What is a drawing register?

A drawing register is the single list of every drawing on a project or asset, with each drawing's number, title, discipline, current revision, status, and issue history in one place. It tells you which revision is current, which sheets are superseded, and what was issued to whom. This template gives you that register in Excel, with a CSV copy for any other tool.

What columns does a drawing register need?

At a minimum, a drawing register needs the drawing number, title, discipline, originator, sheet, revision, revision date, and status. A register that also tracks issues adds who the drawing went to, the transmittal reference, and the date issued. This template ships all of these, plus a file location and a notes column, with one row per revision.

Who keeps the drawing register?

The document controller usually keeps the register, with the drafting lead and project engineers feeding it as drawings are produced and issued. On a smaller job one person owns it. The register only stays reliable while one clear owner books drawings in, records each revision, and marks superseded sheets, rather than several people editing copies of the file.

How are revisions recorded in a drawing register?

Record one row per revision. When a drawing is reissued, add a new row for the new revision rather than overwriting the old one, so the register carries the full history. Set the earlier row's status to Superseded and note the revision that replaces it. The register then shows the current revision at a glance and keeps every earlier one on the record.

When should you move off a spreadsheet drawing register?

A spreadsheet register works until the register and the drawing files drift apart, or more than one person needs to edit it at once. When you are chasing which file matches a row, or the audit trail is an email thread, move the record into drawing management software that holds the files under revision control, searches the text inside every sheet, and logs every change.

Does the template work in Excel and Google Sheets?

Yes. The .xlsx file opens in Excel with the header styling, the header row frozen, and the Discipline and Status dropdowns in place. The .csv copy opens anywhere, including Google Sheets and any other spreadsheet tool, and holds the same columns and example rows without the formatting.

fig. 01 · drawing register template

Free drawing register template for Excel.

A ready-to-use drawing register that tracks every drawing by number, revision, status, and transmittal. Download it, fill in your own drawings over the example set, and you have a working register in minutes. No email, no form.

Download for Excel (.xlsx)Download the CSV

.xlsx and .csv · 14 columns · Dropdowns for discipline and status · Example project included · No email required

fig. 02 · what is inside

Every column a real register needs.

The template is built from document-control practice, not a blank grid. Fourteen columns cover the drawing, its revision, its status, and every issue, so the register answers which revision is current and what was sent to whom.

The Discipline and Status columns carry dropdowns, the header row is frozen, and a second sheet explains how to fill each column.

Read what makes a document controlled

Column14 fields

01
Drawing number
The controlled drawing number. Keep the format consistent across the project so the register sorts cleanly.
02
Title
The drawing title as printed in the title block.
03
Discipline
The discipline the drawing belongs to, picked from a dropdown of Architectural, Structural, Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Hydraulic, Fire, Survey, Landscape, Geotechnical, or General.
04
Originator
The company or team that produced the drawing.
05
Sheet
The sheet number within a multi-sheet set.
06
Revision
The current revision of the sheet, for example A, B, C, or 0. One row holds one revision.
07
Revision date
The date this revision was drawn.
08
Revision description
What changed at this revision, in a line.
09
Status
Where the drawing sits in its life, picked from a dropdown of Draft, Issued for review, Issued for construction, As-constructed, or Superseded.
10
Issued to
Who the drawing was last issued to.
11
Transmittal reference
The transmittal the drawing was issued under, so every issue is traceable.
12
Date issued
The date the drawing was last issued.
13
File location
Where the drawing file lives, so the register and the file stay linked.
14
Notes
Anything else worth recording against the row.

fig. 03 · how to use it

Fill the register as drawings are booked in.

Six steps keep the register reliable. Work down them as each drawing arrives, and the register stays a true picture of what is current, what is superseded, and what has been issued.

Add a row as each drawing is booked in

Start a row the moment a drawing arrives. Fill the drawing number, title, discipline, and originator first, then the rest as it is issued.

Keep one row per revision

When a drawing is reissued, add a new row for the new revision. Do not overwrite the old one. The register then carries the full history, the way a controlled revision numbering scheme expects.

Set the status as the drawing moves

Use the Status dropdown to move a drawing from Draft to Issued for review, Issued for construction, and As-constructed as it progresses.

Mark superseded rows and keep them

When a revision is replaced, set its status to Superseded and note the revision that supersedes it. Keep the old row, so no one mistakes a superseded sheet for the live one.

Record every issue against a transmittal

Log each issue with its transmittal reference, who it went to, and the date it was issued. That line is your proof of what was sent, and when.

Point the file location at the file

Fill the file location with where the drawing file lives, so a reader can go from the register straight to the sheet.

fig. 04 · a worked example

What a filled-in drawing register looks like.

The file arrives with five sheets already on it, from one worked project: a ferry terminal and wharf called Aurora Wharf. Three of them cover the states a register has to hold at once, namely current, superseded, and as-constructed.

AWF-ARC-2001Row 01
Terminal Building Ground Floor Plan, the current sheet
Discipline
Architectural
Originator
Harbourline Architects
Sheet
01
Revision
C
Revision date
2026-03-14
Status
Issued for construction
Issued to
Aurora Wharf JV
Transmittal reference
TR-0042
Date issued
2026-03-15
Read left to right and the row is a sentence: Harbourline Architects drew Revision C on 14 March, it was issued for construction to the joint venture on 15 March, and it went out under transmittal TR-0042. The revision description says what changed, the gate line, and the notes say by how much, 600mm east. Anyone building from this sheet can check in one line that they hold the revision the register calls current.
AWF-ELE-4200Row 02
Terminal Power Distribution Layout, the superseded row you keep
Discipline
Electrical
Originator
Southerly Building Services
Sheet
03
Revision
A
Revision date
2025-12-10
Status
Superseded
Issued to
Aurora Wharf JV
Transmittal reference
TR-0009
Date issued
2025-12-11
Delete this row and you lose the proof that Revision A was ever on site. Keep it, set the status to Superseded, and note in the revision description and the notes that Revision B replaces it. The row still carries the transmittal it went out under, TR-0009, so if anyone asks why a crew was installing to Revision A in December, the answer is one line away. Superseded rows are the point of one row per revision.
AWF-HYD-5010Row 03
Terminal Hydraulic Services Plan, the as-constructed record
Discipline
Hydraulic
Originator
Southerly Building Services
Sheet
01
Revision
0
Revision date
2026-04-02
Status
As-constructed
Issued to
Aurora Wharf FM
Transmittal reference
TR-0051
Date issued
2026-04-03
The revision resets to 0 and the recipient changes: this sheet went to the facilities team, not the joint venture, because the project is handing the record over. The notes record that it was verified against the site markup, which is the difference between an as-constructed drawing and a construction issue relabelled. Look TR-0051 up on the transmittal register template and the handover pack is there, still waiting on formal acceptance.

The same Aurora Wharf project runs through all six templates, using the same document numbers, so the registers line up if you take more than one.

fig. 05 · when the spreadsheet stops keeping up

A spreadsheet register works, until it does not.

A register like this is quick to start, everyone can read it, and it holds the shape of your drawing record on one page. It keeps working until two things happen: the register and the drawing files drift apart, and more than one person needs to edit it at once. When you are chasing which file matches a row, that is the sign to move the record into drawing management software.

Revision control on the files

The drawing files carry their own revision history, so the register and the sheet can never drift apart.

Search inside every sheet

XRAY runs OCR and full-text search across every drawing, scans included, so a tag on an old sheet is findable.

Browser viewing, no CAD licence

Open DWG, DGN, and PDF drawings in the browser, so the whole team can read a sheet without a CAD seat.

Transmittals and an audit trail

Issue tracked transmittals and keep a log of every change, so the record answers who changed a drawing, and when.

Lunr is drawing management software built for the record. It holds the files under revision control, searches the text inside every sheet, and keeps every drawing under one controlled register, so the register can never drift from the file.

Book a demo See drawing management software Explore the features

fig. 06 · questions

Questions about drawing registers.

What a register is, the columns it needs, who keeps it, and when a spreadsheet has done its job.

What is a drawing register?: A drawing register is the single list of every drawing on a project or asset, with each drawing's number, title, discipline, current revision, status, and issue history in one place. It tells you which revision is current, which sheets are superseded, and what was issued to whom. This template gives you that register in Excel, with a CSV copy for any other tool.
What columns does a drawing register need?: At a minimum, a drawing register needs the drawing number, title, discipline, originator, sheet, revision, revision date, and status. A register that also tracks issues adds who the drawing went to, the transmittal reference, and the date issued. This template ships all of these, plus a file location and a notes column, with one row per revision.
Who keeps the drawing register?: The document controller usually keeps the register, with the drafting lead and project engineers feeding it as drawings are produced and issued. On a smaller job one person owns it. The register only stays reliable while one clear owner books drawings in, records each revision, and marks superseded sheets, rather than several people editing copies of the file.
How are revisions recorded in a drawing register?: Record one row per revision. When a drawing is reissued, add a new row for the new revision rather than overwriting the old one, so the register carries the full history. Set the earlier row's status to Superseded and note the revision that replaces it. The register then shows the current revision at a glance and keeps every earlier one on the record.
When should you move off a spreadsheet drawing register?: A spreadsheet register works until the register and the drawing files drift apart, or more than one person needs to edit it at once. When you are chasing which file matches a row, or the audit trail is an email thread, move the record into drawing management software that holds the files under revision control, searches the text inside every sheet, and logs every change.
Does the template work in Excel and Google Sheets?: Yes. The .xlsx file opens in Excel with the header styling, the header row frozen, and the Discipline and Status dropdowns in place. The .csv copy opens anywhere, including Google Sheets and any other spreadsheet tool, and holds the same columns and example rows without the formatting.

fig. 07 · the other templates

Five more registers, free to download.

Each one ships as an Excel file with dropdowns, a frozen header row, example rows over the same worked project, and a second sheet explaining every column, plus a CSV copy for Google Sheets. No email, no form.

01
Master document register template
Every document the job is contracted to produce, including the ones nobody has started, with a planned issue date, a review code, and a responsible party against each.
Deliverables · 16 columns · .xlsx and .csv
02
Document register template
Every controlled document the job produces, from drawings and specifications to calculations, reports, and manuals, at its current revision.
Controlled documents · 14 columns · .xlsx and .csv
03
Transmittal register template
Every package that left the office, with the recipient, the purpose of issue, and each document at the revision that was sent.
Issues · 14 columns · .xlsx and .csv
04
RFI register template
Every request for information raised on the job, with who owes the answer, the documents it concerns at their revision, and the date a response is due.
Questions · 15 columns · .xlsx and .csv
05
Document control register template
The procedures, work instructions, forms, and plans that govern the work, with an owner, an approver, a review date, and a distribution list against each.
Procedures and forms · 16 columns · .xlsx and .csv

See how the six registers sit against each other on one job on the document control templates hub.

fig. 08 · get started

Outgrown the spreadsheet register?

Book a walkthrough with someone who knows what a transmittal and an as-constructed drawing are, and watch Lunr keep the register and the files together.

Book a demo See drawing management software

10M+ documents under management · Hosted in Australia and the US · SAML · Full audit trail · Export anytime

entity: Lunr Labs Pty Ltd
location: Melbourne AU
workspace: documents.lunr.app
rev: 2026