# No Exception Taken > No Exception Taken means permission for fabrication, manufacture, and installation to proceed without objections **Term:** No Exception Taken **Last updated:** 2026-07-29 ## Definition ## What No Exception Taken means in a contract No Exception Taken is a review disposition, most often applied to construction submittals such as shop drawings, product data, and samples. It means the reviewer, typically an architect or engineer, has examined the submittal and takes no objection, so fabrication, manufacture, and installation may proceed as submitted. It is the cleanest of the standard review outcomes, sitting alongside markings like "make corrections noted" or "revise and resubmit." Importantly, the phrase is an approval to move forward, not a transfer of responsibility. In most contracts the review confirms general conformance with the design intent; it does not relieve the contractor of responsibility for dimensions, quantities, fabrication techniques, or coordination with the work. The exact scope of that limitation is set by the contract, so the words around the stamp carry as much weight as the stamp itself. ### Where the term appears You will find it in the submittal procedures of building and engineering contracts across the [construction](https://www.genieai.co/industry/construction) sector, and in equipment supply arrangements within [manufacturing](https://www.genieai.co/industry/manufacturing) where components are fabricated to a specification before delivery. It also appears in installation-focused agreements that sequence design review before physical work begins. ### How it functions in the review cycle - **Submission:** the contractor or supplier submits drawings or data for the reviewer to check against the design. - **Disposition:** the reviewer marks the submittal, with No Exception Taken being the outcome that permits work to proceed without changes. - **Record:** the marked submittal becomes part of the project record, evidencing what was approved and when. ### Why the exact wording matters The danger with this term is that it can be read as broader than intended. A contractor might treat No Exception Taken as certifying that everything in the submittal is correct and fully approved, then argue that any resulting defect is the reviewer's fault. Careful contracts head off that argument by stating precisely what the review does and does not cover, and by preserving the submitter's responsibility for accuracy and field conditions. Timing wording also matters. If the contract makes a No Exception Taken response a precondition to ordering materials or starting installation, then delays in review can ripple into schedule and cost claims. The clause should say how long review takes and what happens if the response is late. On a large project, a single slow disposition can hold up long-lead procurement, so the review turnaround is often as commercially significant as the outcome of the review itself. ### Drafting considerations - Define each review disposition, including No Exception Taken, so the parties share one meaning. - State expressly that the review confirms general conformance and does not shift responsibility for the submitter's errors, unless the parties intend otherwise under the law governing the contract. - Set review timeframes and the consequences of a delayed response, so approvals do not become a hidden source of dispute. - Require that work proceed only on the current, marked submittal, to avoid building from a superseded version. - Align submittal handling with the sequencing you would set out when [creating an installation agreement](https://www.genieai.co/blog/creating-an-installation-agreement), so review, delivery, and installation follow in a logical order. Used correctly, No Exception Taken keeps a project moving while preserving a clear allocation of responsibility. Used loosely, it becomes a phrase each side reads differently, which is exactly the ambiguity a well-drafted contract should eliminate. ## Context ### Relevant circumstances - Designing and engineering new products - Erecting structures or developing properties - Starting service operations that require the creation of tangible assets ### Relevant sectors - Construction - Manufacturing ## Relevant contract types - [Certificate of Service](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/template-type/certificate-of-service) - [Construction Agreement](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/template-type/construction-agreement) - [Manufacturing Agreement](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/template-type/manufacturing-agreement) --- This is the Markdown representation of [https://www.genieai.co/en-us/define/no-exception-taken](https://www.genieai.co/en-us/define/no-exception-taken), provided for AI agents and crawlers. The HTML page is canonical. See [/llms.txt](https://www.genieai.co/llms.txt) for the full content map.