Construction change order form

Build it in minutes. Create an account to download. A change order the way a general contractor sends one: a cover letter with the scope and the total, and a worksheet with every line, the insurance and the overhead and profit. You enter your own prices.

How to fill out a change order

1. Number and date it. Use the next number in your change order log. A revised change order keeps its number and adds R1, R2.
2. Say what changed and why. Name the drawing, RFI, field direction or condition behind it, and describe the work in a sentence or two the owner can check.
3. Price it line by line: labor, material, equipment and subcontract, each with a quantity and a rate, or a lump sum with a short breakdown.
4. Add markup the way your contract allows: overhead and profit, and insurance or bond if the contract allows them on changes.
5. State the time. Give the days added, or say there is no change to the contract time.
6. Say how long the price holds, and get it signed before the work starts.

Common change order mistakes

• Doing the work on a verbal OK and pricing it afterward.
• Leaving time off. A change order that is silent on time can be read as agreeing there is none.
• One lump sum with nothing behind it. Owners send those back.
• Markup the contract does not allow, or markup on top of markup.
• Missing the notice window. Many contracts require written notice of a change within a set number of days.
• Losing track of approved and pending change orders, so the contract sum and the pay application stop matching.

AIA G701 or a simple change order?

The AIA G701 is the change order form published by the American Institute of Architects. The owner, the architect and the contractor sign it, and it states the change in the contract sum and the contract time. It fits jobs built on an AIA contract with an architect administering it.

A simple change order, like the one this page makes, carries the same essentials: the work, the price, the time and the signatures. It fits jobs with no architect administering the contract, subcontract changes, and owners who want it on one page. If your contract calls for the G701, use AIA’s form and attach this worksheet as the backup for the price.

AIA and G701 are trademarks of the American Institute of Architects. The form on this page is BuildControl’s own and is not affiliated with AIA.

What goes in a construction change order?

Who it is between, the project, a number and a date, the scope of the change, the price with the lines behind it, the markup, what it does to the contract time, how long the price holds, and a signature. This form prints a cover letter and a worksheet with all of them.

How much markup goes on a change order?

What your contract allows. Most contracts set the overhead and profit percentage, some set one rate for your own work and another for subcontracted work, and insurance is often its own line. Read the change order clause before you type a number.

Should a change order ask for more time?

Say what it does to the schedule every time. Under most contracts a change order that is silent on time can be read as agreeing there is none. If the work needs days, ask for them in the same change order.

When should a change order be signed?

Before the work starts. Work done on a verbal OK is the hardest money to collect. If the owner directs the work before the price is agreed, get the direction in writing and track the cost as you go.

The guide behind it

RFI vs. Change Order: When Does an Answer Cost Money?. The difference between a request for information and a change order, the pivot point where a clarification becomes a cost, and why "answered" is not "closed."

How to download

Fill in the form on the page and watch the preview. To get the PDF, create an account; the document is saved to a job in your account, named after the project.

General information, not legal advice. Your contract decides the markup, the notice and who signs. Read its change order clause before you send one.