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Construction Change Order

A construction change order form for one change to the work, with the reason, pricing method, cost breakdown and markup, new contract sum and completion date.

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  • construction
  • change order
  • contractors
  • contract price
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About this document

A construction change order is a signed agreement between the owner and the contractor that changes the work, the contract price, the completion date, or all three. Once signed, the construction change order becomes part of the construction contract. Its contract sum and contract time sections keep the same running totals as the AIA G701 form, so owners, architects and lenders can follow them.

Use one construction change order per change, whether the change adds work, removes work for a credit, or deals with a hidden site condition or design correction. If you still need an answer from the designer, send a construction RFI first. For consulting or agency work, use the change order template for client projects. Check your contract's notice deadlines and markup limits, because a change raised late or priced outside the contract terms can go unpaid.

How to fill it in

  1. Number and describe the change. Give the change order the next number in your log. Say exactly what is added, removed or changed, with rooms, drawing sheets, and the RFI or directive it comes from.
  2. Price it the contract's way. Tick lump sum, unit prices or time and materials with a cap. List labor, materials, equipment and subcontractor costs, show credits for removed work, then apply the markup your contract allows.
  3. Update the totals and schedule. Carry the original contract sum and earlier change orders forward to the new contract sum. Enter the days added or removed, or zero, and the new completion date.
  4. Note exceptions, then sign. Write any costs or time you are reserving and how payment works. Have the owner, the contractor and the architect, if there is one, sign before the changed work starts.
Construction Change Order

Change Order

A signed change to the work, the contract price, and the schedule

Change order number

[Number]

Project

[Project name and address]

Contract date

[Date of original contract]

Owner

[Name]

Contractor

[Company]

Architect or engineer

[Name, if any]

Date

[Date]

Description of the change

[Say exactly what is added, removed, or changed, with locations and drawing references. For example: Replace the specified vinyl plank flooring in Rooms 104 to 108 with porcelain tile, about 820 sq ft, per the owner's selection dated ___.]

Reason

  • Owner request

  • Condition found on site that was not shown on the drawings

  • Design change or correction

  • Required by code official or inspector

  • Other: [describe]

Related documents

[RFI number, directive, drawing or bulletin, dated ___]

Cost of the change

Pricing method

  • Lump sum

  • Unit prices

  • Time and materials, not to exceed [$]

Item

Quantity

Unit

Unit cost

Amount

[Labor: tile installation]

[820]

[sq ft]

[$]

[$]

[Materials: porcelain tile and setting materials]

[$]

[Equipment: tile saw rental]

[$]

[Subcontractor: name and trade]

[$]

[Less: deleted vinyl plank, labor and materials]

[-$]

Subtotal

[$]

Overhead and profit at [__]%

[$]

Bond and insurance at [__]%, if the contract allows

[$]

Total of this change order

[$]

Contract sum

Amount

Original contract sum

[$]

Net change from previous change orders

[$]

Contract sum before this change order

[$]

This change order (increase or decrease)

[$]

New contract sum

[$]

Contract time

Date or days

Completion date before this change

[Date]

Change in contract time

[+/- number] days

New completion date

[Date]

Terms

  • Work on this change starts only after everyone below has signed.

  • Once signed, this change order is part of the contract. The price and time above are the full adjustment for this change, unless it says otherwise here: [exceptions].

  • The contractor bills this change with the next progress payment, unless it says otherwise here: [payment terms].

  • All other terms of the contract stay the same.

Name and title

Signature

Date

Owner

[Name]

[Signature]

[Date]

Contractor

[Name]

[Signature]

[Date]

Architect or engineer

[Name]

[Signature]

[Date]

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Frequently asked questions

Does a change order have to be signed before work starts?

Usually, yes. Most construction contracts require a signed change order, or a written directive from the owner, before changed work begins, and work done without one can go unpaid. State rules vary, especially for home improvement jobs, so check both the contract and your state's contractor laws before the crew starts.

What does a change order need to include?

A change order needs at least three things: the scope of the change, the amount added to or taken off the contract price, and the effect on the schedule or payments. California's Business and Professions Code section 7159.6 requires those three for home improvement change orders. Most forms also record the reason and the running contract total.

Who signs a construction change order?

The owner and the contractor sign every change order, and the architect signs too when the contract names one. Under the AIA A201 general conditions, the architect prepares the change order and all three sign it. A change to a subcontractor's work goes on a separate change order between the contractor and that subcontractor.

What is the difference between a change order and a construction change directive?

A change order is an agreed change: the owner and the contractor both accept the price and the time. A construction change directive, used under AIA contracts, is the owner's written order to start changed work before the two sides agree on price or time. The cost is settled later and then recorded in a change order.

Sources

  1. California Legislative InformationCodes displaySection.xhtml (opens in a new tab)

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