Free transmittal register template for Excel.
A ready-to-use transmittal register that logs every issue by number, date, recipient, and the documents sent at their revision. Download it, fill in your own transmittals over the example set, and you have a working register in minutes. No email, no form.
.xlsx and .csv · 14 columns · Dropdowns for method, purpose, and status · Example project included · No email required
Every column a real transmittal log needs.
The template is built from document-control practice, not a blank grid. Fourteen columns cover the issue, who it went to, the documents it carried at their revision, and the response it is waiting on.
The Issue method, Purpose of issue, and Status columns carry dropdowns, the header row is frozen and filtered, and a second sheet explains how to fill each column.
Read what a transmittal is- 01Transmittal number
The controlled number for this issue. Keep the format consistent and the sequence unbroken, so a missing number is obvious.
- 02Date issued
The date the package left. This is the date people argue about later.
- 03Issued by
The person or team that sent the transmittal.
- 04Recipient
The named contact the package went to, not just the company.
- 05Recipient company
The company or organisation the contact belongs to.
- 06Issue method
How the package was sent, picked from a dropdown of Email, Secure link, File transfer, Courier, Hand delivery, or Post.
- 07Purpose of issue
Why the documents were sent, picked from a dropdown of For information, For review, For approval, For construction, For tender, or For as-constructed record.
- 08Documents included
Every document number with the revision that was sent, for example AWF-ARC-2001 Rev C, separated by semicolons.
- 09Document count
How many documents the transmittal carried, so a short package is caught on receipt.
- 10Response required by
The date a reply is due. Leave it blank when the issue is for information only.
- 11Status
Where the transmittal sits, picked from a dropdown of Draft, Issued, Acknowledged, Response received, Response overdue, or Closed.
- 12Date acknowledged
The date the recipient confirmed receipt.
- 13File location
Where the cover sheet and the issued files are filed.
- 14Notes
Anything else worth recording against the row.
Log the transmittal as the package leaves.
Six steps keep the register reliable. Work down them as each package goes out, and the register stays a true picture of what was issued, to whom, and what you are still waiting on.
Open a row as each transmittal goes out
Start a row when the package leaves, before the cover sheet is filed. Fill the transmittal number, date issued, recipient, and recipient company first, then the rest as the issue is answered.
Number transmittals in one unbroken sequence
Give every transmittal the next number in a single sequence, TR-0001 onwards, and never reuse one. A gap in the sequence is the first thing anyone auditing the record asks about.
List every document at the revision you sent
Record each document number with the revision that went out, and the count beside it. The revision is the part people dispute, so it belongs on the row. Keep the numbers the same as the ones in your drawing register.
State the purpose of issue on every row
Use the Purpose of issue dropdown to say what the recipient is meant to do: read it, review it, approve it, build from it, price it, or file it as the as-constructed record.
Set a response date when you need one back
Fill Response required by when the issue needs a reply, and leave it blank when it does not. Sort on that column and the register becomes the chase list.
Close the row when the response arrives
Record the date acknowledged, move the status to Response received or Closed, and keep the row. A closed transmittal is the proof you issued the drawing, and the proof of which revision you issued.
A spreadsheet log works, until it does not.
A register like this is quick to start, everyone can read it, and it holds the whole issue history on one page. It keeps working until two things happen: the row and the files that were actually sent are two different things, and the acknowledgement lives in someone's mailbox rather than the record. When you are reconstructing an issue from sent email, that is the sign to move the record into document control software. Read how the transmittal process works on both sides of the exchange.
Issue a transmittal covering a set of documents at their current revision, and the recipient, the date issued, and the revision of each document sent go on the record with it.
Send a package to one or more contacts without granting them access to the document repository, so an external reviewer gets the files and nothing else.
The documents carry their own revision history, so the revision named on the transmittal and the file that was sent can never be two different things.
Every change is logged, so who received what, and when, is a lookup rather than a search through a sent-items folder.
Lunr is document control software built for the record. It issues transmittals against documents held under revision control, records the recipient, the date, and the revision of every file sent, and keeps that issue on the record, so the log and the files can never drift apart.
Questions about transmittal registers.
What the register is, the columns it needs, how transmittals are numbered, and when a spreadsheet has done its job.
- What is a transmittal register?
- A transmittal register is the log of every document transmittal a project or asset has issued, with each transmittal's number, date, recipient, the documents and revisions it carried, and the response it is waiting on. It answers what was sent, to whom, when, and at which revision. This template gives you that register in Excel, with a CSV copy for any other tool.
- What columns does a transmittal register need?
- At a minimum, a transmittal register needs the transmittal number, the date issued, the recipient and their company, the documents included with the revision of each, and the purpose of issue. A register that is worked rather than filed also carries the issue method, a response due date, a status, and the date the recipient acknowledged receipt. This template ships all of these, plus a file location and a notes column.
- How do you number transmittals?
- Use one unbroken sequence for the whole project, such as TR-0001 onwards, and never reuse a number. Some organisations prefix the project or the sending party, for example AWF-TR-0001, which helps when two parties both issue transmittals on the same job. Keep the sequence in the register itself, so the next number is always the row below the last one.
- Should a transmittal register record incoming transmittals too?
- Many document controllers keep one register for outgoing transmittals and a second for incoming ones, because the fields differ. If you want a single register, add a Direction column with Outgoing and Incoming, and read Issued by as the sender either way. What matters is that a received package is booked in against its own number, so a document that arrived is never mistaken for one you were never sent.
- When should you move off a spreadsheet transmittal register?
- A spreadsheet register works until the row and the files that were actually sent are two different things, or the acknowledgement lives in someone's mailbox rather than the record. When you are reconstructing an issue from sent email, or checking whether the revision named on a row is the revision that left, move the record into document control software that issues transmittals against documents held under revision control.
- Does the template work in Excel and Google Sheets?
- Yes. The .xlsx file opens in Excel with the header styling, frozen header row, autofilter, and the Issue method, Purpose of issue, 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.
Outgrown the spreadsheet transmittal log?
Book a walkthrough with someone who knows what a transmittal and an as-constructed drawing are, and watch Lunr record every issue against the register.
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