Construction Change Order Form: Get Every Change Signed
A construction change order form documents any change to the original scope, price, or schedule — and gets the client’s signature before the work happens. It needs the original contract reference, a clear description of the change, the cost impact, the schedule impact, and a signature line. The rule that saves your margin: no signed change order, no extra work.
Scope creep is where profitable jobs quietly turn into break-even jobs. The client asks for “just one more thing,” you say yes to keep them happy, and three weeks later you’re eating $1,800 in unbilled labor and materials. A change order form fixes that — not by being difficult, but by making the extra work official, priced, and signed.
What a change order form must include
- Reference to the original contract (date + project address) so it’s clearly an amendment, not a new deal.
- A change order number (CO-01, CO-02…) — you’ll often have several on one job.
- A plain description of the change — what’s being added, removed, or swapped.
- The cost impact — the added (or credited) amount, and how it’s calculated.
- The schedule impact — added days, if any. This protects you from late-completion penalties.
- Revised contract total — original + this CO.
- Signature + date lines for both you and the client. This is the whole point.
A real change order, line by line
Mid-way through a bathroom remodel, the client asks to add an exhaust fan and bump the tile up to the ceiling. Here’s the change order:
| Item | Detail | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Exhaust fan + venting | materials + 2.5 hrs labor | $285 |
| Added tile to ceiling | 30 sq ft material + labor | $355 |
| Change order total (CO-01) | $640 | |
| Schedule impact | +1 working day | — |
Two minutes to write, one signature, and that $640 is now billable instead of a gift. Across a year of jobs, capturing changes like this is often the difference between a 12% and a 20% net margin.
Construction Change Order Form (Editable Word + PDF)
A clean, signable change order with the contract reference, cost + schedule impact, revised total, and signature block already laid out. Fill it on your phone on the job site. Editable in Word; print-ready PDF.
How to price a change
Two ways: fixed price (you quote the change as a number, like the $640 above) or time and materials (your hourly rate plus material cost, for changes that are hard to scope). Use fixed price when you can estimate it cleanly — clients prefer a known number. Whichever you use, price the change at your normal markup, not at cost. A change is still a job, and it still has to carry overhead and profit.
The one rule: signed before the work
Verbal change orders are unenforceable and they’re where disputes come from. Make it a habit: change requested → write the CO → get it signed → then do the work. If a client won’t sign a reasonable change order, that’s a signal about how the final invoice conversation will go. Track every CO on the job in a running change order log so the revised total is never a surprise on the final invoice.
Trade Templates Co. builds back-office templates for solo trade businesses, QA’d against real job numbers before they ship. This guide is informational, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a change order for small changes?
Yes — especially small ones. A $200 “favor” repeated across a job is how margin disappears. A 2-minute signed CO keeps every change billable.
Can I email a change order instead of getting a wet signature?
An emailed CO with a clear “reply YES to approve” or an e-signature is generally fine and far better than verbal. The goal is a documented, agreed record before the work.
How do I price a change order?
Fixed price for clean changes, time-and-materials for fuzzy ones — and always at your normal markup, not at cost. It’s still a job.
What if the client refuses to sign?
Then you don’t do the extra work. A refusal to sign a fair change order is the cheapest warning you’ll ever get about a payment problem.
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