Transmittal

Established

Also: Letter of transmittal, Transmittal log, Document transmittal

A cover record that accompanies documents, drawings, samples or other items sent between project parties, listing what was sent, to whom, when and for what purpose.

Explanation

A transmittal typically records sender and recipient, date, project, the items enclosed (with numbers and revisions) and the action required (for review, for information, for construction, as requested). Transmittal logs provide an audit trail of document exchange. On projects run under ISO 19650, sharing and publishing information containers through a Common data environment provides the same audit trail, with status and revision metadata; many CDE platforms generate transmittals automatically. Unlike a Submittal, a transmittal does not itself ask for approval — it records an exchange.

Practical example

The architect issues Transmittal T-118 with 14 revised floor plans at revision C, marked "issued for construction", to the general contractor and the mechanical engineer.

Why it matters

Without transmittals or a CDE audit trail, disputes about which revision a party received are hard to resolve.

Common confusion

Standards and references

  1. Transmittal (glossary). Mastt.Widely accepted professional interpretation
    Supports: Transmittal purpose and contents; difference from submittals
  2. ISO 19650-1:2018 — Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM) — Information management using building information modelling — Part 1: Concepts and principles. ISO, 2018. Clause 12 (common data environment).Original VDC Stack.io wording, based on the standard
    Supports: CDE workflow provides managed sharing with status and revision control · Status: Stage 90.92 (to be revised). Revision ISO/DIS 19650-1 at stage 40.93 on 2026-08-18 (decision for new DIS ballot).

VDC Stack.io writes its own explanations and does not reproduce copyrighted standards text. Consult the cited standard for normative wording.

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VDC Stack.io. (2026). Transmittal. In VDC Stack.io Knowledge Dictionary. Retrieved from https://vdcstack.io/dictionary/transmittal/