If you have ever caught a door schedule that disagreed with the plans, you already know what objective 8.6 asks. Document coordination and code compliance means checking that drawings, schedules and specifications describe the same building, and that the building meets the NBC 2020. Section 3 tests it closed book, using supplied drawing booklets. In our experience, candidates who have a fixed review routine find these items quicker than most. This guide from Examitect, an independent ExAC prep platform unaffiliated with the CACB, covers the official objective, how coordination works, what CCDC 2 says when documents disagree, the five common conflicts and a code checklist.
| Exam section | Section 3, about 96 multiple-choice and 6 short-answer questions, closed book |
|---|---|
| Specific objectives | 8.6.1 conformance to standards and codes, 8.6.2 coordinated and complete documents |
| Core references | CHOP 6.4, CCDC 2 (2020) GC 1.1, NBC 2020 Part 3 and Division C Part 2 |
| Supplied material | Appendix booklets of drawings and reference tables |
Objective 8.6 sits in theme 8, Final Project, which belongs to Section 3. Appendix 1 of the 2026 ExAC Preparation Guide (p.19) words it "Evaluate the components of the construction documents" and gives it two specific objectives:
The verbs matter. Objective 8.4 on the same page asks you to understand the construction documents, and 8.5 to understand specification writing. Objective 8.6 asks you to evaluate, which means the question hands you a document and asks what is wrong with it. That is why this objective leans on the drawing booklets more than most.
Two ideas sit underneath it. The first is that a contractor prices a stipulated price contract on the assumption that the set is complete and coordinated; CHOP 6.4 says so directly about CCDC 2. The second is that the set is also the permit submission, so it has to show code compliance on its face. NBC 2020 Division C, Sentence 2.2.2.1.(1), requires "sufficient information" to show that the proposed work will conform to the Code.
If you want the background first, the construction documents study notes cover objective 8.4, and our MasterFormat and NMS guide covers objective 8.5. This post stays on the checking side.
CHOP 6.4, Construction Documents, defines construction documents as the working drawings and the specifications, which together with the contract and its conditions form the contract documents. It offers a rule of thumb worth memorizing: drawings reflect the scope of a design, while specifications describe its quality.
The architect usually carries the coordination job. CHOP 6.4 quotes RAIC Document 6 (2018), which makes the architect the "coordinating professional" who manages communications among the consultants, directs them to give effect to design decisions, and reviews their services to identify matters of concern. Each discipline owns part of the set, and conflicts appear where those parts meet:
| Document | What it owns | Where it clashes |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural | Layout, dimensions, fire separations, exits, schedules | Grids, slab edges, rated walls, ceiling heights |
| Structural | Grids, members, openings, loads | Beam depths under ceilings, slab openings for shafts |
| Mechanical and electrical | Ducts, pipes, equipment, panels | Penetrations through rated assemblies, shaft sizes |
| Specifications | Products, standards, workmanship, Division 01 procedures | Product names, ratings and standards that differ from the drawings |
CHOP 6.4 lists the issues a quality review should catch, including errors, omissions or ambiguities, the internal consistency of drawings and specifications, and the compatibility of detailed solutions between disciplines and between related trades. It also names three things that need extra attention even on ordinary projects: continuity of the building envelope layers at junctions (our rainscreen and thermal bridging guide covers that side), the integrity of fire separations, and the finish quality the design intends.
The chapter's appendices include internal review checklists for architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical drawings, life safety checklists for each discipline, a checklist for small Part 9 buildings and an NBC data matrix. You can read the chapter free on the RAIC CHOP site; see our CHOP reference guide for the rest of the handbook.
CCDC 2 (2020) GC 1.1, Contract Documents, is the contract language behind coordination. Four paragraphs carry most of the questions:
Clause .1 of GC 1.1.5 is that ranked order, and clauses .2 to .5 add four tie-breakers. Here is how the ranking and each tie-breaker settle a typical conflict:
| Conflict | What governs | GC 1.1.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Spec says one product, plan shows another | The technical Specifications | .1 |
| 1:20 wall section and 1:100 plan, same date | The larger-scale drawing | .2 |
| Written dimension versus scaled dimension | The written dimension | .3 |
| Original sheet versus a later revision | The amended or later-dated document | .4 |
| Note says one material, hatch shows another | The note | .5 |
One trap: CHOP 6.4 illustrates precedence with the 2008 edition of CCDC 2, where the paragraph was numbered 1.1.7 and the ranked order was followed by three tie-breakers. In the 2020 edition it is 1.1.5, and the ranked order is followed by four tie-breakers, the last being noted materials and annotations over graphic indications. Answer from the 2020 numbering, the edition Appendix 3 of the Prep Guide lists (p.33).
Precedence tells everyone what is binding. It does not make the set right. Under GC 1.1.4 the cost of a discovered inconsistency is not the contractor's, and under GC 2.2.6 the Consultant is, in the first instance, the interpreter of the Contract Documents. CHOP 6.4 notes that defects caught at tender or during construction cost more time, effort and liability than defects caught at the construction documents stage. Before bids close, the fix is an addendum. After award, a fix that does not change price or time can go out as a Supplemental Instruction; one that does goes through GC 6, Changes in the Work. Our post on shop drawings, RFIs and site instructions covers that stage, and the CCDC 2 reference guide covers the rest of the contract.
Every ExAC cycle, the post-exam debriefs our team runs with candidates bring up the same kinds of conflict. Here are the five worth rehearsing:
Building services add a sixth conflict on many sets. Where a duct crosses a fire separation, Article 3.1.8.7. requires a fire damper unless Article 3.1.8.8. waives it, and the damper needs an access door under Sentence 3.1.8.10.(5). If the mechanical drawings show the duct but no damper, that is a coordination gap. Note A-2.2.6.2.(1) of Division C lists the size and continuity of ducts and fire dampers, and the location and fire-resistance rating of required fire separations, among the information expected on architectural and HVAC drawings.
Specific objective 8.6.1 is the code half. Section 3 gives you no code book, so this is a short list of NBC 2020 provisions to know well enough to recall. Article numbers are from Division B unless noted.
| Check | What to confirm on the set | NBC 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Classification | Major occupancy, building area, height, sprinklers and construction type agree on every sheet | Subsection 3.1.2. and Articles 3.2.2.20. to 3.2.2.92. |
| Occupancy separations | Ratings between major occupancies | Table 3.1.3.1. |
| Rated assemblies | Each rating comes from a tested design or Appendix D | Article 3.1.7.1. |
| Continuity | Separations run through concealed spaces; firestops at abutments | Article 3.1.8.3. |
| Closures | Door, damper and glazing ratings, closers and latches | Articles 3.1.8.4., 3.1.8.13. and 3.1.8.15. |
| Penetrations | Fire dampers where ducts cross separations | Article 3.1.8.7. |
| Spatial separation | Limiting distance and unprotected openings on elevations | Article 3.2.3.1. |
| Exits | Number, location, width and door release hardware | Articles 3.4.2.1., 3.4.2.5., 3.4.3.2. and 3.4.6.16. |
| Accessibility | Barrier-free entrances and doors | Articles 3.8.2.2. and 3.8.3.6. |
| Permit information | Fire separations, closures and exits shown on the drawings | Division C, Articles 2.2.2.1. and 2.2.3.1. |
The "standards" in 8.6.1 are real documents too. Sentence 3.1.8.4.(1) has door assemblies rated under CAN/ULC-S104 and fire dampers under CAN/ULC-S112, and Sentence 3.1.8.3.(3) has firestops tested under CAN/ULC-S115 with an FT rating not less than the fire-resistance rating of the abutting fire separation. When a specification or a product data sheet names a different test standard, that is a conformance question.
Keep the definitions straight, because Section 3 items use them precisely. Division A defines a closure as including its hardware, closing devices, frames and anchors, so a door without its closer is an incomplete closure. A fire-resistance rating applies to assemblies, while a fire-protection rating applies to closures. If the checklist looks familiar, it should: it is the Section 2 material, recalled without the book. Our post on NBC 2020 Part 3 versus Part 9 and the NBC 2020 reference guide cover the wider code.
The ExAC Framework Document gives Section 3 about 96 multiple-choice and about 6 short-answer questions, and says appendix booklets of drawings and reference tables are supplied for Sections 1, 2 and 3. Only Section 2 allows code books; the Preparation Guide (p.12) lists books, notes and reference documents as prohibited. The Prep Guide publishes no sample item for 8.6, so the patterns below are our reading of the objective and the supplied booklets, written as our own examples rather than real exam questions:
The traps are predictable. Options that let the contractor carry the cost of an inconsistency ignore GC 1.1.4. Options that cite the 2008 numbering confuse the paragraph. Options that treat the fire-resistance rating of a wall and the fire-protection rating of its door as the same number miss Table 3.1.8.4. For short answers, the Preparation Guide (p.7) says only the first points you write are marked when a question asks for a set number, so give exactly what is asked. Our post on starting with short answers or multiple choice covers the order of attack.
Review a drawing set, in practice or in a booklet, in this order:
Confirm occupancy, building area, height, sprinklers and construction type, and check that every sheet uses the same numbers.
Compare the architectural and structural grid labels, spacings and floor levels before reading anything else.
Add up each string against the overall dimension and trust written dimensions over scaled ones.
Follow each rated wall from plan to section to detail, checking its rating, its continuity above the ceiling and its firestops.
Match door numbers, ratings and hardware, including closers, latches and exit hardware, to the walls they sit in.
Look for ducts crossing rated assemblies without dampers, beams below ceilings and shafts that do not line up.
Confirm the same terms, products, ratings and test standards appear in both, and note every mismatch for an addendum.
Run the routine on one real set at work and it becomes habit by November. The Section 3 study notes list every objective beside this one.
ExAC objective 8.6, "Evaluate the components of the construction documents", is in Section 3. Its two specific objectives in the 2026 Preparation Guide are verifying that products, materials and assemblies conform to standards and codes, and checking that the architectural documents are coordinated and complete.
Document coordination is the work of making the architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical drawings, the schedules and the specifications describe the same building without gaps, overlaps or contradictions. CHOP 6.4 places it with the architect as coordinating professional during the construction documents stage.
The order of precedence in CCDC 2 (2020) is in GC 1.1.5. From highest to lowest it runs from the Agreement, Definitions, Supplementary Conditions and General Conditions to Division 01, the technical Specifications, material and finishing schedules and, last, the Drawings. Larger-scale drawings, written dimensions, later documents and notes also govern over their counterparts.
Yes, in CCDC 2 (2020) the technical Specifications rank above the Drawings in the order of priority in GC 1.1.5. GC 1.1.2 still treats the documents as complementary, so a requirement shown only on the drawings remains binding.
Under CCDC 2 (2020) GC 1.1.4, the Contractor is not responsible for errors, omissions or inconsistencies in the Contract Documents. The Contractor must report them promptly to the Consultant and hold the affected work until corrected information arrives, so the cost of the fix is not the Contractor's.
No, ExAC Section 3 is not open book. Only Section 2 allows paper copies of the NBC 2020 and NECB 2020. For Section 3 the exam supplies appendix booklets of drawings and reference tables, and the code articles in an 8.6 question have to come from memory.
A door in a 1 h fire separation needs a fire-protection rating of at least 45 min under Table 3.1.8.4. of the NBC 2020. Article 3.1.8.12. allows a 20 min door only in listed locations, and Articles 3.1.8.13. and 3.1.8.15. require a self-closing device and a positive latch.
CHOP 6.4, Construction Documents, covers drawings and specifications in one chapter. It explains the complementary relationship between the two, precedence, the architect's role as coordinating professional and quality reviews, and its appendices include internal review checklists for each discipline and an NBC data matrix.