Start with the flood question: if the site is in or near a flood hazard area, confirm the Basis for Flood Risk Reduction, the design flood elevation it produced, and the vertical datum, then check that the grading plan and building sections carry the same finished floor. After that, trace the subsurface data, traffic and design vehicles, utility separation, storm drainage criteria, and pavement design basis through the set. AI can flag conflicts; the civil designer of record and the Government civil engineer decide compliance.
What does UFC 3-201-01 cover?
WBDG describes UFC 3-201-01 as the civil engineering requirements for all new and renovated DoD Government facilities, with the more stringent requirement governing where other criteria, statutes, or regulations are referenced. The digital text has three chapters. Site design covers planning, flood hazard planning, NEPA, preliminary site analysis, existing conditions and surveys, permits, clearing and demolition, site development, flood resistant design, grading, traffic studies, vehicle circulation, site appurtenances, utilities, and bridges. The other two chapters cover storm drainage systems and pavements.
WBDG’s UFC 3-201-01 page lists the criteria as active digital UFC content, first published July 2, 2026, and tells teams to refer to UFC 1-200-01 for project applicability. The digital criteria viewer labels the latest version September 30, 2026. Checked October 16, 2026. WBDG’s change summary describes a major revision that moved most explanatory guidance, including the best practices appendix, into a new companion UFS 3-201-01, which WBDG lists under related materials. The most recent PDF on the record before the reissue is the 2022 edition with Change 1. Contracts awarded before the reissue may invoke a superseded PDF version; record the version and date the task order names.
Paragraph 1-8 of the digital text states that UFC 1-200-01 implements the IBC, the IBC implements ASCE 24-14 for flood resistant design, and this UFC modifies both. It sets design flood elevations by flood design class under a freeboard approach and a DoD Regional Sea Level (DRSL) approach, and the designer submits flood design calculations to the Government civil engineer. Grading defers to the soils and foundations paragraph of UFC 1-200-01, security barriers to UFC 4-022-02, fire lanes to UFC 3-600-01, and water and wastewater to UFC 3-230-01 and UFC 3-240-01. See the ASCE 24 guide and the UFC 1-200-01 guide.
Gather the site criteria and the civil set
Collect the task order naming the UFC version, the Basis for Flood Risk Reduction and DD Form 1391 flood disclosures if the site is in a flood hazard area, the sealed topographic survey, the geotechnical report, the traffic study, and the civil sheets: demolition, site layout, grading, utilities, storm drainage, paving, and details. Add the drainage and pavement calculations, the specifications, and the architectural and structural sheets that show finished floor elevations and foundations. Download UFC 3-201-01 and UFS 3-201-01 from WBDG; they are free.
Ask for the design vehicle information the Government project manager supplied for emergency and specialized military vehicles. Turning paths drawn for a passenger car are a common source of findings.
Trace the civil criteria through the set
| Review question | Sources to compare | Decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| Flood basis and design flood elevation | Basis for Flood Risk Reduction, DD Form 1391, grading plan, flood calculations | Confirm one flood hazard area, approach, design flood elevation, and vertical datum across the documents. |
| Finished floor elevations | Grading plan, architectural sections, structural foundation plan | Check that every sheet shows the same finished floor and record which criteria governed it. |
| Subsurface data on the drawings | Geotechnical report, civil sheets, boring location plan | Confirm boring locations, logs, groundwater observations, and a lab test summary appear in the contract documents. |
| Design vehicles and circulation | Traffic study, site plan, turning templates, dumpster pad details | Check that turning and reversing paths use the largest vehicle the facility serves, including refuse and emergency trucks. |
| Utility separation and service routes | Utility plan, foundation plan, profiles, demolition plan | Find mains drawn near foundations or existing utilities without stated separation, and abandoned lines left under the footprint. |
| Drainage and pavement basis | Drainage calculations, storm plan, pavement sections, geotechnical report, specifications | Confirm the governing drainage criteria are documented and pavement sections follow one design method and subgrade value. |
Drainage calculations continue in the drainage study checklist, pipe and structure specifications in the stormwater utility specifications guide, earthwork in the earthwork specifications guide, fire lanes and hydrant clearances in the UFC 3-600-01 guide, and standoff and parking in the UFC 4-010-01 guide.
Example: three finished floor elevations at a tidal site
Hypothetical example. A new operations building sits partly within a coastal flood hazard area at a tidally influenced installation. The Basis for Flood Risk Reduction in the project file sets the design flood elevation from a DRSL scenario and timeframe. The civil grading plan labels the finished floor from a freeboard calculation, and the architectural wall sections show a third elevation referenced to a different vertical datum.
The Basis for Flood Risk Reduction, the grading plan, and the architectural sections give three different finished floor or design flood elevations, and the sections use a different vertical datum. Confirm the governing design flood elevation and datum, and coordinate all three documents.
The civil designer of record confirms the elevation with the Government civil engineer, who receives the flood design calculations under the UFC, and the architect updates the sections. The finding is that the documents disagree. It is not a flood risk determination.
Review DoD civil documents with Groundbook
Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. Add UFC 3-201-01 and the other UFCs the task order names from WBDG, which publishes them free, plus the model codes and standards the project uses from copies you are licensed to upload.
Compare the Basis for Flood Risk Reduction, survey, geotechnical report, traffic study, civil demolition, grading, utility, storm drainage, and paving sheets, the specifications, and the architectural and structural sheets. Flag conflicting design flood or finished floor elevations and datums, missing boring data on the drawings, turning paths that do not use the stated design vehicle, utilities without stated separation from foundations, and pavement sections that differ from the design basis. Use the supplied UFC 3-201-01 and cite both sources.
Groundbook links each potential finding to the sheets and documents involved. It reads elevations, labels, and notes as drawn; it does not perform hydraulic, flood, traffic, or pavement design calculations.
Document review does not certify compliance with DoD criteria or replace the civil designer of record, the Government civil engineer, or the permitting agencies.