Sign a change order online

What a change order is

A change order records an agreed change to the scope of a contract after it has been signed: extra work, omitted work, a different material, a moved deadline. It is most common in construction, where it may be called a variation, but software and agency projects use the same idea.

It changes three things that matter to everyone: the work, the price and the time. A good change order states all three, even if one of them is 'no change'.

Standard forms and contract terms

In the US, many projects use the AIA G701 change order form, signed by the owner, contractor and architect. ConsensusDocs has its own forms. In the UK, JCT contracts call them variations, instructed by the architect or contract administrator, and NEC contracts deal with them as compensation events with their own timetable.

Most construction contracts require changes to be agreed in writing before the work is done, and some say a contractor who goes ahead without a signed change order cannot claim payment for it. Courts sometimes find ways around that, but it is a poor bet. This is general information, not legal advice.

What every change order should state

The running total matters. Disputes at final account often come from change orders that never showed the cumulative position.

• Change order number and the contract it amends.
• Description of the change, with drawings or specifications referenced.
• Reason for the change: owner request, unforeseen site condition, design error.
• Cost: labour, materials, plant, overhead and profit.
• Effect on the contract sum: original sum, previous changes, this change, new total.
• Effect on time: days added or removed and the new completion date.
• Signatures of everyone the contract says must approve.

Signing on site

The practical problem with change orders is speed. The site needs an answer today; the owner is in another city. Paper change orders wait in someone's van, and work goes ahead on a phone call.

With an email link, the contractor sends the change order from the site office, the owner signs on their phone, and the architect signs from their desk. Set the order to 'one after another' if your contract requires the architect to certify before the owner approves.

Common mistakes

Verbal approvals with no written follow-up. Change orders that state cost but not time, so the contractor later claims an extension anyway. Signing by someone on the owner's side who has no authority to approve extra spend. Bundling many small changes into one vague order at the end of the job.

How to send a change order with Sign PDF

Export the change order from your estimating software or spreadsheet as PDF or Excel, or photograph a printed form on site. Sign PDF places owner, contractor and architect signature boxes from the form's labels. Ask the assistant for 'owner initials beside the cost breakdown'.

Each signer confirms an email code and signs in the browser. The sealed PDF carries a certificate with each signing time, so there is a clear record of when the change was approved relative to when the work began. On the Full plan, save your change order layout as a template.