What Are P-Pages? A Collision Estimator's Reference

If you write supplements, the P-pages are the rulebook you're citing whether you realize it or not. They define what each labor operation includes, what it doesn't, and how the estimating systems are meant to be used. Knowing where they are and what they say is what turns a supplement from an opinion into a documented correction.

What "P-pages" means

Each of the three major estimating systems, CCC, Audatex, and Mitchell, publishes a guide to estimating, the reference manual estimators have always called the P-pages. The name comes from the procedure pages in the original printed guides. Inside, you'll find labor definitions, the operations included in each time, the operations specifically not included, and the formulas behind things like refinish and blend.

Why they matter for supplements

Base labor times are built on assumptions, and the P-pages spell those assumptions out. When an operation isn't part of a base time, the P-pages are where it says so. That makes them your first stop for not-included operations, the work that has to be performed and documented separately because the system never bundled it in.

Not-included operations

A not-included operation is exactly what it sounds like, a step the repair requires that the base labor time doesn't cover. Common examples:

• Masking for overspray
• Cavity wax and corrosion protection
• Glass and hardware transfers
• Test fitting prior to refinish
• High-voltage battery disconnection on hybrids and EVs

Each of these is supportable, because the P-pages list them as separate operations. The supplement just puts the reference next to the line.

How to use them

When you add a line a carrier is likely to question, cite the P-page that supports it by name. You're pointing to the system's own published rule rather than asking for an exception. That's a much shorter conversation.

For the operations these rules support most often, see the collision supplement playbook and the guides on blend time and parts downgrades.

Frequently asked questions

What does P-page stand for? Procedure pages. The term comes from the procedure section of the printed estimating guides, and it stuck even as the guides went digital.

Where do I find the P-pages? In each estimating system's guide to estimating or reference manual. CCC, Audatex, and Mitchell each publish their own.

Are not-included operations really billable? When the P-pages list an operation as not included and the repair required it, yes, it's a separate, documentable line.