Free Punch List Template
A punch list is the short list of things still not right at the end of a job. It exists for one reason: to convert "it is not finished" into a finite number of items that can be ticked off, so final payment has a defined finish line instead of an opinion.
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What belongs on a punch list
- The walkthrough date and who was present, both sides
- A number for every item, so people can talk about item 7 instead of "the thing in the hall"
- The room or location, because "scratch on the trim" is not findable without it
- What specifically is wrong and what correcting it means
- The trade or sub responsible, which is how the list turns into calls
- A due date per item, not one date for the whole list
- A tick column, and a client sign off line at the bottom when the list is clear
A finished punch list, filled in
The end of a kitchen and great room remodel, walked by the builder with both owners on 2 October. Eleven items, each one numbered, located, described so it can be corrected, assigned to a trade and given its own due date. This is the document that turns "it is not finished" into a finite list, which is what makes final payment payable instead of arguable.
- Eleven items, numbered, and the count is printed at the topITEMS ON THIS LIST reads 11. That single field is what closes the list. A punch list with no stated count grows, because item twelve can always be added and nobody can prove it was not there at the walkthrough. The numbers then do the rest of the work: two trades and two owners can all talk about item 7 instead of about the thing in the hall.
- Location first, then what is actually wrongGreat room, then "baseboard return at the fireplace is short, gap visible at the hearth". A defect with no location is not findable by the sub who has to fix it, and a defect written as "bad trim" is not correctable, because two people will disagree about when it has been corrected. Every line here says what would have to change for the box to be ticked.
- A trade on every line, which is how a list becomes phone callsCabinets, Tile, Electrical, Countertops, Drywall, Trim, Flooring, Paint, Siding. Eleven items is actually nine phone calls, and the column is what sorts them. Without it the builder reads the list eleven times working out who to ring.
- A due date per item, not one date for the whole list5 October through 9 October, staggered. The electrician comes first because the tile man cannot finish behind him, and the outside item is last. One date for the entire list means every trade turns up on the last day, which is how a punch list that could have closed in four days takes three weeks.
- Page 1 of 2, and the sign off is on page two on purposeThe sheet prints twelve rows whether or not you have twelve items, so an eleven item list runs to a second page. The column headings are reprinted there, the two spare rows come after item 11, and the client sign off line comes after those. That order is deliberate. The signature belongs after the last item on the list, not after the ninth, and the spare rows are there because a walkthrough always finds one more thing on the way to the door.
- DONE is a tick box, and the sign off is the thing being bought"Client sign off, all items complete", with a date beside it. Eleven ticks are the contractor's record; that one signature is the client agreeing the job is finished. If the contract releases a holdback at completion, this line is the document that releases it, and it is worth more than the rest of the sheet put together.
This is a template and a worked illustration, not legal advice. What a punch list is worth depends on what your contract says about substantial completion and about the holdback it releases, so the list and the contract have to agree with each other. The contractor agreement on this site is written to match this form.
The punch list is what makes final payment payable
Substantial completion is the moment the work is usable for its intended purpose with only minor items outstanding. That definition is in most contracts, including the one on this site, and it is what triggers final payment less a holdback.
Without a written list, "minor items outstanding" is whatever the client remembers being annoyed about. With one, it is eleven items with due dates, and when the eleventh is ticked the holdback is due.
One item per line, and make it correctable
"Paint needs attention" cannot be finished. "Master bedroom, south wall, two roller marks above the window, touch up" can be finished, and both of you will agree when it has been.
Vague items are the mechanism by which punch lists grow. Every round of vagueness invites one more walkthrough.
Close the list, in writing
A punch list with no sign off line never really ends. Put a line at the bottom, get it signed when the last item is ticked, and attach it to the final invoice.
If the client will not sign because of one remaining item, that is useful information too. It means there is one item, not a mood.
Questions people ask
Who writes the punch list, the contractor or the client?
Usually both, during a walkthrough. The contractor writes it down, the client adds items, and both keep a copy. A list written by only one side tends to get renegotiated.
How long should a contractor have to finish punch items?
Whatever the contract says. If it says nothing, a reasonable period for minor items is one to two weeks. Put a due date against each item rather than one date for everything, because a paint touch up and a back ordered fixture are not the same job.
Can the client add items after the walkthrough?
New defects, yes. New wishes, no, that is a change order. The distinction is whether the item is work already in the contract that was not done correctly.
Is there an Excel version?
Yes, and it is a real .xlsx file with the columns already set up, not a CSV renamed. Download it above.