How to Complete California Form CEM-3101: Notice of Materials to Be Used

California Form CEM-3101, the Notice of Materials to Be Used, is the document a Caltrans contractor files with the Resident Engineer to identify every material source on the project and where each source can be inspected. Submit it early, fill every field accurately, and route it through the Resident Engineer, who forwards it to Materials Engineering and Testing Services (METS) for inspector assignment. No material can go into the work until the required inspections and acceptance testing are complete, so this form is one of the first things to handle after contract award.

Where to Get the Form

The CEM-3101 lives in the Caltrans Electronic Forms System (CEFS). The direct link sits on the Caltrans Construction Forms page, which lists every official construction form with links into CEFS.¹ You’ll need Adobe Reader to open it. The form is a fillable PDF with dedicated fields for each required data point.

When to Submit the Form

Section 6 of the California Standard Specifications requires the contractor to list all material sources on the CEM-3101 and identify where those materials are available for inspection.² The Construction Manual describes this as something the contractor should do “early in the project,” meaning as soon as material sources are identified after contract award. The point is to give the Resident Engineer and METS enough lead time to arrange inspections so that materials aren’t held up waiting for approval.

If some sources aren’t known yet, submit a partial list and file CEM-3101 supplements as additional sources are confirmed.² Waiting is costly. Caltrans will not pay for material placed or installed without the required evidence of acceptability, which includes inspection reports and certificates of compliance.³ A late CEM-3101 cascades into delayed inspections, rejected deliveries, and withheld progress payments.

Required Information

The Resident Engineer verifies every CEM-3101 for completeness before forwarding it to METS. If the form is incomplete or incorrect, the RE sends it back for correction.² To keep the form moving, include all of the following:

Caltrans contract number and the specific contract items the material will be used for. If you use an internal project number that differs from the Caltrans contract number, include it too.
Item component name and the quantity the project requires.
Manufacturer name, address, and phone number. This is the facility that actually produces or fabricates the material, not the distributor or sales office.
Inspection location name, address, and phone number. This may differ from the manufacturing facility.
For out-of-state sources, the name, address, and phone number of the contractor or subcontractor placing the order, plus the order number.

Material descriptions should match the language in your contract documents, whether that’s the Special Provisions or the Standard Specifications. Shorthand or informal names are a common reason forms get kicked back.

How to Fill Out and Submit the Form

Open the CEM-3101 through CEFS and fill in each field. Confirm the manufacturer and supplier contact information is current, because inspectors will use those phone numbers and addresses to coordinate visits. An outdated address can stall the inspection cycle before it starts.

Submit the completed form directly to the Resident Engineer assigned to your project. The RE reviews it to confirm all expected materials are listed and the entries are correct.⁴ After approval, the RE forwards the form to the METS Materials Administrator by one of these methods:²

Email: MaterialsAdministratorMETS@dot.ca.gov
Fax: (916) 227-7084
Postal mail: Materials Administrator, Mail Station #5, Materials Engineering and Testing Services, 5900 Folsom Blvd, Room 517, Sacramento, CA 95819

You don’t send the form to METS yourself. The RE handles that step. Knowing where the form goes helps you follow up if it stalls.

What Happens After You Submit

METS assigns inspectors for materials that require inspection during manufacturing or at the source of supply, and notifies the suppliers of what inspections are required.⁴ The inspector verifies that the material meets contract specifications before it leaves the facility. Accuracy on the CEM-3101 matters here. If the inspection location or contact information is wrong, the inspector can’t get in the door.

Inspection lead times under the Standard Specifications vary with where the source is located:⁵

Within California: submit the inspection request at least 3 business days before the requested inspection date.
Outside California but within the United States: at least 5 business days before the requested inspection date.
Outside the United States: at least 50 days before planned production start, with a follow-up notification to the Engineer at least 20 days before actual production begins.

These windows are separate from CEM-3101 submission, but they overlap in practice. If you wait until production is near to file the form, there won’t be time for METS to assign an inspector inside these windows. Plan backward from your production schedule.

Changing a Source After You’ve Filed

If you need to change a material source after the original CEM-3101 has been submitted, file a supplement listing the new source with all the same detail required on the original.² The RE reviews it and forwards it to METS, the same as the original. A new source means a new inspection cycle, so build in the lead time.

Substituting a specific brand or trade-name product called out in the contract is a different process. Those requests go in after contract award, allow 30 days for review, and must include data showing the substitute is of equal or better quality and won’t cause delay.⁵ A substitution isn’t filed on the CEM-3101, but an approval will change what source you list on it.

Federal-Aid Projects and Buy America

Many Caltrans projects carry federal highway funding, which brings Buy America rules into play on top of state requirements. Country of origin matters when you list sources on the CEM-3101 for one of these contracts.

Federal regulations allow a minimal use of foreign steel and iron: the combined value of non-compliant material cannot exceed $2,500 or one-tenth of one percent of the total contract amount, whichever is greater.⁶ Anything above that must be domestically produced. As of March 2025, FHWA also terminated its general waiver for manufactured products, which brings those products under Buy America with a domestic-component cost threshold similar to the 55 percent standard under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.⁷ A project-specific waiver can be requested through FHWA when a material isn’t available domestically, but the process includes a public comment period of at least 15 days followed by publication in the Federal Register.⁸ Identifying foreign sources on the CEM-3101 early gives the project team time to handle compliance before material is produced and shipped.

What a Late or Incomplete Form Costs You

Caltrans will not allow any material to be incorporated into the work until the required evidence of acceptability has been received and field inspection has been completed.⁴ That chain begins with the CEM-3101. Without it, METS can’t assign inspectors, inspections don’t happen, and the material sits unapproved. The RE is also directed not to pay for material placed or installed without the required evidence of acceptability, including inspection reports and certificates of compliance.³

The practical impact is simple. A missing or incomplete CEM-3101 stalls inspections, which stalls acceptance, which stalls payment. On a project with dozens of material sources, one overlooked item can create a bottleneck that ripples through the schedule. Keep a running list of every material that needs a CEM-3101 entry and reconcile it against your contract items as you go. The easiest way to lose time on a Caltrans job is to let a 20-minute form hold up a delivery that took three months to fabricate.

1
Caltrans. Construction Forms
2
Caltrans. Chapter 6: Sampling and Testing, Section 2 – Acceptance of Manufactured or Fabricated Materials and Products
3
Caltrans. Chapter 3: General Provisions, Section 9 – Payment
4
Caltrans. Chapter 3: General Provisions, Section 6 – Control of Materials
5
California Department of Transportation. Standard Specifications
6
Federal Highway Administration. FHWA Buy America Q and A for Federal-Aid Program
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Federal Highway Administration. Buy America – Construction Program Guide
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Federal Highway Administration. Notice of Buy America Waiver Request