Free Change Order Template (Word, Excel, PDF) with Change Order Log

Last updated: November 9, 2026

What Is a Change Order Template?

"Can you also move that outlet?"

Six words. No paper. Two weeks later it is $1,800 of labor nobody agreed to pay for.

A change order template stops that. It is a ready-made form you fill in every time the scope, price or schedule of a signed contract moves. It records what changed, what it costs, how many days it adds and what the new contract sum is. Then all three parties sign it.

You will hear it called a change order form, a contract change order, a construction change order form, a CO, or a variation in some markets. Same job.

Looking for an AIA change order form? The official AIA G701 is a paid document. The Enerpize form uses the same G701-style contract sum wording, free, and adds a log and a summary around it.

What Is a Change Order in Construction?

A change order in construction is a written agreement between the owner and the contractor, usually also signed by the architect, that changes the original contract. It can add work, delete work, change the price, change the time, or all four. Once signed, it becomes part of the contract.

Most changes start life as a potential change order (PCO). Someone spots the issue, the contractor prices it in a change order request, the owner reviews it, and only then does it become an executed change order.

What a Change Order Is Not

It is not an invoice. It changes what you are allowed to bill. The bill comes later.

It is not a request either. The request is your price. The change order is the signed agreement.

And it is not a legal form. Your contract decides who signs, how much notice you owe and how changes are priced. The template just makes sure nothing is missing when you sit down to sign.

Change Order vs Construction Change Directive, Amendment and Change Order Request

Four documents. They look alike. They do very different jobs.

Change order vs amendment comes down to scope. A change order adjusts the work, price or time inside the contract you already have. An amendment rewrites the contract terms themselves.

A change directive lets the work start. Only a change order settles the money.

Which Change Order Form Fits Your Situation?

Printing for the site trailer? The change order template Word file gives you one page to fill by hand, plus a blank log page.

What Does a Change Order Form Contain?

The Field That Matters Most: The Contract Sum Block

Anyone can describe a change. The contract sum block is what stops the money drifting.

It forces five numbers onto one page: where the contract started, what earlier signed changes added, where it stood before this one, what this one adds, and where it lands. If those five lines don't add up, nobody should sign.

What the Enerpize Change Order Template Includes

We built it around one question: what does the contract say right now?

The result is a construction change order template with four connected sheets. Settings holds the project once. The form, the log and the summary all read from it. Change one number and every sheet follows. The change order template Excel workbook comes blank, plus a filled sample on separate tabs.

The Receipt Behind Every Number

The form prices a change line by line: labor, materials, equipment, subcontractors. Overhead and profit and bond come from Settings, so every change uses the same rates.

Deleting work? Enter negative quantities and the form says "decreased." You decide in Settings whether markup applies to credits.

One Ledger From First Whisper to Final Signature

The change order log template tracks every change from the day it is spotted. PCO number, CO number, origin, ball in court, estimated, submitted and approved amounts, days requested and approved.

Open items age on their own. Orange at 30 days. Red at 60. You see who is holding the ball before the meeting, not after it.

A Scoreboard That Only Counts Signed Points

Approved is not executed. The Contract Summary keeps them apart.

Only fully signed changes move the contract sum to date. Approved changes waiting for signatures and pending changes sit in their own lines, so you can show the owner the real number and the possible number side by side.

It also adds up any work going ahead without a signed change and warns you when it passes 10% of the original contract. You can change that line in Settings.

A Clipboard Copy for the Site Trailer

Not every change happens next to a laptop. The Word and PDF files print a one-page change order and a 20-row log on landscape paper.

Fill it on site, sign it on site, type it into the workbook back at the office.

Additive, Deductive, No-Cost and Time-Only Change Orders

Not every change order adds money. The workbook labels each one from the numbers you enter, so you never pick the wrong type by hand.

A deductive change order is still a change order. It needs the same signatures. Owners love credits until the paperwork is missing at closeout.

Change Order Example (Filled Sample)

Want to see the formulas working before you type anything? Open the filled change order example in Google Sheets and make a copy.

The sample is a fictional $485,000 office fit-out in Austin, Texas, built by Ridgeline Builders LLC for Lakeshore Property Group LLC. It runs from May 4, 2026, with substantial completion set for November 20, 2026.

How to Read the Sample

• 9 changes in the change order log template. 5 executed, 1 approved and waiting for the owner's signature, 1 submitted, 1 still being priced, 1 rejected.
• Executed changes add $21,090. That is 4.3% on top of the original, so the contract sum to date is $506,090.
• The schedule moved 9 days. Substantial completion is now November 29, 2026.
• CO-006 is the form on display. Data drops at $11,934.13 and 2 days. Once signed, the contract sum becomes $518,024.13 and completion moves to December 1, 2026.
• PCO-007 is 65 days old. It is flagged red, and the architect is holding it.
• $31,684.13 of work is going ahead unsigned. That is 6.5% of the original contract, under the 10% alert line.

Change Order Formulas

How to Write a Change Order

1- Log It the Day You Spot It

The clock on notice often starts when the change is discovered, not when it is priced. A dated log row is your record.

⚡ Tip: Give it a PCO number even before you have a price. A row with no number gets forgotten.

2- Price It Line by Line

Owners argue with lump sums. They rarely argue with 40 hours at $95.

⚡ Tip: Attach quotes from subs and suppliers. The form has room for 10 lines, which covers most changes.

3- Send It and Set the Ball in Court

The log only ages items fairly if you record the date you submitted.

⚡ Tip: Change Ball in Court to Owner or Architect the moment the price leaves your desk.

4- Fill In the Form

Enter the CO number and the contract sum block fills itself from executed changes in the log.

⚡ Tip: Read the log check line under the form. If it says the amounts differ, fix one before anyone signs.

5- Get All Three Signatures First

An approved change with no signatures is a promise. Executed means signed by the owner, contractor and architect or PM.

⚡ Tip: If the work cannot wait, mark Work Proceeding as Y and watch the unsigned work check.

6- Mark It Executed and Bill It

Only executed rows move the contract sum and appear in the pay application lines.

⚡ Tip: Copy the executed lines from the Contract Summary straight onto your next schedule of values.

Common Change Order Mistakes

Why Change Orders Matter

A change order in construction is not paperwork. It is money you have already spent.

In its July 2019 report GAO-19-500, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that federal agencies spent more than $36 billion on construction contracts in fiscal year 2018, with more than 45% going to small businesses. It also found that neither the Army Corps of Engineers nor GSA regularly monitored how long contract changes took to finalize. GAO recommended both agencies start.

So what? If federal agencies needed to be told to track change timing, your own log is the only clock you can count on.

Margin

Most jobs are won on thin margins. Unpriced changes eat them quietly, one outlet and one paint color at a time.

Cash Flow

A change you can't bill sits on your books while you pay the crew. Aging flags show you which signature to chase first.

Schedule

Days you didn't ask for are days you can be charged for. The revised completion date is your defense.

Pay Applications

Executed changes become new lines on the next pay application. No signed change, no line, no payment.

Change Order Spreadsheet vs Construction Software

How Enerpize Handles Change Orders and Construction Billing

What happens to a signed change after it leaves the spreadsheet? In most offices, someone types it again. Then again for the invoice.

In the Enerpize construction management software, a priced change is just another construction quotation tied to the same client and project. Here is how the pieces connect. The screens below use sample data.

Bids

Every job starts as a bid with its bill of quantities. When a quotation on a bid is approved, the bid status becomes Awarded, and you can create the project from it.

Cost Sheets

Cost sheets hold the work items and unit costs behind a price. You can create one from a bid or straight from a project file, then create a construction quotation from the cost sheet's action bar.

Construction Quotations

A quotation can link to a bid, a project, or stand alone. Pick the cost sheet and the bill of quantities fills itself, with quantity, sale rate and up to two taxes per work item. Save it and it is Issued. Send it by email as a PDF and a Sent label appears. Approve it and the linked cost sheet updates with the quotation's changes. Approved quotations are locked, so the price you agreed is the price on record.

Contracts

Create a contract and link it to the approved quotation. From the contract's work items you can create purchase documents, and purchase invoices created from the contract are distributed to cost centers automatically.

Want to see how cost centers keep each job's numbers separate? Read the cost centers guide.

Payment Certificates

Payment certificates are created from inside the project. You select the work items being certified, and the certificate feeds your invoicing. Contractor invoices can show retention discounts on the invoice items.

Change Orders in Texas

Texas gave contractors a stop button.

Under House Bill 3485, which added Property Code Section 28.0091 for private projects and Government Code Section 2251.0521 for public work, a contractor or subcontractor may choose not to proceed with owner-directed additional work when two things are true. First, there is no written, fully executed change order for it. Second, that work plus earlier unsigned owner-directed work exceeds 10% of the original contract amount. A contractor who stops under the rule is not responsible for damages caused by stopping. It applies to contracts entered into on or after September 1, 2023.

What to add:

• Mark every owner-directed change as Work Proceeding Y or N.
• Keep the unsigned work alert at 10% in Settings.
• Record the date each change order is fully executed, not just approved.

⚑ Practical note: The workbook adds up unsigned work for you. Whether you stop is a contract decision, so talk to your attorney before you do.

Change Orders on Florida Local Government Projects

Waiting on a city to answer your price? Florida put a clock on it.

Florida Statutes Section 218.755 covers construction services contracts with local governmental entities entered into on or after July 1, 2025. When the entity receives your price quote for a change order, and the quote meets all statutory and contract requirements, it must approve or deny it in writing within 35 days. A denial must name the deficiencies and how to fix them. Miss the deadline and the change order and price quote are deemed approved, payable when the change order work is complete.

What to add:

• The date the local government received your quote, in the Submitted column.
• A note of how you delivered it.
• The day count, which the Days Open column already gives you.

⚑ Practical note: Day 35 is a date, not a feeling. Log the receipt date the day you send it.

Change Orders on California Home Improvement Jobs

In California homes, a vague change order can be unenforceable against the homeowner.

Business and Professions Code Section 7159.6 says an extra work or change order is not enforceable against a buyer unless it sets out the scope of work, the amount added to or subtracted from the contract, and the effect on progress payments or the completion date. The buyer also may not require extra or change order work without written authorization.

A residential construction change order form needs all three, every time.

What to add:

• A full scope description, not "misc. extras."
• The plus or minus amount, which the form states as increased or decreased.
• The new completion date and a note on how progress payments change.

⚑ Practical note: The statute says missing items don't bar every recovery for work performed. You still don't want to be arguing it.

Change Orders on New York Home Improvement Jobs

New York wants it in writing. All of it.

General Business Law Section 771 says every home improvement contract covered by the article, and all amendments to it, must be evidenced by a writing signed by all parties. The owner must also get a copy of the written agreement signed by the contractor before any work is done.

What to add:

• Signatures from every party to the contract on each change.
• A signed copy handed to the owner before the changed work starts.
• The updated progress payment schedule if the change moves it.

⚑ Practical note: Treat every change as an amendment that needs signatures. The log's Executed date is your proof of when that happened.

Who Can Use a Change Order Template?

General Contractors

You run the log for the whole job. Owner changes, design fixes and code changes all land on your desk, and your margin depends on pricing each one.

Subcontractors

Your change order goes up to the GC, not the owner. Same form, same math, one level down.

Remodelers and Home Builders

Homeowners change their minds often. A signed form with the new price and date keeps the friendship and the payment schedule intact.

Owners and Project Managers

The Contract Summary tells you exactly where the budget stands before the OAC meeting. Running several sites? See how Enerpize supports construction companies from bid to payment certificate.

Architects

You review the price, check the scope against the drawings and sign as the third party.

Change Order Glossary

Key Takeaways

• A change order changes the contract only when the owner, contractor and architect or PM have all signed it.
• Log every change the day it is spotted. The sample logs 9 changes, from first spotted to rejected or executed.
• Only executed changes move the contract sum. In the sample that is $21,090, taking $485,000 to $506,090.
• Price every change line by line. CO-006 shows $10,498 of direct cost becoming $11,934.13 at 12% OH&P and 1.5% bond.
• Ask for days on every change. The sample moved substantial completion 9 days, to November 29, 2026.
• Chase open items before they age. The log flags them orange at 30 days and red at 60.
• Texas lets contractors stop owner-directed work once unsigned additional work passes 10% of the original contract.
• Florida local governments must answer a compliant change order price quote within 35 days or it is deemed approved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who signs a change order?

Usually the owner, the contractor and the architect or project manager. Your contract names the signers. The change is not valid until all of them sign.

Is a change order legally binding?

Once signed by the parties named in your contract, it becomes part of that contract and binds them the same way. Some states add content rules, such as California for home improvement jobs. A template is not a legal form, so check your contract and state law.

How do you price a change order?

Add the direct costs line by line: labor, materials, equipment and subcontractors. Then add the overhead and profit and bond rates your contract allows. The sample prices CO-006 at $10,498 of direct cost and $11,934.13 in total.

Who pays for change orders in construction?

Whoever caused the change, under the contract terms. Owner requests and design changes are usually the owner's cost. Contractor errors usually are not. Unforeseen conditions depend on your contract's clauses.

Do you have to accept a change order?

It depends on your contract. Many contracts let the owner direct changes within the general scope. In Texas, a contractor may choose not to proceed with owner-directed work once unsigned additional work passes 10% of the original contract.

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

A change order is signed by all parties with the price and time agreed. A directive orders the work to start before the price and time are agreed. A change order later replaces it.

What is a PCO in construction?

A PCO in construction is a potential change order: a change that has been spotted but not yet priced or approved. Log it with a PCO number right away, then give it a CO number once it becomes a change order.

What is a deductive change order?

A deductive change order lowers the contract sum because work is removed or replaced with something cheaper. It needs the same signatures as any other change. In the sample, CO-004 credits the owner $9,400 and removes 2 days.

About the Author

Omar El Bahr is a Senior Digital Growth Specialist at Enerpize, where he leads SEO, content strategy, and organic growth across international markets. He is a Forbes Communications Council contributor and has written for Entrepreneur on business communication and digital strategy.

Disclaimer

This template is for general information only and is not legal advice. It is not an official AIA change order form, is not an AIA document and is not affiliated with The American Institute of Architects. State rules and contract terms vary, so check your contract and speak to a licensed attorney before relying on any form. The sample business and figures are fictional.