French and Spanish construction terms in English
This Mirage Metrics reference maps the documents of a construction tender and contract across France, Morocco, the UK, the US and Spain: a DPGF, a BPU, a DQE, a CCTP or a situation de travaux next to the document that does the same job in English and in Spanish, with a note wherever the match is only approximate.
- Published
- Reading time
- 12 min
- Written by
- Mirage Metrics team
For estimators, quantity surveyors and bid teams who answer tenders in another country, and for anyone reading a French, Moroccan or Spanish file in English. Each row was checked against the official text or the standard form it names, listed under Sources.
How to read these tables
- An equivalence here is functional: the document that does the same job in the other country. The legal regime behind it is not the same.
- The UK column gives JCT and NEC4 wording, the two standard form families most UK contracts use. The US column gives AIA document numbers where AIA publishes one.
- Morocco uses the French vocabulary with documents of its own (the CPS and the BPDE); they are marked as such.
- When the contract you hold defines a term, its definition wins over this page.
Tender and contract documents
| France (and Morocco) | United Kingdom | United States | Spain | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCE (dossier de consultation des entreprises) | Tender documents (tender notice and associated tender documents) | Bidding documents (AIA A701) | Pliegos y documentación complementaria; en obras, también el proyecto | The whole set a bidder receives. "DCE" is trade usage: the French code says "documents de la consultation". Morocco: dossier d'appel d'offres. |
| RC (règlement de la consultation) | Instructions to tenderers (usage) | Instructions to bidders (AIA A701) | Sin documento propio: criterios en el PCAP y el anuncio de licitación | How to bid, the deadline and the award criteria; not part of the signed contract. In Spain the PCAP carries the criteria. |
| AE (acte d'engagement) | Form of tender (usage), then the JCT Agreement (Articles and Contract Particulars) | Bid form, then the owner-contractor agreement (AIA A101) | Proposición, después el documento de formalización del contrato | In France the AE is the bid that becomes the contract once the owner signs it, and it ranks first among the contract documents (CCAG Travaux, art. 4.1). |
| CCAP (cahier des clauses administratives particulières) | Contract Particulars (JCT); Contract Data (NEC4) | Supplementary conditions (to AIA A201) | PCAP (pliego de cláusulas administrativas particulares) | The project's own commercial terms: deadlines, penalties, retention, price revision. Morocco puts them in the CPS. |
| CCTP (cahier des clauses techniques particulières) | Specification (JCT); Scope (NEC4) | Specifications (AIA A201), organised by MasterFormat | Pliego de prescripciones técnicas particulares (parte del proyecto) | What must be built and to which standard. NBS is the usual UK specification system, a product rather than a legal term. |
| CCAG Travaux (2021) | No statutory equivalent: the conditions of a standard form (JCT, NEC4 core clauses) | General conditions (AIA A201) | LCSP y RGLCAP; pliego de cláusulas administrativas generales de 1970 | The CCAG is a government text a contract adopts by reference; JCT, NEC and AIA forms are private documents. Morocco: CCAG-T (décret 2-14-394). |
| DPGF (décomposition du prix global et forfaitaire) | Contract Sum Analysis (JCT); activity schedule (NEC4 Option A) | Schedule of values (AIA A201, art. 9.2; form G703) | Sin equivalente exacto: el tanto alzado es excepcional en obra pública | The breakdown of a lump-sum price; its quantities are the bidder's own and are not remeasured. A US schedule of values comes after award, a DPGF with the bid. Morocco: décomposition du montant global. |
| BPU (bordereau des prix unitaires) | Schedule of rates (JCT) | Unit prices (AIA A101, art. 4.4) | Cuadro de precios unitarios (en la práctica, «cuadro de precios n.º 1») | One price per unit of work, with no quantities; payment is the unit price times the quantity carried out. Morocco: bordereau des prix. |
| DQE (détail quantitatif estimatif) | Bill of quantities, measured under NRM2 (remeasured with approximate quantities) | Unit-price bid schedule with estimated quantities (usage) | Presupuesto con el estado de mediciones | Estimated quantities priced at the unit rates, used to compare bids; the works are paid on the quantities carried out. The CCAG says "détail estimatif"; DQE is the acronym of the French public procurement price guide. |
| Métré, avant-métré | Measurement (NRM2 for building, CESMM4 for civil works); taking-off | Quantity takeoff (usage) | Mediciones, estado de mediciones | Taking quantities from the drawings, before the works (avant-métré) or to record them. |
| CPS (cahier des prescriptions spéciales), Maroc | Contract Particulars plus specification | Supplementary conditions plus specifications | PCAP más pliego de prescripciones técnicas | Morocco puts the administrative and technical clauses of a public contract in one document (décret 2-22-431, art. 16); France splits them into CCAP and CCTP. |
| BPDE (bordereau des prix, détail estimatif), Maroc | Priced bill of quantities | Unit-price bid schedule with estimated quantities | Presupuesto: mediciones por cuadro de precios | Morocco allows the unit prices and the estimated quantities to form a single document (décret 2-22-431, art. 4). |
DPGF, BPU, DQE: three ways to price
The three French pricing documents answer one question: who carries the quantity risk. With a DPGF, the contract is a lump sum. The bidder measures its own quantities, the breakdown only explains the price, and the total is paid whatever the real quantities turn out to be, changes apart. That is the logic of a UK contract sum analysis or a US schedule of values.
With a BPU and a DQE, the contract is priced by unit. The BPU fixes a price per unit of work; the DQE multiplies those prices by estimated quantities so that bids can be compared; the works are then paid on the quantities actually carried out. That is the logic of a UK bill of quantities on a remeasurement contract, of a US unit-price bid schedule, and of the Spanish cuadro de precios with its mediciones y presupuesto.
Why it matters when you price
During the works: payment, changes, completion
| France (and Morocco) | United Kingdom | United States | Spain | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Situation de travaux, projet de décompte mensuel | Interim application and valuation, interim certificate (JCT); assessment and certificate (NEC4) | Application for payment (AIA G702 with G703) | Relación valorada, después certificación de obra mensual | The monthly statement of work done that payment is based on. The CCAG's term is "projet de décompte mensuel"; "situation" is trade usage. Morocco: décompte provisoire. |
| Décompte général et définitif (DGD) | Final account, Final Certificate (JCT) | Final application for payment, final certificate for payment (AIA A201) | Certificación final, después liquidación del contrato | The closing statement of everything owed. The Spanish liquidación comes after the warranty period; the French DGD before it. |
| Avenant (modification du marché) | Variation (JCT); compensation event (NEC4) | Change order (AIA G701) | Modificación del contrato | An avenant and a US change order are signed by both parties; a JCT variation or an NEC4 compensation event starts from an instruction and is valued afterwards. |
| Ordre de service (OS) | Instruction (contract administrator under JCT, project manager under NEC4) | Construction change directive (AIA G714) for a change without an agreed price | Órdenes de la dirección facultativa, en el libro de órdenes | A French OS covers any notified decision (start date, suspension), not only changes. |
| Retenue de garantie | Retention (JCT; NEC4 Option X16) | Retainage (AIA A201) | Sin retención legal en obra pública: garantía definitiva del 5 % | France caps it at 5%, and at 3% for SMEs working for the State or large local authorities since 2025. Spain asks for a 5% definitive guarantee, which the PCAP may allow to be withheld from payments. Morocco: 10% per payment, capped at 7%. |
| Réception des travaux, procès-verbal de réception | Practical completion (JCT); Completion (NEC4) | Substantial completion (AIA G704) | Recepción de la obra, acta de recepción | The owner takes the works over and the defects period starts. Morocco has two steps: provisional, then final acceptance. |
| Garantie de parfait achèvement (un an) | Rectification period (JCT); defects date and defect correction period (NEC4) | Correction of work within one year (AIA A201) | Plazo de garantía (al menos un año en obra pública) | The period after completion in which the contractor must put right reported defects. Spanish private building work: one year for finishing defects (LOE). Morocco: 12 months from provisional acceptance. |
| Mémoire en réclamation | Contractual claim; notification of a compensation event (NEC4) | Claim (AIA A201, art. 15) | Reclamación | The contractor's reasoned and priced statement of a dispute. France sets its form and time limits (CCAG Travaux, art. 55); the UK has no single statutory form. |
| Sous-traitance, DC4, paiement direct | Sub-letting with the contract administrator's consent (JCT) | Subcontractors proposed to the owner and architect (AIA A201) | Subcontratación (LCSP, art. 215 a 217) | A declared subcontractor on a French public contract is paid directly by the owner from 600 euros including VAT. Spain allows direct payment only if the tender documents provide it; no UK or US equivalent was found. |
Who does what
| France (and Morocco) | United Kingdom | United States | Spain | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maître d'ouvrage | Employer (JCT); Client (NEC4) | Owner | Promotor; órgano de contratación en obra pública | Who commissions and pays for the works. |
| Maître d'œuvre | Architect or contract administrator (JCT); project manager and supervisor (NEC4) | Architect (administers the contract, AIA A201) | Dirección facultativa: director de obra y director de ejecución | In France the maître d'œuvre usually designs as well as directs the works; NEC4 splits contract administration (project manager) from quality checks (supervisor). |
| Économiste de la construction | Quantity surveyor | Cost estimator | Sin profesión equivalente única | A role analogy: the three professions are organised differently. In Spain, mediciones and budgets are a task rather than a protected title. |
| Bureau d'études techniques (BET) | Consulting engineer | Consulting engineer, engineering firm | Ingeniería, oficina técnica | Engineering design and calculations: structure, building services, civil works. |
| Entreprise titulaire du marché | Main contractor | General contractor | Contratista adjudicatario | The contractor that signed with the owner. |
Trade classifications: MasterFormat, NRM2, NF DTU, Spanish chapters
Each country sorts work by trade differently. The US and Canada number specification sections with CSI MasterFormat; UK bills follow the NRM2 work sections; France splits a project into lots whose numbers change from one project to the next, while the technical rules sit in the NF DTU standards; Spanish budgets are organised in chapters set by the price database used (BEDEC, CYPE, the regional databases), with FIEBDC-3 (the BC3 format) as the exchange format. The Spanish column uses CYPE's chapter names as one example. Only the trade names are comparable across all four.
| Trade | MasterFormat division | NRM2 work section | NF DTU (France) | Spanish chapter (CYPE example) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminaries, general requirements | 01 General Requirements | 1 Preliminaries | — | Sin capítulo: gastos generales sobre el PEM |
| Earthworks | 31 Earthwork | 5 Excavating and filling | — | AD Movimiento de tierras en edificación |
| Foundations and piling | 31 Earthwork (piles); 03 Concrete (footings) | 7 Piling; 8 Underpinning | 13.1 Fondations superficielles; 13.2 Fondations profondes | C Cimentaciones (CS superficiales, CP profundas) |
| Concrete | 03 Concrete | 11 In-situ concrete works | 21 Exécution des ouvrages en béton | EH Estructuras de hormigón armado |
| Masonry | 04 Masonry | 14 Masonry | 20.1 Maçonnerie de petits éléments | FE Fábrica estructural; FF Fábrica no estructural |
| Structural steel | 05 Metals | 15 Structural metalwork | 32.1 Charpentes et ossatures en acier | EA Estructuras de acero |
| Carpentry and timber frame | 06 Wood, Plastics, and Composites | 16 Carpentry | 31.1 Charpente en bois; 31.2 Ossature bois | EM Estructuras de madera |
| Roofing and waterproofing | 07 Thermal and Moisture Protection | 17 Sheet roof coverings; 18 Tile and slate; 19 Waterproofing | 40.x Couverture; 43.x Étanchéité des toitures | Q Cubiertas |
| Windows and doors | 08 Openings | 23 Windows, screens and lights; 24 Doors, shutters and hatches | 36.5 Fenêtres et portes extérieures | L Carpintería, cerrajería, vidrios y protecciones solares |
| Finishes and plasterboard | 09 Finishes | 20 Proprietary walls, linings and partitions; 28 Finishings; 30 Suspended ceilings | 25.41 Ouvrages en plaques de plâtre | R Revestimientos y trasdosados; FB Tabiquería de entramado autoportante |
| Plumbing | 22 Plumbing | 38 Mechanical services; 33 Drainage above ground | 60.1 Plomberie sanitaire | IF Fontanería; IS Evacuación de aguas |
| Heating, ventilation and air conditioning | 23 Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) | 38 Mechanical services | 65.x Chauffage; 68.3 Ventilation mécanique | IC Calefacción, refrigeración, climatización y ACS; IV Ventilación |
| Electrical | 26 Electrical (27 Communications, 28 Electronic Safety and Security) | 39 Electrical services | 70.1 Installations électriques (habitation) | IE Instalaciones eléctricas |
| Drainage and site utilities | 33 Utilities | 34 Drainage below ground; 35 Site works | 60.33 Évacuation PVC; 64.1 Assainissement non collectif | AS Red de saneamiento horizontal; U Urbanización interior de la parcela |
False friends
| Word | What it means on a construction contract |
|---|---|
| Marché | A contract, not a market. |
| Devis | A priced quotation, binding once accepted, not a rough estimate. |
| Réception | Taking over the works, not a reception. |
| Caution | A guarantee or bond, not a warning. |
| Situation | A monthly payment statement, not a situation. |
| Planning | The programme or schedule, not planning in the design sense. |
| Presupuesto (ES) | The priced bill of a project, not only a budget. |
| Certificación (ES) | A monthly payment certificate, not a certification. |
| Pliego (ES) | A set of contract conditions or a specification. |
Mirage Metrics builds AI agents that read these documents, from plan sets to DPGF, DQE and bills of quantities, and keep every quantity traceable to the drawing it was measured on. See AI construction software for contractors.
Questions readers ask
Questions readers ask
A DPGF (décomposition du prix global et forfaitaire) is the breakdown of a lump-sum price. Its closest equivalents are a contract sum analysis or an NEC4 activity schedule in the UK and a schedule of values (AIA G703) in the US. Unlike a bill of quantities, its quantities are not remeasured: the total is the price.
The CCTP (cahier des clauses techniques particulières) is the project specification: what must be built and to which standard, trade by trade. In the UK it corresponds to the specification, in the US to the specifications of the project manual, and in Spain to the pliego de prescripciones técnicas particulares.
No. A BPU (bordereau des prix unitaires) lists unit prices without quantities, like a UK schedule of rates. The document that adds estimated quantities to those prices is the DQE (détail quantitatif estimatif), which is the closest French equivalent of a bill of quantities.
It is the monthly statement of work done on which payment is based: an interim application or valuation under JCT, an assessment under NEC4, a pay application (AIA G702 with G703) in the US, and a certificación de obra in Spain.
In Spain the quantities are the mediciones and the priced bill is the presupuesto; a tender often asks for both together as mediciones y presupuesto. The unit prices sit in the cuadro de precios unitarios, which practitioners call the cuadro de precios n.º 1.
No. They match documents that do the same job; the legal regime differs by country and by contract. When a contract defines a term, that definition wins over any table, this one included.
Sources and scope
Checked on . Each equivalence was read against the official text or standard form below. Contract forms change: check the edition your contract names.
- CCAG Travaux 2021, arrêté du 30 mars 2021: contract documents, OS, monthly statement, DGD, réception, parfait achèvement, claims
- Code de la commande publique, art. R2132-1 à R2132-6: the tender documents
- Code de la commande publique, art. R2191-33: the 5% and 3% retention caps
- Code de la commande publique, art. R2193-10: direct payment of subcontractors
- Code civil, art. 1792-6: réception and the one-year parfait achèvement
- DAJ, Guide du prix dans les marchés publics: DPGF, BPU and DQE
- Maroc, décret n° 2-22-431 du 8 mars 2023 (TGR): CPS, BPDE, règlement de consultation, tender dossier, subcontracting
- Maroc, CCAG-T, décret n° 2-14-394 du 13 mai 2016: Moroccan payments, retention, acceptance and warranty
- RICS, NRM 2, 2nd edition (October 2021): bills of quantities and the work sections
- JCT, Deciding on the appropriate JCT contract 2024: JCT terms: Contract Particulars, Contract Sum Analysis, schedule of rates, retention
- NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract, Option A: the activity schedule
- RICS, Defects and rectifications, 2nd edition (2024): practical completion and the rectification period
- Procurement Act 2023, section 21: UK tender documents
- AIA, list of current AIA Contract Documents: A101, A201, A701, G701, G702, G703, G704, G714
- AIA A201-2017, General Conditions (preview): specifications, schedule of values, payment, substantial completion, correction period, claims
- AIA A701-2018, Instructions to Bidders (preview): bidding documents and the bid form
- CSI, MasterFormat: the division numbers and titles
- CSTB, liste des NF DTU en vigueur au 2 février 2026: the NF DTU numbers
- Ley 9/2017 de Contratos del Sector Público (BOE): pliegos, proyecto, certificaciones, modifications, guarantee, reception, plazo de garantía, subcontracting
- RD 1098/2001, Reglamento general de la LCAP (BOE): cuadro de precios, mediciones, relación valorada, lump sum as an exception
- Ley 38/1999 de Ordenación de la Edificación (BOE): promotor, dirección facultativa, one-year finishing defects
- Asociación FIEBDC, formato BC3: the Spanish budget exchange format
- CYPE, Generador de precios: the Spanish chapter names
Related on this site
- How to respond to a French construction tender: what each DCE document contains and how to use it
- NRM2 bill of quantities: the UK measurement rules
- CSI MasterFormat divisions: the US and Canadian section numbers
- AIA contract documents: A101, A201, G702, G703 and the rest
- Glossary: definitions of the terms used across this site
Talk to a Mirage engineer
Tell us which country and which pricing document your next tender asks for: a DPGF, a DQE, a bill of quantities or mediciones y presupuesto. An engineer replies with a written plan, and a proof of concept on your own documents runs one week after the first meeting.
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