Choosing a Contractor · October 9, 2026 · 8 min read

CCDC 2 vs Cost-Plus vs Construction Management: Which Contract to Sign in BC

CCDC 2 is a fixed, stipulated price for a defined scope, so the contractor carries the cost risk. CCDC 3 is cost plus: you pay actual cost plus a fee, and you carry the cost risk. CCDC 5A and 5B are construction management contracts, where a manager runs the trades for a fee. The right form depends on how well the scope is defined when you sign.

Key takeaway. Choose the contract form by how complete your drawings are and how much cost risk you want to hold. A stipulated price (CCDC 2) suits a fully designed project. Cost plus (CCDC 3) suits work that cannot be defined up front. Construction management (CCDC 5A or 5B) suits larger or phased projects where you want a builder advising early and the trades priced in packages. The form numbers and descriptions here come from the Canadian Construction Documents Committee. This is general information, not legal advice.

The Contract Forms, Defined

The Canadian Construction Documents Committee (CCDC) publishes standard construction contracts used across Canada. These are the forms an owner is most likely to be offered on a commercial project:

• CCDC 2, Stipulated Price Contract (2020): a prime contract between owner and contractor for a single, predetermined fixed price for the whole project, with monthly progress payments.
• CCDC 3, Cost Plus Contract (2016): a prime contract where the contractor performs the work on an actual-cost basis, plus a percentage or fixed fee applied to those costs.
• CCDC 4, Unit Price Contract (2023): payment is based on measured quantities at agreed unit rates.
• CCDC 5A, Construction Management Contract for Services (2010 and 2025 versions): the construction manager acts as a limited agent of the owner and administers the owner's contracts with the trade contractors.
• CCDC 5B, Construction Management Contract for Services and Construction (2010 and 2025 versions): the construction manager advises during pre-construction and then performs the work, starting on an actual-cost basis plus a fee.
• CCDC 17, Stipulated Price Contract for Trade Contractors on Construction Management Projects (2010 and 2025 versions): the fixed-price form for each trade package on a construction management job.

There is also CCDC 14, the design-build stipulated price contract, where one party designs and builds. Whether to use design-build at all is a delivery-method decision rather than a contract-form decision. Our design-build vs general contracting guide covers that choice, and this post sticks to the contract forms.

Which Contract to Sign: A Decision Table

The pattern is consistent. The less you know about the scope when you sign, the more cost risk you will carry, whatever the form says. A stipulated price on incomplete drawings does not remove that risk. It turns it into change orders.

CCDC 2: Stipulated Price

CCDC 2 is the default for a reason. You get one number for a defined scope, and the contractor carries the risk of its own costs, productivity and pricing on that scope. Bids are comparable because everyone priced the same drawings.

The limit is the word "defined". The fixed price covers the work shown in the contract documents. Anything added, changed or discovered goes through the change process, which in CCDC 2 runs through change orders and change directives. How allowances, contingencies and change directives behave under CCDC 2 – 2020 is covered in our guide to how contractors price a commercial project.

CCDC 2 fits best when the drawings are complete, the existing conditions are known, and you want price certainty more than flexibility. A clinic fit-out in a clean shell, with equipment selected and coordinated before tender, is the classic case.

CCDC 3: Cost Plus

Under CCDC 3 you pay what the work actually costs plus the contractor's fee, which is either a percentage of cost or a fixed amount. You gain flexibility and transparency. You can start before every detail is resolved, and you see the real costs. In exchange, you carry the risk that the total grows.

Cost plus suits work where a fixed price would mostly be guesswork, such as renovation of an older building where the conditions behind the walls are unknown. It also suits projects where the owner expects to make decisions as the work proceeds.

Protect yourself under cost plus by settling these points in the contract:

• What counts as a reimbursable cost, and what is covered by the fee instead, such as head-office overhead.
• How the fee is set. A fixed fee does not grow when costs grow. A percentage fee does.
• Reporting. Regular cost reports and a forecast of the final cost, not just invoices.
• A ceiling, if you need one. The CCDC 3 description does not mention a guaranteed maximum price. If you want one, discuss it with your lawyer, or consider whether CCDC 5B, which offers a GMP option, is the better form.

CCDC 5A and 5B: Construction Management

Construction management brings a builder in early to advise on cost, sequencing and buildability while the design is still developing. The trades are then priced in packages rather than all at once.

Under CCDC 5A, the construction manager provides services only. The CCDC describes the manager as a limited agent of the owner who administers the contracts between the owner and the trade contractors. You hold the trade contracts, often on CCDC 17, and with them the risk of coordinating them. This suits owners with their own project management capacity.

Under CCDC 5B, the construction manager advises in pre-construction and then performs the work. Pricing starts on an actual-cost-plus-fee basis. The parties can agree a guaranteed maximum price, a GMP with shared cost savings, or conversion into a stipulated price contract once the design is far enough along. That makes 5B a route from early involvement to a firm number.

Construction management adds a layer of fees and administration. It earns its keep on larger, phased or schedule-critical projects. On a single-suite fit-out with complete drawings, CCDC 2 is usually simpler.

What Changes in BC

The CCDC forms are national. Provincial law sits underneath them, and in BC the piece every owner meets is the holdback. Under BC's Builders Lien Act, the person primarily liable under a contract must retain 10% of the greater of the value of work or materials provided and the payments made under the contract. The holdback period generally runs 55 days after a certificate of completion is issued, or after the contract or improvement is completed if there is no certificate.

That obligation applies whatever form you sign. It shapes the payment schedule on every project: each progress payment is reduced by the holdback, and the holdback is released only after the period expires without liens being filed. Lien and payment legislation is amended from time to time, so confirm the current requirements with your lawyer before you rely on a payment schedule. Our BC Builders Lien Act guide walks through the holdback account, the deadlines and the steps owners take.

Most owners and contractors also modify standard CCDC forms with supplementary conditions. Read those as carefully as the form itself, because they are where the standard risk allocation gets changed.

Custom Homes and Smaller Projects

CCDC forms are written for the construction industry broadly and are most familiar on commercial and institutional work. On a custom home, you may instead be offered a builder's own fixed-price or cost-plus agreement. The same logic applies. A fixed price is only as firm as the drawings and allowances behind it, and cost plus needs clear reporting and an agreed approach to the fee. Our custom home building page explains how we approach those projects.

Conclusion

CCDC 2 gives a fixed price for a defined scope and suits a fully designed project. CCDC 3 trades price certainty for flexibility and suits work that cannot be defined up front. CCDC 5A and 5B bring a construction manager in early, with 5B offering a path to a guaranteed maximum or stipulated price. In BC, the Builders Lien Act holdback applies to all of them. Pick the form that matches how complete your drawings really are, read the supplementary conditions, and have a construction lawyer review the contract before you sign. If you are scoping a commercial project and want to talk through which form fits, see our commercial construction page.