What is a CCAP?

A CCAP sets, before any offer is written, the administrative rules the winning bidder accepts along with the contract. The term comes from French public procurement, where the CCAP appears in the DCE (dossier de consultation des entreprises, the tender pack the buyer publishes) alongside the technical specification. A supplier reads it to understand what winning would commit the business to, from payment terms to lateness costs.

What a CCAP contains

A CCAP, or cahier des clauses administratives particulières, sets the administrative terms of one contract and names the general terms behind them. In a French marché public (public contract), those terms usually cover how the price is set, whether fixed or open to revision, and when and how the supplier is paid. They also cover delivery deadlines, penalties for delays, any guarantees the buyer requires, how the work is accepted, and how the contract can be ended early. Acceptance here means the buyer's formal check that what was delivered meets the contract.

The CCAG for works, approved in France by an order of 30 March 2021, describes the CCAP as a contractual document that sets the administrative clauses specific to the contract. That last word matters. A CCAP is written for one contract, so two CCAPs from the same buyer can say different things.

A CCAP can refer to a CCAG (cahier des clauses administratives générales), a standard set of general terms for a category of contract. Where it does, reading the CCAP means reading that CCAG as well.

The CCAP is one file among several in a tender pack, and tender management covers how those files fit into a whole response.

How a CCAP differs from the CCTP and the CCP

The CCAP holds a contract's administrative terms, while the CCTP holds its technical ones, and the two usually sit in the DCE as separate files. A CCP merges both into one document and replaces the CCAP.

CCAP and CCTP

The CCTP (cahier des clauses techniques particulières) describes what is to be delivered and to what standard, and its full definition covers it in detail. The CCAP sets the terms around that delivery. On a cleaning contract, for example, the CCTP would say which areas are cleaned and how often. The CCAP would say when invoices are paid and what a missed deadline costs. The two are read together, because a requirement in the CCTP can meet its deadline or its penalty in the CCAP.

CCAP and CCP

A CCP (cahier des clauses particulières) gathers the administrative and technical clauses of a contract into a single document. The CCAG for works allows for it: its definition of the CCAP says the administrative clauses can also sit in another document of the contract with the same purpose, such as a CCP. The CCP then does the CCAP's job.

How a CCAP relates to the CCAG

A CCAG sets general administrative terms for an entire category of contracts in France, and a CCAP applies those terms to a single contract. Separate CCAGs exist for categories such as works, supplies and services, intellectual services, industrial contracts and ICT.

The CCAP states what is particular to this contract, and the CCAG sets the general terms behind it. Where the CCAP says nothing on a point, the CCAG's default clause on that point applies.

Where a CCAP departs from the CCAG

A CCAP can depart from the CCAG it names, and the contract has to say which CCAG articles it changes. In France, the Code de la commande publique requires a contract that refers to general documents to state, where relevant, which articles it departs from.

A departure might set a different penalty, change how acceptance is carried out or alter the grounds for ending the contract. Each one replaces a general CCAG rule with a rule written for this contract alone. The 2021 CCAG ask for the list of departures to sit in the CCAP's last article, so that is the first place to look. A departure left off the list can still apply if the contract documents show clearly that it was intended.

How a small firm reads a CCAP before pricing

A CCAP is read before setting any price, because its terms change what the contract will cost to deliver.

Take a small cleaning firm based in Belgium, looking at a French services contract for the first time. It starts by finding which CCAG the CCAP names, here the CCAG for supplies and services, and opens that document beside it. It then looks for where the CCAP states the CCAG articles it departs from for this contract.

The firm then reads the rest of the CCAP, from the payment terms to the penalties for being late, since each affects the price. Where the CCAG leaves a penalty's amount to the CCAP and the CCAP gives no figure, no penalty can be applied.

Where a clause stays unclear, the firm can put a clarification question - a question a bidder asks the buyer before submitting - through the buyer profile, the buyer's online platform for the tender.