CCDC 2 vs RAIC Document 6: What ExAC Candidates Need to Know About Canadian Contracts

What CCDC 2 and RAIC Document 6 actually are

CCDC 2 is the Canadian Construction Documents Committee Stipulated Price Contract. It is a national standard form, published jointly by industry and professional organisations, and it is the default owner-to-contractor agreement on most Canadian building projects. CCDC 2 packages an Agreement (Articles A-1 through A-12), Definitions, and General Conditions (GC 1 through GC 12) into a single document, and it names a Consultant (typically the architect) as the impartial interpreter of the contract.

RAIC Document 6 is the Canadian Standard Form of Contract for Architectural Services, published by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. It is the agreement between the client and the architect. RAIC Document 6 defines the architect's scope of services across the project phases (Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents, Bidding, Construction Phase), sets the fee basis (percentage, lump sum, hourly, or a combination), lists the additional services that are billed separately, and assigns the limits on the architect's authority to bind the client.

The two documents are sometimes confused because both involve the architect, but they answer different questions. CCDC 2 answers "what does the contractor owe the owner, and how is the architect's interpretation triggered". RAIC Document 6 answers "what does the architect owe the client, and how is the architect paid". The Examitect approach, refined from the post-exam debriefs our team runs with candidates after every sitting, is to study them as a pair, never alone.

The contract triangle: who signs what

On a standard Canadian project with a single owner, a single architect, and a single general contractor, three parties relate through two contracts. The architect is on both contracts, but as a different party in each one.

The same architect is the signatory on Contract 1 and the named Consultant on Contract 2. On most ExAC scenarios, the question hinges on which contract authorises the action. A direction to add scope to the design is a RAIC Document 6 question (additional services, fee implications). A direction to add scope to the work in the field is a CCDC 2 question (Change Order, Change Directive, Notice in Writing). Confusing the two is one of the more reliable Section 4 traps.

CCDC 2 vs RAIC Document 6 at a glance

The fastest way to keep the two documents straight is to compare them dimension by dimension. Use the table below as your single-page reference; the deeper detail follows in the next sections.

Two patterns to lock in. First, the architect is the Consultant under CCDC 2, not a party; the architect's authority on the construction contract comes from the owner-contractor agreement, not from the architect signing it. Second, RAIC Document 6 is where the architect's fee lives; cost and scope arguments between the client and the architect belong to that contract, not to CCDC 2.

CCDC 2: what Section 4 actually tests

CCDC 2 questions on the ExAC are scenario-based. The question presents a situation on a construction site, and the candidate has to identify which General Condition governs, what the Consultant should do, and which document the action belongs in. Recall of clause numbers is not rewarded; recall of what each GC does is.

The General Conditions worth knowing by name

• GC 1: General Provisions. Contract Documents hierarchy, language of the contract, governing law. The Contractor's submitted documents do not override the Owner's specifications.
• GC 2: Administration of the Contract. The Consultant's role. The Consultant interprets the Contract Documents (GC 2.2), conducts general reviews (GC 2.3), and acts impartially between the parties.
• GC 3: Execution of the Work. Construction by the Contractor, supervision, subcontractors, and the Contractor's responsibility for means and methods.
• GC 5: Payment. Monthly progress payments, applications certified by the Consultant, holdback per the Construction Act, and Substantial Performance.
• GC 6: Changes in the Work. Supplemental Instructions (clarifications, no cost or time impact), Change Orders (mutually agreed, signed by Owner), Change Directives (unilateral, used when parties have not agreed).
• GC 9: Protection of Persons and Property. Safety, hoarding, and the Contractor's obligations on site.
• GC 10: Governing Regulations. Codes, taxes, royalties, patents. The Contractor builds to applicable codes; the Consultant designs to them.
• GC 12: Indemnification, Waiver, and Limitation of Liability. Who owes whom for what, and when.

The scenarios that show up

Expect questions on the difference between a Change Order and a Change Directive, on what triggers a Notice in Writing, on who certifies progress payments and how holdback works, on what Substantial Performance does (and does not) trigger, on whose responsibility means and methods are, and on what the Consultant should do when the Contractor proposes a substitution. The construction field functions and construction office functions topic pages walk through the recurring scenario patterns.

Two CCDC 2 facts that catch working candidates off guard. First, the Consultant is not the Owner's agent; the Consultant is an impartial interpreter of the contract under GC 2.2, even though the Owner pays the architect under RAIC Document 6. Second, the Consultant does not approve shop drawings; the Consultant reviews them for general conformance with the Contract Documents under GC 3.6. The verb matters on the exam.

RAIC Document 6: what Section 4 actually tests

RAIC Document 6 questions on the ExAC focus on the architect's scope, the fee, and the limits of the architect's authority. The scenarios are usually about a client asking for something that is not in the agreement: extra meetings, a redesign after the design has been approved, a scope expansion mid-project, or a verbal direction with cost implications.

The Document 6 mechanics worth knowing

• Scope per phase. Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents, Bidding, Construction Phase. Each phase has defined deliverables and a fee milestone. The architect is not obliged to redo a completed phase without an additional services authorisation.
• Fee basis. Percentage of construction cost, lump sum, hourly, or a combination. Each basis has its own dispute pattern; percentage fees, for example, change when the construction cost changes.
• Additional services. A defined list (renderings, expert testimony, post-occupancy evaluation, redesign after approval, change orders driven by client direction) billed separately from the base fee.
• Authority to bind. The architect cannot commit the client to additional cost or scope without the client's authorisation. This is the contractual basis for the rule that the Consultant cannot direct the Contractor to do work that increases the Contract Price without an Owner-signed Change Order.
• Sub-consultants. The architect engages structural, mechanical, electrical, and other sub-consultants under RAIC Document 9, the architect-to-consultant agreement that mirrors Document 6.

The honest read on Document 6: it is shorter and lighter than CCDC 2, and most candidates finish it in three to five hours. The risk is reading it casually and missing the additional services list, which is where most Document 6 questions live.

The seams: where the two contracts hand work to each other

The seams between CCDC 2 and RAIC Document 6 are where most Section 4 marks are won or lost. A scenario rarely sits cleanly in one contract; it usually starts in one and finishes in the other. Knowing which document carries the next step is the heart of the test.

Two of these seams are tested most often. First, the client-direction-to-redesign scenario is a RAIC Document 6 question that may also touch CCDC 2 once construction starts; do not jump straight to the Change Order. Second, the Substantial Performance scenario sits at the seam between CCDC 2, RAIC Document 6, and the provincial Construction Act; the Construction Act sets the numerical threshold, CCDC 2 sets the certification process, and RAIC Document 6 sets the fee phase.

Common Section 4 contract mistakes

Every ExAC cycle, the same handful of contract mistakes show up in the post-exam debriefs our team runs with candidates. Spotting them now is cheaper than spotting them on the exam.

• Treating CCDC 2 like an open-book reference. CCDC 2 is closed book on the exam. Build recall through scenario practice, not through memorising clause numbers. The candidates who try to recite GC 5.4 word for word are usually the ones who cannot apply it.
• Confusing Change Order, Change Directive, and Supplemental Instruction. A Supplemental Instruction (GC 6.1) clarifies without cost or time impact. A Change Order (GC 6.2) modifies the Contract Price or Contract Time after the parties agree. A Change Directive (GC 6.3) is the Owner's unilateral instruction to proceed when the parties have not yet agreed on the price or time.
• Putting the architect's fee into CCDC 2. The architect's fee lives in RAIC Document 6. Fee disputes, additional services, and scope creep are RAIC Document 6 questions, even when they are triggered by something happening on the construction site.
• Treating the Consultant as the Owner's agent. Under GC 2.2, the Consultant is the impartial interpreter of the Contract Documents. The Owner pays the architect under RAIC Document 6, but on the construction contract the architect's role is impartial.
• Confusing "approve" with "review" on shop drawings. The Consultant reviews shop drawings for general conformance with the Contract Documents under GC 3.6. The Contractor remains responsible for dimensions, quantities, and the means and methods of construction.
• Quoting CCDC 2 for Substantial Performance numbers. CCDC 2 GC 5.4 frames the certification; the numerical threshold (typically expressed as a percentage and a dollar limit on remaining work) lives in the provincial Construction Act. Quote the Act, not the contract, for the percentage.
• Skipping the Notice in Writing requirement. Many CCDC 2 rights, including claims for extra cost or time, depend on a Notice in Writing being delivered within a defined number of working days. Miss the notice and the right is often gone, regardless of merit.

A 2-week study plan for ExAC contracts

If you have two weeks to prepare the contract material for Section 4, here is the schedule our team uses with Intern Architects. It assumes you can give one to two focused hours per day, plus a longer block on the weekend.

1. Days 1 to 2: Read RAIC Document 6. One careful pass through the agreement, the services schedules, the fee schedule, and the additional services list. Mark the additional services and the limits of authority clauses.
2. Days 3 to 6: Read CCDC 2. Agreement Articles A-1 through A-12, Definitions, and General Conditions GC 1 through GC 12. Focus on GC 2, GC 5, GC 6, and GC 12. Take notes in plain language: what each GC does, who it applies to, what triggers it.
3. Day 7: Skim CCDC 24. Read for context only. Pay attention to how Supplementary Conditions modify the standard General Conditions on real projects.
4. Days 8 to 11: Drill 40 to 60 Section 4 scenario questions. Mix bidding, change management, payment certification, substantial performance, and Consultant-role scenarios. Review only the items you missed.
5. Days 12 to 13: Targeted re-read. Go back to the General Conditions that came up in scenario questions you missed. Re-test on the same topics until recall is fast.
6. Day 14: One timed Section 4 mock. Use it as a diagnostic, not a verdict. Score by competency area and plan one targeted review pass before exam day.

Inside that two weeks, do not also try to read RAIC Document 9, CCDC 24 in full, the IAP guidebook, or a second pass of CHOP. The marginal mark per hour is higher on Section 4 scenario practice than on more reading. The hours where contracts pay back are the practice hours, not the reading hours.