How long does construction adjudication take?
Twenty-eight days from referral to decision as standard, extendable by 14 days with the referring party's consent and longer if both agree, so about five to eight weeks from the notice of adjudication to a decision.
Updated: 15 September 2026. By Jack Butler-Kettle, Quantity Surveyor & Claims Consultant.
The answer
The statutory timetable is short and fixed. The referring party serves a notice of adjudication, an adjudicator is appointed within seven days, and the referral goes to the adjudicator within that same seven days. The adjudicator must reach a decision within 28 days of the referral. That period can be extended by up to 14 days if the referring party agrees, and further only if both parties agree. Within the 28 days the adjudicator sets directions for the response, a reply and sometimes a rejoinder, often at one-week intervals, and may hold a meeting. Enforcement, if the losing party does not pay, is a separate court step that typically takes several more weeks. Preparation before the notice is where the time is really spent: a referral that arrives with its documents and figures in order is decided on them, and a response prepared from scratch inside a seven-day direction rarely is.
Example
The situation
A notice of adjudication is served on 1 September and the referral follows on 5 September, and the responding party needs to know how long it has before the adjudicator's decision is due.
What happens
- The adjudicator's decision is due by 3 October, or by 17 October if the referring party consents to the extension.
- A response direction of 19 September leaves the responding party two weeks.
- In those two weeks the responding party assembles the contract, the application, the notices, the records and a quantum position.
The timetable
| Step | Date |
|---|---|
| Notice of adjudication | 1 September |
| Referral | 5 September |
| Response direction | 19 September |
| Decision due | 3 October |
| Decision due if the referring party consents to the extension | 17 October |
The outcome
The decision is due by 3 October, or 17 October with the referring party's consent, and the responding party's material has to be together by 19 September.
Adjudication & Dispute Support builds the documents and the figures before the clock starts.