What should a change order include?

A change order records a change to the original scope, price or schedule. Write the description, price or pricing method, schedule impact and customer approval before the changed work starts. Follow any signature and format requirements that apply to the contract.

When to write a change order

The customer adds or upgrades scope. One more outlet, a different tile, paint the hallway while you're here. Describe the extra work even when it looks small.

A concealed condition shows up. Rotted subfloor, a drain line nowhere near where the plans put it, knob-and-tube behind the plaster. If the condition could not be checked during the walkthrough, state the pricing assumption before opening the wall.

Something outside your control costs you days. The cabinet supplier slips two weeks, the owner has not picked a color, the site is not clear, an inspection reschedules. Record the delay and any proposed charge; whether you can charge depends on the agreed terms and applicable law. Include the crew costs when calculating the proposed standby charge.

If you find suspected hazardous material, stop the affected work and establish what testing, precautions and qualifications are required. Price that scope separately from ordinary demolition and obtain approval before it proceeds; a qualified specialist may be needed. For covered work disturbing paint in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities, EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule requires firm certification, training and lead-safe practices. Asbestos and mold rules also vary by state. Put the finding, the stop, and who will handle it in writing before anyone keeps cutting.

What the change order itself has to say

Include these five details so the customer can review the change.

• What the change is, in the same plain terms as your estimate. "Replace water-damaged subfloor sheathing under sink base" beats "repair floor."
• The price, or the method that will produce the price. Use a method permitted for this contract; residential rules may require a stated amount as well.
• What it does to the schedule, in days, including zero. Write "adds 0 days" — so the customer can see whether the completion date changes.
• Whether it changes anything else: a payment milestone, an allowance, a warranty exclusion, an inspection.
• Written approval, dated before the work starts. A signature, initials, or a reply you can produce a year later — though which of those actually counts is set by your state's law, not by your habit. See below.

Approval before work gives the customer a chance to accept or decline the change before the cost is incurred.

Pricing a change you cannot fully see yet

When the final quantity is unknown, propose a pricing method and any required estimate or cap in writing. Check that this approach satisfies the applicable contract rules. The dollar figures below are there to show the shape of a line; rates and unit prices swing hard by market and trade, so read them as placeholders, not as benchmarks.

A cap limits the amount the customer authorizes. Stop and get further written approval before exceeding it; include the schedule impact in that approval.

For customer-caused standby, put the rate in the original contract, not in the argument. State what the standby rate covers and when it applies; a rate in the quote does not authorize every later delay charge.

Risks of relying on verbal approval

Verbal approval is not worthless. It is the version where you carry the burden of proof, three months later, against someone who remembers the conversation differently and has already spent their budget. Three risks to check:

They pay the base contract and dispute the extras. You are negotiating from behind, on a finished job, with nothing to point at. A claim for extra work is a poor collection plan, particularly where residential-contract rules apply.

Authorization may affect lien rights. For example, Arizona’s lien statute ties eligible work to the owner or an authorized agent. Written approval helps document authorization; it does not replace the applicable notice and filing requirements.

The law may require a signed form. Residential home-improvement rules can prescribe the form of a change order. California’s licensing board, for example, requires a written change order signed by the customer and contractor before a change to price or scope. Other states differ. Check your own rule; assume written.

Example: four changes to a kitchen remodel

This fictional example starts with a customer requesting a kitchen remodel. After the original scope is approved, the customer requests an electrical change and a tile upgrade; opening the floor reveals damaged sheathing, and the cabinet delivery is delayed. Each change is priced and approved separately. The original scope covers replacing kitchen cabinets and countertops, reconnecting the existing sink, installing a tile backsplash and removing the resulting debris. The figures illustrate a running total, not typical kitchen prices.

The approved changes add $2,812, about 19%, and five days to the original agreement. Give the customer the updated contract total and completion date with each change so they can see the cumulative effect.

Get approval before the extra work begins

The habit is small and fast: photo, price, send, wait for the reply, then cut.

Say it while you are standing at the thing. "That's outside what we bid — give me five minutes and I'll send you the number." Then send it before you leave the room. Where the law lets you take written approval by email or text, a reply saying "approved" against a message carrying the description, the price and the day count is a real record. Where your state requires a signed change order on residential work, get the signature. Your state licensing board is the place to check which one you are in. Many publish a plain-language contract guide, and some, California's board included, publish sample contract language you can work from.

Written approval lets the customer accept necessary repairs and decline optional upgrades. It also leaves a record if you later disagree about what was authorized.

If you choose not to charge for a $60 extra, write it up anyway and show it at zero. That keeps the scope record complete, including work you chose not to charge for.

Send a separate quote for extra work

In DoneQuote you can write a separate quote for extra work: reference the original quote, describe the change, enter the price and add a schedule note. Review it, then send the approval link. DoneQuote records the customer’s response and date. Transfer approved changes to your invoicing records when you prepare the bill, and obtain any additional signatures or forms required for your contract.