A change order is a small contract. It has the same three jobs as a large one: state what changes, state what it costs, and get agreement before the work begins. When disputes reach the point of being expensive, the missing item is nearly always the third — work done first, paperwork after, and two different memories of the conversation.
The second point worth internalising: a change order priced later is always worth less. Once the work is finished, the client is paying for something already in place, and the negotiating position has inverted. Price it first, even approximately.
The four fields that decide it
| Field | What to write | What goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Who asked, on what date, in what form | "As discussed" — undatable, unprovable |
| Scope delta | What is added AND what is removed | Listing only additions; removals never credited |
| Cost & schedule effect | Both, even when one is nil | Stating zero cost but forgetting the two-day slip |
| Expiry | How long the price stands | None — so it stays open for weeks |
Note the second row. When a change also removes work, the order should credit it. Contractors who forget to do this lose nothing on the individual change and a great deal of credibility over a project.
1. Added work
Use when: the client asks for something not in the original scope.
CHANGE ORDER [number] — [Project name]
Date: [date] · Requested by: [name] on [date] · Original agreement dated: [date]
Change requested. [Specific description — what is to be done, where, and to what standard. Reference drawings or specifications where they exist.]
Why it is not in the original scope. [One sentence. Not defensive — factual.]
Cost effect. Addition: [$] · Credit for removed work: [$] or Nil · Net change: [$]
Schedule effect. Completion moves from [date] to [date]. / Nil.
This price is valid until [date, usually 7–14 days].
Authorisation. Work proceeds on signature. Signed: [name] [role] Date: [date]
2. Substitution
Use when: a specified item is unavailable, unsuitable, or the client prefers an alternative.
CHANGE ORDER [number] — Substitution
Specified item: [item, with specification reference]
Substitute: [item, manufacturer and model]
Reason for substitution. [Unavailable — lead time [n] weeks / Discontinued / Client preference / Site condition requires]
Difference in cost. Specified [$] · Substitute [$] · Difference [$] addition / credit
Difference in performance or appearance. [State plainly, including anything inferior. Leaving this blank is what turns a substitution into a later complaint.]
Warranty. [Unchanged / As follows:]
Authorisation. Signed: [name] Date: [date]
The fourth field is the one people skip. When a substitute is not identical, saying so in writing costs nothing now and removes the argument later.
3. Schedule change
Use when: dates move for any reason — including reasons that are your own.
CHANGE ORDER [number] — Schedule
Original completion: [date] · Revised completion: [date] · Days: [+/- n]
Reason. [Client request / Weather — [dates] / Unforeseen condition — see below / Other:]
Cost effect of the delay. [$] / Nil
Dependencies affected. [List what else moves as a result. Most disputes about schedule are about knock-on effects nobody wrote down.]
Authorisation. Signed: [name] Date: [date]
4. Unforeseen condition
Use when: the work reveals something neither party could have seen — and this is the one that most often gets done badly.
CHANGE ORDER [number] — Unforeseen Condition
Found: [what] at [location] on [date]
Why it could not have been foreseen. [Concealed behind existing construction / Subsurface / Discovered only on opening up]
Recommended remedy. [Describe, including the standard that governs how it is done and who specifies it.]
Cost. [$] or Time-and-materials with a not-to-exceed of [$]
Schedule effect. [n] days.
Hold point. Work in this area stops pending authorisation. Photographs taken [date] are attached.
Authorisation. Signed: [name] Date: [date]
Two practices that make this template work. Photograph before you disturb anything, and stop the affected work rather than continuing while waiting for approval. Continuing converts a documented condition into a fait accompli, and the signature loses its meaning.
Where AI helps here
Turning bullet points into a coherent change description is quick and genuinely useful — particularly for the substrate-related detail that takes a while to write by hand. What it cannot supply is the reason, the standard governing the remedy, and the figures. Those fields must be yours. A generated change order that gets those wrong is worse than a blank one, because it looks finished.
Worth stating plainly: where the remedy involves structure, load-bearing elements, electrical work, or anything requiring a permit, the specification belongs to a licensed professional and the work to someone permitted to do it. Whether a permit is needed and who may specify varies by jurisdiction — name the authority to confirm with rather than assuming.
Editing time, from our 30-day benchmark
Draft from notes: seconds to a minute. Editing into something signable: 4–7 minutes, nearly all of it spent on the figures and the standard. The prose is never the problem; the numbers are. Read those twice.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should a change order be raised?
Before the changed work begins, every time. The only exception is an emergency where safety or further damage is at stake — and in that case the paperwork follows within the day, while the condition is still visible and recent.
Should I charge for small changes?
Record them even when you do not charge. A change order with a cost of zero still documents that the scope moved, which protects both sides when someone asks later why the result differs from the original drawing.
What if the client refuses to sign?
Then the change is not authorised, and doing it anyway is a gift. Put that in writing in neutral terms and ask what they would prefer — the original scope, or the change priced as offered.
Do I need a formal template, or is email enough?
Email is often enough, provided it contains all four fields: trigger, scope delta, cost and schedule effect, and expiry. The formality matters less than those four items being present and dated.
Can AI draft these for me?
Yes for the descriptive parts from your notes. Supply every figure, date and standard yourself and check them separately — those are the fields a generated draft gets wrong, and they are also the fields that decide disputes.