DIRECTOR’S ORDER #10A - DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS

Oct 23, 2026

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Director’s Order #10A establishes policy and required procedures for preparing preliminary design, construction, and as-constructed drawings for the National Park Service. It defines the purpose, authority framework, and responsibilities, including acceptable drawings and waiver requests. The manual specifies drawing formats such as standard sheet size, drawing numbering assignments, required cover sheet contents, title blocks, approval and revision blocks, second sheets, and survey sheet practices. It applies to NPS staff, other agencies, and A/E contractors across drafting methods.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Purpose and Scope

Authority

Instructions/Requirements/Responsibilities

General Requirements

Drawing Format

DIRECTOR’S ORDER \#10A: DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS Effective Date: Sunset Date: NPS Guideline \#10,“Preparation of Design and Construction Drawings,”(Release No. 3, August, 1995) is superseded and replaced by this Director’s Order and Reference Manual 10A. Contents: I. Purpose and Scope II. Authority III. Instructions/Requirements/Responsibilities A. General Requirements B. Drawing Format C. Drafting Practices D. Archival Quality E. Drafting and Detailing References I. Purpose and Scope The purpose of this Director’s Order is to set forth policy and required procedures governing the preparation of preliminary design (final submittal), construction, and asconstructed drawings (referred to hereafter as “drawings”), in order to: • assure permanent and durable drawings which can be readily reproduced as legible (1) half-sized prints for bid sets, etc., and (2) microfilm; • maintain uniformity of work; and • facilitate review of both architectural and engineering (A/E) submittals and National Park Service (NPS) generated products. The policies and procedures contained in this Director’s Order and Reference Manual 10A will apply to all NPS drawings (1) whether prepared by NPS personnel, other agencies, or A/E contractors, and (2) no matter the method of drafting, e.g., computer aided design and drafting (CADD), manual drafting, etc. II. Authority Authority to issue this Director’s Order is contained in the NPS Organic Act (16 USC 1 through 4), and delegations of authority contained in Part 245 of the Department of the Interior Manual. III. Instructions/Requirements/Responsibilities A. General Requirements 1. Acceptable Drawings. All drawings will comply with the requirements of this Director’s Order and Reference Manual 10A. Non-conforming drawings are unacceptable and will be disregarded. The NPS contracting officer will return nonconforming drawings for necessary redrafting. 2. Waivers. If conditions make it impractical or impossible to adhere to the requirements of this Director’s Order, a waiver may be requested from (1) the Denver Service Center (DSC) Project Manager, or (2) in the case of park-or support officeproduced projects, the official responsible for the project. 3. Additional Guidance. This Director’s Order sets forth basic requirements. For more specific information, and graphic examples of drawing requirements, see Reference Manual 10A, a level 3 document prepared by the Associate Director, Professional Services. Reference Manual 10A can be obtained from the DSC Technical Information Center. A CADD Users Guide is available from DSC to assist in the preparation of acceptable computer-generated drawings. B. Drawing Format 1. Sheet Size. The NPS standard drawing sheet size is 22” x 34”. Border sheets (electronic format) may be obtained from DSC upon request of the project manager. Use of any sheet size other than standard requires prior written approval of the official responsible for the project. 2. Drawing Numbers. DSC’s Technical Information Center (TIC), the central repository for all drawings, assigns blocks of drawing numbers to parks, support offices, etc., in accordance with Director’s Order \#10B: Drawing and Map Numbers. In turn, the office/official responsible for a project will assign a drawing number from the block in accordance with Director’s Order \#10B. 3. Cover Sheets. Standard cover sheets must be used for all project drawings. Predeveloped cover sheets may be available from the project manager. All cover sheets should contain: • a vicinity map; • a park map showing project site location; • basic data (source of information and date of cover sheet base preparation); • a bar scale including a metric scale; • required approval and revision blocks; • a solicitation number assigned by the contracting office (on drawings prepared forbid); • a construction contract number (on as-constructed drawings); and • information re

FAQs

What is the purpose of Director’s Order #10A?

It sets policy and required procedures for preparing preliminary design, construction, and as-constructed drawings so they are durable, reproducible, uniform, and easier to review.

Who must follow the requirements in Director’s Order #10A?

The policies apply to all NPS drawings prepared by NPS personnel, other agencies, or A/E contractors, regardless of drafting method.

What are the standard drawing sheet size requirements?

The NPS standard drawing sheet size is 22” x 34”, and any other sheet size requires prior written approval.

Oct 23, 2026

Upload by Adam