Interior designer's CCTP: an annotated template for private renovation, trade package by trade package

What is a CCTP for on a private renovation?

The CCTP (technical specification, cahier des clauses techniques particulières) describes the quality of the works: materials, performance, finishes, workmanship references. It contains no prices. The drawings say where, the DPGF (itemised lump-sum price breakdown) says how much, the CCTP says how. A company that prices without a CCTP prices its own idea of the work, and you find out which one at completion.

The acronym comes from French public procurement. On a private renovation (apartment, house, shop, restaurant, offices), nothing requires one: the content of the contract is free within the limits set by law (Article 1102 of the French Civil Code). But the day the client disputes a finish, the only useful question will be "what was written?".

Under the CFAI contract, the CCTP is written at PCG (projet de conception générale, the general design package), goes out to tender at AMT (works contract assistance), serves as the reference at CET (works supervision and cost accounting) then at AOR (handover assistance), where each snag is raised against what it specified (see our guide to the handover report).

Also write the order of precedence of the contract documents into each company's contract: it decides when CCTP, drawings, DPGF and quote contradict each other. If the contract refers to NF P 03-001 (the general administrative conditions for private building works contracts), a voluntary standard that only applies when the contract cites it, keep your clause consistent with it.

What does a CCTP contain? The three layers

1. The Généralités, common to all trade packages

They apply to every company:

• the purpose of the works and a description of the premises (floor, surface area, existing condition, elements kept);
• site constraints: the building's co-ownership rules, permitted hours, access, protection of common areas, occupied or vacant home;
• reference documents: drawings with their revision index, asbestos survey report, diagnostics, finishes schedule;
• the limits of services between trade packages: who makes good behind the others, who removes the rubble;
• cleaning and the expected content of the DOE (dossier des ouvrages exécutés, the as-built file).

Then come the cross-cutting regulations, which depend on the nature of the project:

• the asbestos survey before works, which falls to the party ordering the works (arrêté du 16 juillet 2019);
• accessibility of ERPs (établissements recevant du public, premises open to the public) located in existing buildings (arrêté du 8 décembre 2014), for a shop or offices open to the public;
• labelling of the volatile pollutant emissions of construction products, coverings, paints and varnishes (arrêté du 19 avril 2011);
• the "element by element" thermal regulation for existing buildings (arrêté du 3 mai 2007, amended by the arrêté du 22 mars 2017), as soon as insulation, a window, heating or ventilation is replaced.

2. Per-package requirements

Applicable standards and DTUs (documents techniques unifiés, the French codes of practice), material quality, "or technically equivalent" (ou techniquement équivalent) after every product named, samples to submit, self-checks to hand over, interfaces with neighbouring packages.

3. The description of the works, item by item

One item per piece of work, numbered like its DPGF line. It describes the finished work (material, performance, finish, location) and what is included or excluded. The company reads it while pricing; you will reread it at handover.

CCTP template: an annotated excerpt, trade package by trade package

Six model items for an apartment, each followed by what it must pin down.

Package 02 – Plastering, partitions, linings

To pin down: build-up, drawing and revision, height, finish delivered. "Ready to paint" settles in advance who sands, the plasterer or the painter. Any expected acoustic performance is written here.

Package 03 – Electrical

To pin down: consumer unit kept or replaced, drawing, documents handed over. No DTU covers electrical installation work: the "DTU 70.1" (Installations électriques des bâtiments à usage d'habitation) consists only of a special clauses document (NF P80-201-2, mai 1998). The reference is NF C 15-100, of which only the 2024 edition has applied since 1 September 2025, without retroactive effect (Apave).

Package 04 – Plumbing, sanitary

To pin down: the package limit at the risers, in a co-owned building; the routing; who supplies the fixtures; the interface with the tiler on the shower's waterproofing.

Package 05 – Interior joinery, fit-out

To pin down: material, finish, drawing, hardware, who takes the dimensions. Revised in November 2025, NF DTU 36.2 used to be called "Menuiseries intérieures en bois" (May 2016); fit-out (agencement) now falls within its scope, and an older template probably cites the old title.

Package 06 – Resilient flooring

To pin down: condition of the substrate, product, seams and edges, and the parts of 53.12 that apply (substrates, textiles, bonded PVC, linoleum). A template that still cites DTU 53.1 or 53.2 is out of date: they no longer appear in the CSTB list.

Package 07 – Painting

To pin down: the appearance per substrate (the point argued over at handover), the colour and how it is approved. For wallpaper, cite DTU 59.4 (Mise en œuvre des papiers peints et des revêtements muraux, NF P74-204-1, février 1998), without "NF" (its exact title).

How do you cite a standard or a DTU in a CCTP?

A standard is cited, not copied: reference, title, part, version. Copying or paraphrasing a DTU raises two problems. The text is protected: the CSTB list of DTUs states at the top that reproduction is prohibited, short quotations aside. And your paraphrase becomes a second version, less accurate, competing with the original.

Name a product if it helps set the quality, followed by "or technically equivalent": it is up to the company to demonstrate equivalence, and up to you to accept it in writing. Outside the scope of a DTU, ask for the Avis Technique (the CSTB technical assessment). A shower-room example: NF DTU 52.2 P1-1-4 (Pose collée des revêtements céramiques et assimilés – Pierres naturelles, juin 2022) deals with waterproofing systems under tiling; for a shower system outside its scope, require the Avis Technique of the chosen product.

Three areas have no DTU at all:

• electrical work: NF C 15-100, 2024 edition;
• asbestos removal: French Labour Code (art. R. 4412-133 for the removal plan), standards NF X 46-020 (survey) and NF X 46-010 (certification of contractors);
• fire safety in ERPs: arrêté du 25 juin 1980, articles AM 1 to AM 20 (interior fit-out, decoration, furniture).

Full list, trade package by trade package: our list of NF DTUs for interior renovation.

What is the difference between a CCTP and a DPGF, and how do you keep them consistent?

The distinction between DPGF, DQE and CCTP is covered in our annotated DPGF example. The three documents side by side:

Four consistency rules, which make possible the line-by-line comparison when tendering to contractors:

• Same numbering. Item 05.2 and line 05.2 describe the same piece of work.
• Every DPGF line points to a CCTP item. Without an item, the company prices the lowest quality it considers defensible.
• No service in only one of the two documents. Described in the CCTP but missing from the DPGF, it is not priced and comes back as additional works.
• Units and quantities written once, in the DPGF. The CCTP describes; it does not measure.

What are the most common mistakes in a CCTP?

• The CCTP copied from another project. A cellar that does not exist, a reference to another client's drawing: the company concludes that the rest has not been reread either.
• Outdated titles and versions. The old title of 36.2, DTU 53.1 and 53.2, an "NF DTU 59.4" that does not exist. Check them against the latest CSTB list.
• "Compliant with the standards in force", with no reference. At handover, you will not be able to say which rule was not followed.
• Blurred limits between packages. Making good, removing skirting, openings in partitions: if nobody is named, two companies price it, or none does.
• Brands imposed without "or technically equivalent". The product is out of stock, no alternative is admissible, and the programme waits.

So, what about Nodal?

In Nodal, each trade package of the DPGF carries its technical description. A switch between "DPGF" and "Descriptif technique" (technical description) shows the same document read two ways (the price on one side, the specification on the other), with the same numbering. The DPGF starts with the choice of trade packages, and Généralités in 13 sections apply to all of them.

The standards for each package are suggested from the CSTB list of 9 December 2025: you tick, untick or add, and the citation gives the reference, title and version, never the content. 43 standard work items have their designation and description written together: starting points, to be adapted to each project. Tendering to contractors by package, bid comparison and the bid analysis report: available depending on the plan.

Article published on September 27, 2026. Standards references checked on September 27, 2026 against the list of DTUs published by the CSTB as of 9 December 2025. A professional synthesis intended to structure a CCTP, not legal advice. The excerpts are to be adapted to each project; check every reference against the latest published list.

Frequently asked questions