Updated on 30 September 2026 by the Proposal Expert editorial team
A change order form that prices the change, restates the contract sum and moves the dates, with a worked kitchen remodel example
A free change order template for contractors and builders: a reference to the original contract, a description of the change, the reason for it, a price adjustment with the revised contract sum, the schedule impact, terms and approval by both sides. With a worked kitchen remodel example in dollars, as a Word download. In UK construction the same document is called a variation or variation order.
A change order is the document that turns "can you also..." into agreed, priced work. It records what changes, why, what it costs and how it moves the finish date, and both sides sign it before the work starts. Without one, a contractor who does extra work can struggle to get paid for it, and a client can receive a bill they never saw coming. This template gives you the sections a change order needs, in the order a client reads them, and a worked example for a kitchen remodel where the owners decide halfway through to take out a load-bearing wall.
A change order is a written agreement to change the work in a contract that is already signed. The FTC's guide to hiring a contractor defines a change order as a written authorisation to the contractor to make a change or addition to the work described in the original contract, which could affect the project's cost and schedule. A change order does not replace the contract. It amends it, and everything the change order does not mention stays as agreed.
In the United States, change order is the standard term in construction and remodelling. In UK construction the same thing is called a variation. The instruction that orders it is a variation instruction or variation order, often shortened to VO, and the building contract usually says who may issue one and how it is valued. The document itself is the same on both sides of the Atlantic: what changes, why, what it costs and how it affects the programme, as the UK calls the schedule.
Eight things: a reference to the original contract with its date and contract sum, a change order number, a description of the change specific enough to check on site, the reason, the price adjustment with the revised contract sum, the schedule impact, the terms that apply and both signatures with the date. The reason matters, because an owner request, a hidden condition and a design change can each give a different answer to who pays.
Price it the way the original contract prices work, so the client can compare. A lump sum is one agreed price for the whole change and suits work you can measure before you start. Unit prices apply the rates in the contract to measured quantities, such as square feet of drywall. Time and materials bills the hours and materials actually used, usually with a not-to-exceed figure, and suits work you cannot see until it is opened up. Put labour, materials, subcontractors and fees on separate lines, build overhead and profit into the rates and show a credit for work that is no longer needed. Then state the new contract sum as well as the change amount.
A change that adds cost usually adds time, and a finish date that is not moved in writing is still the finish date. Say how many working days the change adds and what the new completion date is. If there is no effect on the schedule, write that down too. When the dates depend on a quick decision, as they do when a wall must come out before the cabinets go in, say by when you need the signature.
Get the signature before you do the work, not after it. On site, a change order the client can sign from a link on a phone can save a day. In Proposal Expert, a pricing table adds up the lines, and approval is an eIDAS simple electronic signature with a trusted timestamp and a sealed audit trail, so you can show later who approved which change and when. The free plan includes 3 proposals and 3 electronic signatures a month.
This example shows a remodelling contractor pricing a change the owners asked for halfway through a kitchen remodel: opening the kitchen to the dining room by taking out a load-bearing wall. The price adjustment puts the engineer, the demolition, the beam, the electrical work and the patching on separate lines, which add up to $8,600, and it states the revised contract sum. The schedule impact moves completion by four working days and says by when approval is needed. For a UK client, call it a variation order, price it in pounds and add VAT.
This proposal can be downloaded as a Word document (.docx) on this page.
From: Ashgrove & Pike Builders, Columbus, Ohio
To: Daniel and Priya Moreau, Bexley, Ohio
Date: 1 October 2026
Reference: CO-2026-118-02
Valid until: 31 October 2026
This is change order 2 to our kitchen remodel contract 2026-118, signed on 18 August 2026 for an original contract sum of $64,500. Change order 1, signed on 9 September, added a pot filler above the range for $1,240 and brought the contract sum to $65,740. All terms of the original contract apply to this change order, except where it says otherwise.
Remove the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, about 12 feet long, and carry the second-floor load on a new beam, so that the two rooms become one open space. The change includes:
Owner request. After the old cabinets came out on 24 September, you asked us to open the kitchen to the dining room. Our structural engineer visited on 28 September, as agreed with you by email, and confirmed that the wall carries ceiling joists from the second floor. So this is a structural change that needs a beam and a revised permit. It is not caused by a hidden condition, so it is priced as additional work.
The change is priced as a lump sum, broken into the lines below, which add up to $8,600. The patching line is net of a $420 credit for the paint and baseboard on the removed wall, which the original contract included. With this change, the contract sum rises from $65,740 to a revised contract sum of $74,340. The amount of this change order is added to your next progress payment.
This change adds four working days. Cabinet installation moves from 12 October to 16 October, and substantial completion moves from 13 November to 19 November 2026. These dates assume we receive your signed approval by 9 October, because the beam must be in before the cabinets are set. If approval comes later, we will confirm new dates in writing.
The price of this change order is fixed and holds until 31 October 2026. If opening the wall reveals pipes, ducts or wiring we could not see, we will stop, show you and price the extra work in a separate change order before we continue. The beam, posts and finishes carry the same one-year workmanship warranty as the rest of the contract. If you decide not to go ahead, only the engineer's visit is payable, at $850, as agreed by email. Work on this change starts only after both parties have signed.
By signing, you approve the change, the price adjustment and the new completion date, and you authorise us to order the beam and apply for the permit revision. Sign below or accept electronically through the link in the email. We countersign, and each party keeps a copy.
| Description | Amount |
|---|---|
| Structural engineer: site visit, beam sizing and stamped letter, including the permit revision fee | US$850.00 |
| Labour: temporary shoring, wall removal and disposal, 2 carpenters for 2 days at $600 per carpenter per day | US$2,400.00 |
| Beam: three-ply LVL, 14 feet, with posts, hangers and installation | US$3,150.00 |
| Electrical: relocate two outlets and one switch, add one ceiling light circuit | US$780.00 |
| Patching: drywall, ceiling and hardwood floor infill, net of a $420 credit for paint and baseboard on the removed wall | US$1,420.00 |
| Total | US$8,600.00 |
Accepted for Daniel and Priya Moreau
Start with your contract. If it has a changes clause, follow it to the letter, because it may say who can order a change and in what form. Even where the contract says nothing, put the change in writing before you do the work. The FTC tells homeowners to check how change orders are handled before they sign a contract. It also notes that some state or local laws limit how far a final bill can exceed the estimate unless the client has approved the increase. A signed change order is that approval, on record.
Both parties to the contract: the client, or the person the contract names as able to approve changes, and the contractor. On larger projects an architect or project manager may sign as well. A subcontractor's change order is signed by the subcontractor and the contractor who hired them, not by the owner. When a company signs, add the signer's name and job title.
Do not start. Explain that the change needs a signed change order before you order materials or book trades. If something must be done at once to make the site safe, do only that, record it with photos and a note to the client, and price it straight away. In the UK, the law fills in a missing price for a service. Section 51 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says a consumer pays a reasonable price, and no more, where the contract fixes no price and no way to set one. For business contracts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, section 15 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 implies a reasonable charge. What is reasonable is a question of fact, which is exactly the argument a signed change order avoids.
Most disputes about changes come down to records: what was asked, what was priced and who signed. The FTC advises homeowners to keep the contract, change orders, correspondence and payment records in one place, and a contractor should do the same. In England, Wales and Scotland, section 108 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 gives a party to a construction contract the right to refer a dispute to adjudication, with a decision due within 28 days of referral unless that period is extended. Section 106 excludes contracts with a residential occupier, meaning work on a house or flat that one of the parties lives in or intends to live in. So a homeowner's kitchen remodel falls outside that route.
Yes. A deductive change order removes work and credits the client. Price the credit fairly: the value of the work you no longer do, less anything already ordered that you cannot return. Show it as its own line or net it off a related line, as the example does with the paint and baseboard.
A change request is the question, from the client or from you. A change order is the agreed answer, with a price, a schedule impact and signatures. On a small job one document does both. Some larger contracts also allow a change directive, which tells the contractor to go ahead before the price is agreed and settles the price afterwards.