Change Order Form
Requests a variation to agreed scope, cost or time.
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Dear Sir / Madam,
We are requesting a change to the agreed scope of [project] under change order [number].
The change: [what changes]. Reason: [why].
Effect on cost: $ [amount]. Effect on programme: [time impact]. No work under this change will begin until it is approved in writing by both parties.
What is a Change Order Request?
A change order request turns a conversation about doing something extra into an agreed variation to scope, price and time. It exists because most contracts treat unwritten extras as unpaid extras. The contractor who builds what the client asked for on site, invoices for it later, and then meets a finance department with no record of any approval has learned the lesson every trade eventually learns: get the change signed before you build it.
Main contractors and subcontractors raise them on building and civil works; fit-out and mechanical and electrical firms raise them constantly. Agencies, consultancies and software vendors use the same document under names like variation order, scope change or engineering change request. The trigger is usually one of four things: the client wants something different, the site turns out not to match the drawings, a code or specification changes, or a delay caused by someone else forces rework. All four need pricing and a date.
What counts as a valid variation is set by your contract rather than by general law, and the standard forms differ: JCT and NEC in the UK, AIA in the US, FIDIC internationally, AS 4000 in Australia, and CPWD or state PWD conditions in India each define who may instruct a change, in what form, and within what period a claim must be notified. Statute intrudes too — several Australian states require variations to residential building contracts in signed writing, and public works often cap change value. Read the variation and notice clauses first.
A change order request is a request. Until the other side signs, it is not an instruction and it does not entitle anyone to be paid. It does not extend the completion date unless it says so and the contract allows the certifier to grant time. It is not a claim for prolongation costs, disruption or loss and expense — those follow a different route with different notice requirements. And it does not amend the rest of the contract; the original terms still govern.
What to put in a Change Order Request
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Issuing organisation | For example: Maple Grove Homeowners Association |
| Organisation address | For example: 1420 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
| Project | For example: Warehouse management system rollout |
| Change order no. | For example: CO-2026-003 |
| What changes | For example: Add a mezzanine level over bays 4 to 6, with access stair and handrail. |
| Reason | For example: Stock volumes have grown beyond the original design assumption. |
| Cost impact | For example: 46,800 |
| Time impact | For example: three additional weeks |
| Signatory name optional | For example: K. Srinivasa Rao |
| Signatory designation optional | For example: Honorary Secretary |
| Issued to (full name) | For example: James Whitfield |
| Their address | For example: 588 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
How to write a Change Order Request
Number it and tie it to the contract
Give every change order a sequential number in its own series — CO-014, not a date — and put the contract or purchase order number, the project name and the original contract value on the same header. Keep a register listing every request, its status and its value, so both sides can reconcile at final account without reconstructing a year of emails from two inboxes.
Describe the change and what caused it
Two short paragraphs: what is changing, and why. ‘Additional electrical work’ is a dispute in waiting. ‘Add 14 twin sockets and 4 data points to the level 2 open-plan area per drawing E-204 rev C issued 4 March, replacing the 6 sockets shown on rev B’ can be priced, checked and approved by someone who was not at the meeting. Attach the marked-up drawing.
Price it with a visible breakdown
Show labour hours by trade with rates, materials with quantities, plant, subcontract sums, and the overhead and profit percentage your contract permits — not a single lump figure. State clearly whether the price is fixed or provisional, and if provisional, what will fix it. A breakdown gets queried on one line; a lump sum gets rejected whole and sent back for a breakdown anyway.
State the effect on the programme explicitly
Write either the number of additional days claimed to the completion date, with the activity affected, or the words ‘no effect on the programme’. Blanks and ‘to be confirmed’ get read against you: a change order silent on time is routinely treated as one with no time effect, and by the time you argue otherwise the delay has already happened.
Get the right signature, with a validity date
Check who the contract names as able to instruct a variation, and get that person's signature — not a site contact who is happy to nod. Add a validity date after which the price lapses, because material prices and labour availability move. Issue signed copies both ways, file them with the contract, and only then instruct the work on site.
Common mistakes
- Starting the extra work on a verbal instruction and raising the paperwork afterwards leaves you invoicing a finance team that has no approved value to pay against.
- Writing ‘time impact to be confirmed’ instead of a number gives away the extension of time, because the change order is later read as agreeing there was none.
- Bundling several unrelated changes into one request means a dispute over one line holds up payment for all of them.
- Taking a signature from a site representative with no delegated financial authority produces a document the client's head office can disown.
- Missing the notice period in the contract's variation clause can bar the claim entirely, however obviously the work was instructed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a change order and a variation?
They describe the same thing in different contract traditions. US practice says change order; UK and Commonwealth building contracts usually say variation or, under NEC, compensation event. What matters is the term your own contract uses, because clauses cross-refer by name and the notice periods attach to the defined term. Use the contract's word on the document you issue, not the one you are used to.
Who signs a change order?
The person the contract authorises to instruct changes on the client side — the architect, engineer, contract administrator or a named client representative — and an authorised person for the contractor. Some contracts require the employer's own signature above a value threshold. Check the delegation limits before you send it, because a signature from someone below the limit is worth less than it looks.
Can a contractor refuse a change order?
Sometimes. Most standard forms give the client a right to instruct variations within the general scope of the works, and the contractor must comply while being paid under the valuation rules. A change well outside the original scope, or one that is unsafe or impossible, may be a different matter. Read the variation clause and take advice before refusing, because wrongful refusal can itself be a breach.
What if the client wants the work done but will not sign the change order?
Put the position in writing before you start: describe the instruction you received, who gave it, the price and the time effect, and say you are proceeding on that basis. Then follow the contract's notice procedure precisely and keep the daily records that support the cost. Proceeding on a verbal instruction with no written record at all is the weakest position available.
Should a change order include an extension of time?
It should state the time effect, yes — but whether an extension is granted usually depends on the contract's extension of time machinery and the certifier's assessment, not on the change order alone. Set out the days claimed and the affected activities, submit whatever notice the contract requires within its deadline, and keep the two processes visibly linked so neither is treated as abandoned.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.