A construction punch list is the list of work that is unfinished or not right, raised near the end of a job and worked down to nothing before the owner takes the building. Writing the list is the easy half. Closing it is where projects stall: items marked done that were never touched, numbers that change between walks, and nobody able to say which of two hundred items are really finished. This template is built for the second half — every item keeps its number, and an item only counts as closed once somebody has gone back and verified it. You can fill it in here and download a finished PDF without creating an account.
Punch list, snag list, deficiency list
The same document goes by different names. In the US it is the punch list; in the UK, Ireland, the Gulf and much of Asia it is the snag list; on public works it is often a deficiency or defects list. In every case it is the record, near practical or substantial completion, of what the contractor still owes before the job is accepted.
This version is the contractor-and-owner closeout list: the general contractor's own pre-punch, the owner or architect's walk, and the back-checks that follow. A home buyer's snagging inspection of a new house is a related but different job — one buyer, one dwelling, a report to send to the developer — and has its own template.
Many contracts tie the list to money. The punch list is commonly attached to the certificate of substantial completion, and a share of the retention is held back until it is cleared. That is why the list has to be precise: whatever is on it is owed, and whatever is missing from it is, in practice, often lost.
The item number is the whole system
Give every item a number when it is raised and never change it. Not when the list is re-sorted by trade, not when items are closed, not when a new walk adds twenty more. A plasterer who says "3-104-07 is done" needs that to mean the same patch on the same wall it meant last week.
A number built from the place works well: level, room, then a running count — 3-104-07 is the seventh item in room 104 on level 3. New items found on a back-check take the next free number in that room. Items that turn out not to be defects are withdrawn, not deleted, so the gap in the numbering explains itself.
Four statuses, and only one of them is closed
Each item moves through a small set of states. The score on this form counts only the last one.
- Open — raised and not yet fixed.
- Done by trade — the subcontractor says it is fixed. Nobody has checked yet, so it is still open for the purposes of the score.
- Verified closed — somebody walked back to it, looked, and accepted it, with their name, the date and an after photo.
- Rejected — still not right — checked and not accepted. The reason goes on the item, and it goes back to the trade.
- Withdrawn — on reflection not a defect, or moved to a change order. Left out of the score entirely.
Write items a trade can fix without calling you
A good item says what is wrong, exactly where, and what right looks like: "Door 104B closer slams — adjust so the door closes without banging and latches." A bad one says "doors — adjust". Keep to one defect per item, so one can be closed while the next is still open.
Photograph it close enough to see the defect and far enough back to find it again, ideally with a room number or a gridline in the frame. Low-tack tape or a sticker on the wall with the item number saves the trade a search and saves you an argument on the back-check.
The back-check
Take the same list back to site and walk it in number order. Update the status of each item rather than starting a fresh list, add an after photo when you close one, and give a reason every time you reject one. Anything new gets the next number at the end of its room.
Repeat until nothing is open. The final walk also switches on the closeout section — record drawings, manuals, warranties, keys, training, final clean — because those are owed under the same contract and are just as easy to forget.
On the phone, Start a re-inspection does the back-check for you. Every item that is not yet verified closed comes back as its own card, asking whether it is fixed, partly fixed, not fixed or could not be checked, with a note and an after photo. Closed and withdrawn items stay out of it. The back-check report puts each original item beside what you found, leads with what is still open, and gives you a clean list of the outstanding items to send to the trades. Re-inspections are free and do not count toward your plan.
Common questions
What is a punch list in construction?
The list of incomplete or defective work that remains near the end of a project, raised during a walk-through and fixed before the owner accepts the building. Each item names the problem, its location and the trade responsible, and is closed only when it has been fixed and checked.
Who prepares the punch list?
Usually the general contractor walks the job first and fixes what it finds — the pre-punch — and then the owner, the architect or the owner's representative walks it and issues the formal list. Who signs it off is set by the contract.
When should the punch list walk happen?
When the work is substantially complete — finishes in, systems running, areas clean enough to judge. Punching too early produces a list of unfinished work rather than defects, which wastes everyone's time. Large projects often punch floor by floor as areas finish.
Is a punch list the same as a snag list?
Yes, as a construction document — the terms are regional. A home buyer's snagging inspection of a new house is a related job with a different audience, and has its own template.
How long does a contractor have to complete punch list items?
Whatever the contract says. Thirty to sixty days after substantial completion is common in US contracts, and retention is often held until the list is cleared. Put a fix-by date on each item so slippage is visible item by item.
Can each item have a before and an after photo?
Yes. Each item takes a photo when it is raised and another when it is fixed or checked, and both appear against the item in the PDF.
Can I re-check only the items that are still open?
Yes. In the ReportWalk app, start a re-inspection from the punch walk and only the items that are not verified closed come back, each one asking fixed, partly fixed or not fixed, with a photo. The back-check report shows the original item beside what you found and puts what is still open first.