Construction

Customized Agreements

Home Improvement Change Order

Record a change to work already contracted — what changes, what it costs, and what it does to the completion date.

Also called: construction change order, contract amendment construction, revised contract price change order.

Home Improvement Change Order document preview

What you walk away with

A clean multi-page PDF and DOCX after you finish — not a web-form dump. Preview the document before you pay.

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✓ Jurisdiction first (state → county)✓ State clause pack applied✓ Direct or guided path

Jurisdiction

Home improvement contracts and their amendment are regulated in many states, including requirements for written changes and limits on price escalation. This change order states no jurisdiction-specific requirement.

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Choose the state where the document will be used. The state page shows the maintained coverage level, local-rule limits, and a builder link with the canonical state code already selected.

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When this fits

Use this document when…

Adding work not in the original scope
Removing work and adjusting the price down
Substituting materials or a different approach
Recording a delay and a revised completion date

Before you start

Information you will need

Owner, contractor, and the property
The original contract date and scope reference
Exactly what is changing
The price adjustment and the revised contract total
The effect on the schedule and any revised completion date
The reason for the change

What you receive

A Home Improvement Change Order
Signature blocks for owner and contractor
Completion instructions
PDF and editable DOCX export

Document questions

Questions about this document

What is a Home Improvement Change Order?

Record a change to work already contracted — what changes, what it costs, and what it does to the completion date.

How do I create a Home Improvement Change Order?

Adding work not in the original scope; Removing work and adjusting the price down; Substituting materials or a different approach

What should a Home Improvement Change Order include?

Owner, contractor, and the property; The original contract date and scope reference; Exactly what is changing; The price adjustment and the revised contract total; The effect on the schedule and any revised completion date

Special situations

Sign it before the work is done. A change order agreed after the fact is a negotiation, not an authorisation, and it is the most common source of a disputed final bill.
Only the work described is authorised. Vague descriptions turn one change into a series of assumed ones.
State the schedule effect explicitly, even if it is none. Changed work almost always touches the timeline, and silence is what supports a later delay claim.
The revised contract total must reconcile with the adjustment. A total that does not add up undermines everything else in the document.
Several change orders on one job is a signal worth noticing — either the original scope was inadequate or the project has moved beyond it.

Frequently asked questions

Do we need a written change order for a small change?

Yes, and small changes are exactly where this goes wrong. A verbal agreement about a minor addition becomes a line on the final invoice that nobody remembers approving. Write it down whatever the size.

When should it be signed?

Before the work is performed. A change order signed afterwards is a negotiation about work already done, which is a much weaker position for whichever side is unhappy.

What if the change does not affect the schedule?

Say so explicitly. Stating that the completion date is unchanged closes off a later delay claim, and it takes one line.

Can the contractor refuse to do the changed work?

Generally yes, unless the original contract obliges them. A change order is a new agreement, and both sides have to agree to it — including on the price and the timing.

How many change orders is too many?

There is no rule, but several on one job usually means the original scope was not detailed enough. If it keeps happening, the conversation to have is about scope, not about the next change.