Free change order template

Copy it, print it, or get it signed by text. No email required.

En español

A change order is a written agreement to add work, cost, or time to a contract you have already signed. To be worth anything later it needs five things: what changed, what it costs, what the new total becomes, the date, and both signatures. The template below has all five.

The template

CHANGE ORDER

Contractor: ____________________________  Phone: ______________
Customer: ______________________________  Phone: ______________
Job address: ___________________________________________________

Change order number: ______        Date: ______________

Original contract amount: $______________

What is being added or changed:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Cost of this change: $______________
New contract total: $______________
Change to the schedule: ______ extra days, or none

Both parties agree that the work described above is added to the
contract, and that the contract total becomes the new total shown
above.

Customer signature: ____________________   Date: ____________
Contractor signature: __________________   Date: ____________

The same thing, filled in

CHANGE ORDER

Contractor: Hill Renovations              Phone: (307) 218 5580
Customer: Maria Alvarez                   Phone: (347) 555 0142
Job address: 145 Court Street, Brooklyn NY

Change order number: 001                  Date: September 16, 2026

Original contract amount: $18,000

What is being added or changed:
Quartz countertop on the island, replacing the laminate in the
original scope. Includes template, fabrication and install.

Cost of this change: $2,400
New contract total: $20,400
Change to the schedule: 3 extra days

Both parties agree that the work described above is added to the
contract, and that the contract total becomes the new total shown
above.

Customer signature: Maria Alvarez         Date: Sept 16, 2026
Contractor signature: Dave Hill           Date: Sept 16, 2026

What every change order needs

1. 1

   What changed, in plain words. Write what a stranger would need to picture the work. "Quartz countertop on the island" beats "countertop upgrade".

2. 2

   What it costs. One number for this change, on its own.

3. 3

   What the total becomes. This is the number people argue about later, so put it in writing rather than making anyone do the arithmetic.

4. 4

   The date. Before the work starts, not after.

5. 5

   Both signatures. Yours and the person who pays. A verbal yes is not a signature, and neither is a name typed into an email.

Where contractors lose the money

• Doing the work first. Once it is built, you are negotiating instead of invoicing.
• Getting a yes from the wrong person. The person who says "sure, go ahead" is not always the person who signs the cheque.
• Leaving out the new total. "Plus $2,400" invites an argument. "$20,400" does not.
• No date. A change order without a date is hard to place in the story of the job, and the story is what decides who is right.

Questions contractors ask

Does a change order have to be in writing?

Most residential contracts require changes to be in writing, and many state contractor laws do too. Even where a verbal change is technically enforceable, proving what was agreed is the hard part, which is why written and signed is the practical standard.

Does it have to be signed by the customer?

Yes, in practice. An unsigned change order is a record of what you intended to charge, not evidence that anyone agreed to it.

Can I charge for extra work without a change order?

You can invoice for it, and you may well be owed it. Collecting it is the problem. Without something signed, it becomes your word against theirs.

My customer agreed by text message. Is that enough?

It is better than nothing and it has helped contractors in small claims court. It is weaker than a signed change order, because a text rarely states the new contract total and is easy to argue was about something else.

Do I need a lawyer to write a change order?

Not for a normal residential job. A change order is a short written amendment to a contract that already exists. For unusual work, large sums or a dispute already under way, talk to one.

How many change orders is too many?

There is no limit. A job with six documented changes is in better shape than a job with one undocumented one.

This template and these answers are general information, not legal advice. Contract and home improvement rules vary by state and sometimes by city. If real money is at stake, have a lawyer in your state look at your contract.

The template works. The typing is what kills it.

Every contractor already knows they should write it down. Almost nobody does, and it is not laziness. It is that you are standing in a kitchen with dust on your hands and the customer is asking for one more thing, and filling in a form is the last thing that is going to happen in that moment.

ScopeSign does the same five fields from your phone in about a minute, and your customer signs it by text before you pick the tools back up. No app for them, no login.