What Is a Change Order in Construction? A Plain-English Guide

A change order is a written amendment to the original construction contract. It changes the scope of work, the contract price, the time to complete, or some combination of the three, and it is signed by both the owner (or general contractor) and the contractor. Once signed, it becomes part of the contract, which is what turns extra work into work that actually gets paid.

Last updated July 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Construction contract rules vary by state, by contract form, and by situation, so have a construction attorney review your agreements and your process.

Almost every construction project changes after the contract is signed. An owner adds a feature, a hidden condition shows up behind a wall, a drawing conflicts with the field, or a permit review forces a revision. The change order is the paperwork that keeps those changes tied to the contract instead of turning into an argument at invoice time. The single most expensive mistake in the field is doing extra work on a verbal go-ahead and never getting it signed. This guide walks through what a change order is, what belongs on it, who signs it, and how it differs from a change directive.

What is a change order in construction?

A change order is a written, signed amendment to a construction contract that modifies the original scope, price, or schedule. It documents work that falls outside what the contract already covers, sets the price adjustment, and records any impact on the completion date. Both the owner or GC and the contractor sign it before the added work proceeds.

Think of the original contract as the baseline: it fixes a scope, a price, and a finish date. The moment reality diverges from that baseline, someone owes or is owed something different, and the change order is how the two sides agree on what. Standard industry contract families, including the AIA documents, treat the change order as a formal instrument that both parties execute, not a casual note. That formality is the point. A signed change order is enforceable; a hallway conversation is not. The fastest way to keep that record clean is to sign the change order electronically before the crew starts, so the date and the approval are captured automatically.

Does a change order need to be signed?

Yes, in practice a change order should always be signed. It should be signed by both the owner (or GC) and the contractor before the added work proceeds. The signature is what converts a proposed change into an authorized, enforceable part of the contract. Unsigned extra work is the number one reason contractors do not get paid for it.

Here is how the money actually gets lost. A superintendent tells a sub to go ahead and move a wall, the sub does it, and weeks later the invoice for the extra work lands on the owner's desk. Now the owner questions whether the change was approved, what it was supposed to cost, and who authorized it. Without a signed change order, the contractor is arguing from memory. With one, there is a dated document showing the exact scope, the agreed price, and the schedule impact, approved before a single stud moved. Getting the signature first is not bureaucracy, it is the difference between a paid extra and a write-off. On construction jobs the same insurance and compliance discipline applies to every change: it is worth having a system to track a current certificate of insurance for every sub on the job so that added scope never gets performed by a sub whose coverage has lapsed.

What should a change order include?

A change order should include a reference to the original contract, a clear description of the added or deleted scope, the price adjustment, and any change to the completion date. Most also state the reason for the change and provide signature blocks for both parties, dated before the work proceeds.

The schedule line is the one contractors skip most often, and it hurts. If you get the price approved but never document the added time, you can still be on the hook for finishing by the original date. Capture the time impact on the same change order the owner signs, and attach a revised schedule in the same envelope when you send the change order for signature so the price and the days move together.

What is the difference between a change order and a change directive?

A change order is a mutually agreed, priced amendment that both sides sign before the work proceeds. A construction change directive is used when the owner directs the contractor to proceed with a change before the price and time are agreed, with the cost settled afterward. The directive keeps urgent work moving; the change order records a full agreement.

Both are legitimate tools, and knowing which one you are actually working under matters. Under a change directive you are performing before the number is locked, so you need to document your costs carefully because the price will be negotiated after the fact. Under a change order everything is agreed up front. The best practice is to convert a directive into a signed change order as soon as the price is settled, so the file ends up with a clean, mutually signed record rather than an open directive.

Who signs a change order?

A change order is signed by both parties to the contract it amends. On a prime contract that means the owner (or the owner's authorized representative) and the general contractor. On a subcontract it means the GC and the subcontractor. On many projects the architect reviews or recommends the change before the owner approves it.

Signing order matters more than people expect. The party requesting or receiving the added scope should approve first, then the party performing it countersigns, so the fully executed document exists before the work starts. On a subcontract, the same discipline that governs a good subcontractor agreement applies to every change against it: route the change order to the GC to approve and back to the sub to countersign, and keep one executed copy per change with the job file.

Can a change order be signed electronically?

Yes. A change order amends a contract between two businesses, so an electronic signature on it is valid and enforceable under the federal ESIGN Act and state UETA laws, with no notary required. What matters in a dispute is provable approval of the specific new scope and price, which an electronic audit trail captures cleanly.

Electronic signing also solves the timing problem that costs contractors money in the first place. Instead of the crew starting on a verbal yes and the paperwork trailing behind, you send the change order the moment scope shifts, the owner approves it from a phone in the field, and the executed amendment exists before material is touched. For teams that handle contracts, change orders, and lien waivers on site, doing it all through one electronic signature workflow for construction keeps every signed record in the same place and dated. Ready to stop eating the cost of unsigned extras? Send your next change order with SignSend and get it approved before the crew starts.

This guide is general information and not legal advice. Change order and construction contract requirements vary by state, by contract form, and by circumstance. Consult a qualified construction attorney about your specific situation.