

An oral instruction under JCT has no immediate effect. The contractor confirms it in writing, and if the architect does not dissent within the stated period, the instruction takes effect from the end of that period.

Note who carries the burden: the contractor. The person who received the instruction is the person who must write it down. Waiting for the other side to paper their own instruction is a strategy with a long and unhappy history.

The cheapest insurance on site

Confirming a verbal instruction takes a couple of minutes. Not confirming it can cost the value of the work, and occasionally a great deal more than that if the work also caused delay.

So the habit worth building is unconditional: confirm everything, immediately, in writing. Not the important ones — everything. The instruction that turns out to matter is rarely the one that looked like it would.

Terms

• Confirmation of Verbal Instruction (CVI)