What is the difference between AIA G702 and G703?

The G702 is the application and certificate for payment: one page summarizing the contract sum, change orders, work completed and stored, retainage, previous certificates and the payment due, with the contractor’s signature and the architect’s certificate. The G703 is the continuation sheet behind it, breaking the contract sum into lines from the schedule of values. You fill out the G703 first and carry its totals to the G702.

What goes in column D of a G703?

Column D is work completed on previous applications: the previous application’s columns D and E added together. Stored materials from the previous application’s column F do not go in column D. If they are still stored they stay in column F, and once they are installed their value goes in column E for the period they were installed.

How do you bill stored materials on a pay application?

If your contract allows stored materials to be billed, put the value of materials stored but not yet installed in column F of the G703. Recalculate column F every period: it includes newly stored materials and earlier deliveries that are still not installed. Being paid for them does not move them out of column F; installing them does, when their value moves to column E.

Where do change orders go on a G703?

Usually on separate lines, either on their own G703 or at the end of the schedule of values, rather than worked into the original lines. The contract sum adjusted by approved change orders is entered on the G702.

Does an AIA G702 have to be notarized?

AIA’s instructions are for the contractor to sign the G702, have it notarized and submit it with the G703. Your contract can change what is required, so check it, but expect to need a notary unless the contract says otherwise.

Can the architect certify less than I applied for?

Yes. Under AIA’s instructions the architect can certify a different amount, initial each changed figure on the G702 and G703 and attach an explanation, and the owner pays on the certified amount. Your next application’s previous certificates should then use the certified figures, not what you applied for.

Is there an AIA pay application form for subcontractors?

Yes: G702S and G703S, the 2017 contractor–subcontractor versions. The subcontractor fills them out, signs and notarizes the G702S, and sends both to the general contractor rather than to the architect.

How to fill out an AIA G702 and G703 pay application

By Michael Hayles — 20 years in construction, from plumbing, heating and boiler installation to demolition and enabling works in London. Now building WorkHoist.

This guide is written by the team behind WorkHoist, which sells construction software that produces G702/G703-style pay applications — read it with that in mind. Everything below about how the forms work comes from AIA’s own published instructions, linked at each step. The worked example is ours.

Last updated 6 October 2026

The short answer

Fill out the G703 first, then carry its totals to the G702. Each line of the schedule of values gets its scheduled value (column C), work completed on earlier applications (D), work completed this period (E), materials presently stored (F), the total of D, E and F (G) with percent complete, the balance to finish (H) and, where the contract lets retainage vary by line, retainage (I). Change orders usually go on their own lines at the end. Sign the G702, have it notarized, and send both forms to the architect, who certifies what is due and can certify less than you asked for. The numbers that go wrong are the ones that carry between the two forms and from one month to the next: last month’s stored materials, and the difference between what you billed and what was certified.

How the G702 and G703 fit together

The G702 is two documents on one page: the contractor’s application for payment and the architect’s certificate for payment. The G703, the continuation sheet, breaks the contract sum into portions of the work, following the schedule of values the contractor prepared at the start of the job. The architect reviews both, certifies an amount, and the owner pays on that certification. AIA Contract Documents AIA Contract Documents

The order matters. AIA’s instructions are to complete the G703 first and transfer its summary to the G702, then sign the G702, have it notarized and submit the two together. Whoever signs should state the capacity they sign in, such as president or partner, and the authority they sign under. AIA Contract Documents

If you are a subcontractor billing a general contractor, AIA publishes a separate pair, G702S and G703S (2017 editions). They go to the contractor rather than the architect, and the G702S is also signed and notarized. AIA does not publish a standard schedule of values form; the schedule itself is yours to prepare. AIA Contract Documents

The forms are AIA’s copyrighted documents, sold per use or by subscription, and AIA states that they may not be reproduced without its permission. Plenty of software, WorkHoist included, produces pay applications laid out like them. If your contract names the AIA document itself, ask whether a lookalike will be accepted before you rely on one. AIA Contract Documents

The G703, column by column

Columns A, B and C: the schedule of values

List each portion of the work and its scheduled value, matching the schedule of values you submitted at the start of the project or as it has since been adjusted. The breakdown can be by section of the work or by subcontractor, and it should stay the same all the way through the job. Column C should initially total the original contract sum; change orders adjust it from there. AIA Contract Documents

Column D: work completed on previous applications

Enter the work completed on the previous application: that application’s columns D and E added together. Its stored materials, in column F, do not go here. AIA Contract Documents

That is why copying last month’s column G across is the wrong shortcut whenever anything was stored. Column G includes stored materials, so the stored amount ends up counted as work already completed.

Column E: work completed this period

Enter the value of work completed since the last application, including any materials that were listed as stored last time and have now been installed. AIA Contract Documents

Column F: materials presently stored

Enter the value of materials stored and not yet installed that you are asking to be paid for. Recalculate the whole column every period: it covers materials newly stored and materials stored earlier that are still not in the building. Being paid for stored materials does not take them out of this column. Only installing them does, and at that point their value moves into column E. AIA Contract Documents

Whether you can bill stored materials at all, and what proof has to come with them, is set by your contract, so read it before billing a delivery that is not yet installed.

Columns G and H: total to date and balance to finish

Column G is D plus E plus F, and percent complete is G divided by C. Column H is what is left: C minus G. AIA Contract Documents

Column I: retainage

AIA’s instructions say column I is normally used only where the contract allows retainage to vary line by line, and need not be filled in where one retainage rate is held on the whole contract amount. AIA Contract Documents

How much retainage can be held, and when it has to be released, is set by your contract and by the law where the job is. Both are covered in why construction payments are late.

Change orders

Change orders are not normally worked into the original lines. List them separately, either on their own G703 or at the end of the schedule, and enter the contract sum adjusted by change orders on the G702. The undisputed amount of a construction change directive should be turned into a change order; a disputed amount goes through the dispute process in the general conditions. AIA Contract Documents

Carrying the totals to the G702

The G702 summarizes the G703 for the period: the original contract sum, the net change by change orders, the contract sum to date, the work completed and stored to date, retainage, previous certificates for payment, and the current payment due. AIA Contract Documents

The arithmetic runs straight down. The original contract sum plus the net change by change orders is the contract sum to date. The work completed and stored to date is the total of column G. Take retainage off that, then take off the previous certificates for payment, and what is left is the current payment due.

A worked example

A $480,000 contract with one approved $12,000 change order and 10% retainage held on the whole contract, on its third application. The figures are illustrative.

Last month, application two showed $210,000 of work completed in columns D and E together, plus $15,000 of framing lumber delivered but not installed in column F. Its total to date was $225,000, and after 10% retainage $202,500 was certified. Since then the lumber has gone up, the electrical switchgear has arrived but is not yet installed, and the change order work is done.

Application 3: the G703 continuation sheet
Line	C Scheduled	D Previous	E This period	F Stored	G To date	%	H To finish
1 Sitework	$60,000	$60,000	$0	$0	$60,000	100%	$0
2 Framing	$180,000	$120,000	$45,000	$0	$165,000	92%	$15,000
3 Electrical	$140,000	$30,000	$25,000	$18,000	$73,000	52%	$67,000
4 Finishes	$100,000	$0	$0	$0	$0	0%	$100,000
CO-1 Added drainage	$12,000	$0	$12,000	$0	$12,000	100%	$0
Totals	$492,000	$210,000	$82,000	$18,000	$310,000	63%	$182,000

Framing’s $45,000 this period includes the $15,000 of lumber that was stored last month and is now installed, which is why it is gone from column F. The switchgear is new in column F. Column D carries $210,000, last month’s D and E, and not last month’s $225,000 total, because that total included the lumber.

Application 3: the G702 summary
G702 item	Amount
Original contract sum	$480,000
Net change by change orders	$12,000
Contract sum to date	$492,000
Total completed and stored to date (column G)	$310,000
Retainage at 10%	$31,000
Completed and stored, less retainage	$279,000
Less previous certificates for payment	$202,500
Current payment due	$76,500

Check it from the other direction: this application adds $85,000 to the total to date ($310,000 against last month’s $225,000), and $85,000 less 10% retainage is $76,500.

Before you send it

Does column C total the contract sum to date?
What right looks like: Without change orders it equals the original contract sum; with change order lines added, it equals the contract sum to date on the G702. AIA Contract Documents
Is column D the last application’s D plus E, with nothing from its column F?
What right looks like: Stored materials from last month stay out of column D. If they are still stored they are in this month’s column F; if they were installed they are in this month’s column E. AIA Contract Documents
Has every stored item that was installed moved from F to E?
What right looks like: Column F is recalculated every period. Being paid for stored materials does not move them; installing them does. AIA Contract Documents
Do the change order lines match approved change orders?
What right looks like: Each line is a change order that has actually been approved. A construction change directive is not one until its undisputed amount has been turned into a change order. AIA Contract Documents
Does “previous certificates” match what was certified?
What right looks like: Use the certified figures from the last application, including any the architect initialed and changed, not the figures you applied for. AIA Contract Documents
Do the G702 totals match the G703?
What right looks like: AIA lists changing G702 totals without reconciling the G703 lines underneath them as a common mistake. Change the line and let the total follow. AIA Contract Documents
Is the G702 signed, notarized, and signed in the right capacity?
What right looks like: AIA’s instructions are to sign and notarize the G702 and to state the capacity and authority of the person signing, attaching the authorizing resolution where appropriate. AIA Contract Documents
Is everything the contract requires attached?
What right looks like: Lien waivers, certified payroll on prevailing-wage work, and anything else your contract lists. Which waiver to sign, and which one gives up your lien rights the moment you sign it, is what you’re actually signing on a lien waiver.

Where WorkHoist helps, and where it does not

WorkHoist sells software that produces these documents, so here is the split, checked against the code rather than the marketing page.

A WorkHoist pay application starts from the project budget. When the project has a contract value, the scheduled values are scaled to total the contract sum to the cent, and each approved change order is added as its own line at the end, the layout AIA describes. Every scheduled value can be edited, and the screen says whether the schedule totals the contract plus approved change orders and, if not, by how much it is over or short. Total to date, percent complete, balance to finish and retainage are calculated per line rather than typed, and work billed on earlier applications is carried forward.

Where it does not match the form

Four things. Stored materials: WorkHoist adds last period’s stored materials into the previous column instead of keeping them in column F until they are installed, so enter only newly delivered materials each period; re-entering materials that are still stored counts them twice. Certification: it carries forward what you billed, not what was certified, so if an architect cut an earlier application, the previous figure does not show the cut. Change orders: a change order line starts from the change order’s cost, because WorkHoist records no separate price to the owner, so type the amount you are billing. And the document is laid out like the AIA forms but is not them. It has no notarized signature block and no architect’s certificate, and its summary shows the period’s amount, retainage and net due rather than the G702’s lines, so where a contract requires the AIA document itself, use AIA’s.

Two gaps sit next to the pay application. WorkHoist has no lien waiver features at all, and no retainage release workflow: a release is billed as a later line at 0% retainage rather than prompted. Both are covered in why construction payments are late.

Questions contractors ask

What is the difference between AIA G702 and G703?: The G702 is the application and certificate for payment: one page summarizing the contract sum, change orders, work completed and stored, retainage, previous certificates and the payment due, with the contractor’s signature and the architect’s certificate. The G703 is the continuation sheet behind it, breaking the contract sum into lines from the schedule of values. You fill out the G703 first and carry its totals to the G702.
What goes in column D of a G703?: Column D is work completed on previous applications: the previous application’s columns D and E added together. Stored materials from the previous application’s column F do not go in column D. If they are still stored they stay in column F, and once they are installed their value goes in column E for the period they were installed.
How do you bill stored materials on a pay application?: If your contract allows stored materials to be billed, put the value of materials stored but not yet installed in column F of the G703. Recalculate column F every period: it includes newly stored materials and earlier deliveries that are still not installed. Being paid for them does not move them out of column F; installing them does, when their value moves to column E.
Where do change orders go on a G703?: Usually on separate lines, either on their own G703 or at the end of the schedule of values, rather than worked into the original lines. The contract sum adjusted by approved change orders is entered on the G702.
Does an AIA G702 have to be notarized?: AIA’s instructions are for the contractor to sign the G702, have it notarized and submit it with the G703. Your contract can change what is required, so check it, but expect to need a notary unless the contract says otherwise.
Can the architect certify less than I applied for?: Yes. Under AIA’s instructions the architect can certify a different amount, initial each changed figure on the G702 and G703 and attach an explanation, and the owner pays on the certified amount. Your next application’s previous certificates should then use the certified figures, not what you applied for.
Is there an AIA pay application form for subcontractors?: Yes: G702S and G703S, the 2017 contractor–subcontractor versions. The subcontractor fills them out, signs and notarizes the G702S, and sends both to the general contractor rather than to the architect.

Sources

Every external claim on this page is linked to its source above. Each URL was opened in a browser and confirmed to carry the text cited from it on the date this page was last updated. Claims about WorkHoist were checked against its code, not its marketing. The worked example is illustrative.