Deficiency list template

A construction deficiency list template, with the columns explained.

Eighteen columns, four worked deficiencies from one floor of a fit-out, and one line on why each column is there. The same discipline as a punch list, with the spec section and the back-check on the sheet. Download it, copy it into a sheet, or read where a deficiency list breaks. No form, no email.

↓ Excel (.xlsx)8 KB · drop-downs for Priority and Status, header row frozen, a second sheet explaining the columns ↓ CSV2 KB · the same columns and example rows, opens in anything

18 COLUMNS · 4 EXAMPLE DEFICIENCIES · NO GATE

No.	Building	Level	Location	Deficiency	Spec section	Trade	Subcontractor	Photo	Priority	Identified by	Date identified	Due	Status	Completed on	Back-checked by	Closed on	Notes
D-0412	A	7	Suite 702, conference room	Drywall nail pops, north wall, 6 locations, visible under raking light	09 29 00	Drywall	Northline Interiors	IMG_2041.jpg	Standard	M. Alvarez (super)	2026-09-14	2026-09-25	Closed	2026-09-23	M. Alvarez (super)	2026-09-24	Back-checked against original photo; all 6 spotted and painted.
D-0413	A	7	Corridor 7B, stair 2 door	Fire-rated door does not self-close and latch from 90°; closer arm loose	08 71 00	Doors and hardware	Keystone Door & Hardware	IMG_2043.jpg	Life safety	M. Alvarez (super)	2026-09-14	2026-09-14	Closed	2026-09-14	R. Chen (QA)	2026-09-14	Closer re-fixed same day; latching confirmed three times.
D-0414	A	7	Suite 704, open office, grid C/4	Supply diffuser not connected; flex duct lying on ceiling tile	23 37 13	Mechanical	Summit Mechanical	IMG_2047.jpg	High	J. Patel (architect field rep)	2026-09-15	2026-09-17	Ready for back-check	2026-09-17	—	—	Ceiling tile at C/4 to be replaced by ACT sub after.
D-0415	A	7	Suite 702, kitchenette	Base cabinet door misaligned; 1/8 in proud of adjacent door	06 41 00	Millwork	Cedar Ridge Millwork	IMG_2050.jpg	Standard	J. Patel (architect field rep)	2026-09-15	2026-09-26	Disputed	—	—	—	Sub says hinge damaged by tenant move-in; photo from 15 Sep predates move-in. Re-issued.

Scroll sideways for the rest of the columns. The four rows are the worked examples further down; the file carries the same four so you can see the shape before you delete them.

The columns

What each column is for

A deficiency list does two jobs: it gets each item to the sub who owns it, and it proves each item was back-checked before it closed. The first ten columns do the first job; the last eight do the second, and they are the ones a walk sheet usually leaves out.

01No.: A permanent number, assigned once and never reused. It does not encode the floor, the room or the sub, because all three can change and the number must not.
02Building: The building or phase, for a campus, a multi-building job or a site with a parking structure. One column, so a filter for Building B returns Building B.
03Level: Floor or level, as its own column.
04Location: Suite, room or gridline, from an agreed list. “Suite 702, conference room” or “Grid C/4” is a location; “by the elevators” is not.
05Deficiency: What is wrong, where on the thing it is wrong, and how much of it. “Drywall nail pops, north wall, 6 locations” beats “drywall”.
06Spec section: The specification section or drawing the work falls short of, where one applies. It turns “I don’t like it” into “it doesn’t match 09 29 00”, and it is the first thing a disputed item is argued from.
07Trade: The scope the work belongs to: drywall, doors and hardware, mechanical.
08Subcontractor: The company responsible. Separate from Trade, because one sub can carry several scopes and one scope can be split between subs.
09Photo: The filename of the photo taken when the deficiency was found. The photo is the deficiency; the row is where it is filed.
10Priority: Life safety, High or Standard. Life safety is today; High is inside two working days; Standard follows the turnover date.
11Identified by: Who found it: the super, the architect’s field rep, the owner’s rep. Each walks differently and the reader needs to know whose this is.
12Date identified: The date it was found. Not the date it was entered.
13Due: The fix-by date, set when the item is issued to the sub and visible to them.
14Status: Open, Issued, In progress, Ready for back-check, Closed or Disputed. Give each status a named owner who is allowed to move it; the sub moves a row as far as Ready for back-check.
15Completed on: The date the sub said it was done, with their photo. Their claim, kept apart from the close-out.
16Back-checked by: Who checked the fix against the original photo, on your side.
17Closed on: The date back-checked and closed.
18Notes: Anything else: the dispute, the re-issue, the access arrangement with the tenant. Never a substitute for the columns.

Filling it in

Four deficiencies from level 7

D-0412, the nail pops. Six locations on one wall, so one row with a count rather than six rows. Standard priority, issued against the turnover date. The sub marked it complete with a photo; the super back-checked against the original and closed it the next day. Every column filled, which is what a closed row should look like.

D-0413, the stair door. Life safety: a fire-rated door that does not close and latch is today, not this week. Issued at 9, fixed by noon, back-checked by someone other than the super who raised it. One row, one day.

D-0414, the diffuser. High, because the suite cannot turn over with no supply air at C/4. The sub has said it is done and the status says Ready for back-check, which is exactly where it should sit until someone on your side has looked. The note tells the ceiling sub what follows.

D-0415, the cabinet door. Disputed: the sub says the tenant’s movers did it. The photo is dated the 15th and move-in was the 18th, so the row was re-issued with a note that says why. This is the row the Photo and Date identified columns exist for.

The limit

Where a deficiency list breaks

A deficiency list in a spreadsheet works for one walker, one floor and a couple of weeks. It breaks in three predictable ways, and all three arrive in the run-up to substantial completion and turnover.

The first walk

One list per walker

Level 7 is walked by the super, the architect’s field rep and the owner’s rep in the same week. Three lists, three naming schemes for the same suites, the conference-room nail pops on two of them and the stair door on none, because each assumed another had it. A deficiency list with more than one copy is several lists.

Two weeks out from turnover

The sub closes their own item

Forty rows go to Closed in an afternoon from an email that said “7th floor complete”. Nobody back-checked. The owner’s rep walks 702 on Friday and the cabinet door is still proud, and the list says it was closed by the people who were asked to fix it.

The dispute

The photo that settles it is missing

D-0415: the millwork sub says the tenant’s movers damaged the hinge. Whether that is true turns on whether the door was already out on the 15th, before move-in. The row says IMG_2050.jpg. The phone it is on has been replaced.

Asked alongside the download

Questions about the deficiency list

What is a deficiency list in construction?

The list of work that falls short of the contract documents, found on inspections and walks before substantial completion and turnover, each item issued to the subcontractor responsible and back-checked before it closes. It is the North American name for what Australia and the UK call a defect list or snag list, and close kin to a punch list.

What columns should a deficiency list have?

Eighteen, in this template: a permanent number, building, level, location, the deficiency with its extent, the spec section, trade, subcontractor, photo, priority, who identified it and when, the due date, status, the date the sub said it was done, who back-checked it, when it closed, and notes.

What is the difference between a deficiency list and a punch list?

Mostly timing and habit. A punch list is usually the last list before turnover, walked room by room; a deficiency list can run for the whole job and is the word many Canadian contracts and inspectors use. On the sheet they are the same record, which is why this template works for either.

Is the deficiency list template free, and in what format?

Yes. An Excel workbook with drop-downs for Priority and Status, the header row frozen and a second sheet explaining the columns, or a CSV with the same columns. Four worked deficiencies from one floor are included. No form, no email.

What to do about it

Keep the columns. Give them one home.

Whatever holds this list should give you one copy, the photo attached to the row rather than named in it, the sub’s claim kept separate from the back-check, and a Closed that only your side can set. If the sheet is doing that, keep it.

When it stops, defect management software covers what a system has to do with the same columns, and the docs explain how IssuesId runs the lifecycle, the sub’s no-login link and proof photo and who can close what. The words are in the glossary under deficiency and punch list, and the same list in British and Australian English is the snag list template.