THE CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATIONS INSTITUTE (CSI) PUBLISHES

THE MASTER FORMAT, WHICH IS THE STANDARD THAT IS USED

MOST OFTEN FOR FORMATTING CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATIONS.
CSI MASTER FORMAT IS THE STANDARD USED TO PROVIDE
SYNCHRONICITY BETWEEN MANUFACTURERS AND BUILDERS. THE
MASTER FORMAT IS USED BY MANUFACTURERS TO ENSURE THAT
THEIR PRODUCTS MEET REQUIREMENTS SUCH AS SIZE, WEIGHT, OR
MATERIAL TYPES.

THIS ENABLES CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES TO KNOW WHAT TO

EXPECT AND HOW TO PREPARE A SCENE FOR PURCHASED ITEMS.

HERE’S AN EASY EXAMPLE OF HOW THIS WORKS. A BUILDER

KNOWS WHEN FITTING A TOILET WHEN MAKING A BATHROOM
FROM SCRATCH, THE WATER AND DRAINAGE PIPES NEED TO BE
DISTANCED PROPERLY FROM THE WALL AND FROM EACH OTHER.
BECAUSE OF THE MASTER FORMAT, TOILET MANUFACTURERS HAVE
PRE-BUILT THE TOILET TO ACCOMMODATE THE PLUMBING- WHERE
AND HOW THE BUILDERS HAVE PREPARED.

THIS CODING SYSTEM WORKS AS A MIDDLEMAN, HELPING ONE

INDUSTRY MAKE THINGS CLEAR FOR THE OTHER. THE END RESULT IS
FASTER AND MORE ERROR-FREE MANUFACTURING, EASIER
ENGINEERING, AND QUICKER BUILDING TIMES FOR CONSTRUCTION
COMPANIES.

WHAT IS THE CSI MASTER FORMAT?

OVER THE YEARS, PEOPLE WITHIN THE BUILDING AND
CONSTRUCTION MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES HAVE DUBBED
MASTER FORMAT AS “THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM” OF BUILDING
AND CONSTRUCTION. THE CSI MASTER FORMAT IS A SERIES OF
CODING SYSTEMS, BROKEN DOWN AND CATEGORIZED BY SECTIONS
REFERRED TO AS DIVISIONS. MORE SPECIFICALLY, 50 DIVISIONS IN
ALL TO DATE. UP UNTIL 2004, THERE WERE ONLY 16 DIVISIONS
(MORE ABOUT THE DIVISIONS BELOW).

EVERY AREA OF CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURING FOR

THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IS COVERED UNDER THE CSI MASTER
FORMAT. THIS IS TRUE FOR COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL, AND
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS.

WHAT THE MASTER FORMAT IS NOT?

MASTER FORMAT IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH LOCALIZED

BUILDING CODES. BUILDING CODES CAN CHANGE FROM TOWN TO
TOWN, STATE TO STATE, COUNTRY TO COUNTRY. THEY ARE WHAT
HAS BEEN AGREED UPON WITHIN A COMMUNITY, RATHER THAN A
FAR-REACHING STANDARD.

BUILDING CODES DO NOT CONFLICT WITH THE MASTER

FORMAT BECAUSE THEY HAVE LITTLE TO DO WITH THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY AND ITS
VENDORS. HOWEVER, THEY CAN AND DO PLAY OFF OF EACH OTHER
DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION.

UNLIKE LOCALIZED BUILDING CODES, MASTER FORMAT IS

RECOGNIZED AND USED THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES AND
CANADA AS ONE SET OF STANDARDS THAT MANUFACTURERS BUILD
BY AND CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES PREPARE FOR.

HISTORY OF THE CSI MASTER FORMAT

 IN THE MID-20TH CENTURY, SOMETIME AFTER WORLD WAR II,
DIFFERENT MATERIAL TYPES AND NEW PRODUCTS BEGAN HITTING
MARKETS. CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATIONS BEGAN TO DEVELOP,
ATTEMPTING TO USHER STANDARDS INTO THE GROWING LIST OF
BUILDING MATERIALS.

IN 1948, THE CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATIONS INSTITUTE WAS

FOUNDED AFTER THE WAR, WHICH OFFERED A NUMBERING SYSTEM
THAT INTRODUCED OR IMPROVED STANDARDIZATION THROUGH
BUILDING MATERIALS’ NUMERIC ORGANIZATION.

IN 1963, CSI PUBLISHED A FORMAT FOR CONSTRUCTION

COMPANIES AND MANUFACTURERS TO USE, WHICH ENABLED THEM
TO PLACE ORDERS OR FABRICATE ALONG WITH THIS NUMERIC
SYSTEM OF STANDARDS. AT THE TIME, THIS FORMAT CONSISTED OF
16 TOTAL DIVISIONS. IT WASN’T BEING CALLED THE MASTER FORMAT
TILL AROUND 1975.

DUE TO THE RAPID EXPANSION OF TECHNOLOGY, BUILDING

MATERIALS, AND FURNISHINGS INSTALLED INTO VARIOUS
BUILDINGS, CSI EXPANDED THEIR 16 DIVISION FORMAT TO A 50
DIVISION FORMAT BACK IN NOVEMBER OF 2004. SOME OF THESE
DIVISIONS WORK AS PLACEHOLDERS- BLANK IN WAIT FOR THE
EXPANSION.

CSI MASTER FORMAT DIVISIONS

AS AFOREMENTIONED, SEVERAL DIVISIONS ARE NOT YET
POPULATED WITH ANY INFORMATION. THEY HAVE BEEN RESERVED
FOR FURTHER EXPANSION AS DIFFERENT CATEGORIES MAY ARISE.
THIS IS CSI’S SOLUTION FOR PREPARING FOR THE NEXT WAVE OF
TECHNOLOGICAL AND MATERIAL LEAPS.

EACH DIVISION CONTAINS A HOST OF SUBGROUPS THAT FALL

UNDER THE DIVISION’S SUBJECT. FOR THE SAKE OF EXPEDIENCE,
WE’LL JUST STICK TO THE OVERALL COVERAGE BY ONLY DISPLAYING
TOP-LEVEL DIVISION TITLES.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS SUBGROUP

• DIVISION 01 — GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

FACILITY CONSTRUCTION SUBGROUP

• DIVISION 02 — EXISTING CONDITIONS
• DIVISION 03 — CONCRETE
• DIVISION 04 — MASONRY
• DIVISION 05 — METALS
• DIVISION 06 — WOOD, PLASTICS, AND COMPOSITES
• DIVISION 07 — THERMAL AND MOISTURE PROTECTION
• DIVISION 08 — OPENINGS
• DIVISION 09 — FINISHES
• DIVISION 10 — SPECIALTIES
• DIVISION 11 — EQUIPMENT
• DIVISION 12 — FURNISHINGS
• DIVISION 13 — SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION
• DIVISION 14 — CONVEYING EQUIPMENT

FACILITY SERVICES SUBGROUP:

• DIVISION 20 — MECHANICAL SUPPORT
• DIVISION 21 — FIRE SUPPRESSION
• DIVISION 22 — PLUMBING
 • DIVISION 23 — HEATING VENTILATING AND AIR CONDITIONING
• DIVISION 25 — INTEGRATED AUTOMATION
• DIVISION 26 — ELECTRICAL
• DIVISION 27 — COMMUNICATIONS
• DIVISION 28 — ELECTRONIC SAFETY AND SECURITY

SITE AND INFRASTRUCTURE SUBGROUP:

• DIVISION 31 — EARTHWORK
• DIVISION 32 — EXTERIOR IMPROVEMENTS
• DIVISION 33 — UTILITIES
• DIVISION 34 — TRANSPORTATION
• DIVISION 35 — WATERWAYS AND MARINE CONSTRUCTION

PROCESS EQUIPMENT SUBGROUP:

• DIVISION 40 — PROCESS INTERCONNECTIONS
• DIVISION 41 — MATERIAL PROCESSING AND HANDLING
EQUIPMENT
• DIVISION 42 — PROCESS HEATING, COOLING, AND DRYING
EQUIPMENT
• DIVISION 43 — PROCESS GAS AND LIQUID HANDLING,
PURIFICATION AND STORAGE EQUIPMENT
• DIVISION 44 — POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT
• DIVISION 45 — INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC MANUFACTURING
EQUIPMENT
• DIVISION 46 — WATER AND WASTEWATER EQUIPMENT
• DIVISION 48 — ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION
• DIVISION 49 — RESERVED FOR FUTURE EXPANSION