EJCDC E-520, the Short Form of the standard
professional services agreement between Owner and Engineer, is intended primarily
for use for professional services of limited scope and complexity. It is less comprehensive than most of EJCDC’s
other professional services agreements. EJCDC
developed E-520 to address the demand for a more compact version of the
Owner-Engineer Agreement.
This document maintains its compact and functional form
while incorporating relevant updates consistent with the content of EJCDC® E‑500,
Agreement Between Owner and Engineer for Professional Services, 2020 Edition,
EJCDC’s flagship longform professional services agreement.
As with other recently published EJCDC standard documents,
the new Short Form is prefaced by an introductory “Guidelines for Use” section.
This section is especially significant
in the Short Form because it contains detailed guidance regarding whether the
Short Form is appropriate for use on the specific project under consideration. This suitability question is frequently asked,
and arriving at the correct answer is important. In many cases a more comprehensive contract
form, such as E‑500, may be better suited to the project. The new detailed Guidelines for Use include an
examination of project characteristics that make the use of the Short Form
suitable; a list of examples of typical uses of the Short Form; and a table
showing the substantial differences between the Short Form and E‑500.
The 2020 edition of EJCDC E‑520 has been re-organized by
sections to more closely parallel the order of presentation used in E‑500 2020. This change makes the Short Form more
user-friendly for those who are more accustomed to working with E‑500. It also assists users who want to compare
directly the two documents to determine which is most appropriate for the
specific project, and allows for easier supplementation of E‑520 with select
provisions from E‑500, when such customization is deemed appropriate.
Other features of E‑520, 2020 edition include: