COI Tracker

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COI tracking for construction

On a job, the certificate is tied to a subcontract and a site-access decision. A company-wide “COI on file” row will be reused on the next project by mistake.

Updated November 5, 2026 (America/Chicago) · Published by COI Tracker, an editorial resource

Who is collecting

The party who collects is the party whose contract says the certificate must be collected. Often that is the general contractor or construction manager, before a crew is badged onto the site. An owner sometimes collects from the general contractor and also wants to be named. A subcontractor who hires another firm is often required to collect downward. If the exhibit is silent about a name, do not invent a certificate holder. Ask the person who owns the contract form.

Holder and additional insured are different. The reading guide separates them. The verification checklist is the comparison you run when the file arrives.

One row per subcontract

Log the certificate against the project and the subcontract, not against the company forever. The same subcontractor on two jobs may face two exhibits. Accepting “we already have their COI from the last job” is how the stricter exhibit inherits the weaker document.

The spreadsheet shape is one row per subcontractor per requirement set, with a date for each required line. A downloadable workbook is not posted. If several people edit the log, or subcontractors turn over faster than a shared file can be trusted, that is a reason to price software. It is not a vendor-count rule. The category is explained on the COI management software page, which does not rank products.

Before anyone mobilizes

  1. Put the exhibit in the subcontract before you chase paper.
  2. Send the request at award. Use the subcontractor wording and adapt every bracket. The morning the crew arrives is late.
  3. Review the file against this exhibit. Received is not accepted.
  4. A named person decides site access. The coordinator records the decision. They do not change a no into a yes to keep the schedule.
  5. If work starts without an accepted certificate, record the dates of the gap. Do not backdate Accepted.

Common gaps — wrong project on the description, wrong named insured, a missing line, a remark without the endorsement the exhibit asked for — are listed on the subcontractor guide. This page does not repeat them as a scorecard of trades. Whether a particular trade must carry automobile or workers’ compensation is the exhibit, not a guess from the trade’s name.

Lower-tier subcontractors are part of the file only if the subcontract says the requirement passes down. “They handle their subs” is not a status. Either the certificates are reviewed, a waiver is written by someone with authority, or the gap stays open. How far the clause reaches is unknown until you read it.

Renewals during the job

Subcontractors usually bring annual policies. The job can still be open when those policies end. Watch the earliest required end date while the crew is on site, not at closeout. The renewal process is the cadence and the escalation. Thirty days ahead is a habit, not a legal notice period.

Some projects use an owner-controlled or contractor-controlled insurance program. Whether a subcontractor is enrolled, and which lines the program replaces, is a fact about that project. A certificate from the subcontractor’s ordinary practice policy does not answer enrollment. Mark enrollment unknown until the wrap administrator or the contract says otherwise.

At closeout, keep the certificate you accepted and mark the subcontract inactive so the chase stops. How many years to keep the PDF is your records schedule. This page will not give you a number of years.

Software, without invented integrations

Construction teams often hope the certificate log lives inside the same system as the job. This page does not claim that any product connects to any project, accounting, or owner system. The fact sheets cite what each vendor’s public page said on November 6, 2026. Where a page did not name a system, the sheet says unknown. Built’s compliance page describes project documents, including certificates. OnComply’s homepage addresses general contractors among other buyers. Those are descriptions of public pages, not a ranking and not a test. The shortlist is how to compare. The pricing guide is how to read a quote. COI Tracker does not sell a construction product.

Corrections: info@coitracker.com.