How to Get a Change Order Signed Before Extra Work Starts
A field-ready process for turning a verbal change into a documented scope, price and schedule agreement before the crew commits to the extra work.
A change order is not just paperwork after a job changes. It is the document that connects the original agreement to the revised work. For a contractor, the most useful change-order workflow is one that makes the new scope understandable, shows the price and time impact, identifies who is approving it, and creates a dated record before the extra work becomes difficult to unwind.
Why timing matters
Construction and service work changes quickly. A customer asks for another fixture, an unforeseen condition appears behind a wall, an equipment selection changes, or access restrictions add labor. The operational temptation is to keep moving and document the change later. The problem is that memory, verbal approvals and text-message fragments are weak substitutes for one agreed record.
AIA guidance describes the core of a change order as the agreed change in the work, the adjustment to the contract sum and the adjustment to contract time. That three-part structure is useful far beyond large AIA projects: what changes, what it costs, and what it does to the schedule.
A simple six-step workflow
1. Identify the original job
Use the customer name, project or service address, original agreement date and a job/reference number. The reader should be able to tell which existing agreement is being modified without searching through an inbox.
2. Describe the changed scope in plain language
Write what is being added, removed or substituted. Avoid phrases such as “extra work as discussed” if the scope can be described more precisely. If drawings, photos, estimates or product specifications are important, reference them by name and date.
3. State the price impact
Show whether the contract price increases, decreases or stays unchanged. If several additions and credits are involved, list them separately and show the net adjustment. This is especially useful when the customer needs to understand why the total changed.
4. State the schedule impact
Do not leave time implicit. Say whether the completion date is unchanged, extended by a number of days or dependent on a stated condition such as material delivery. AIA's change-order framework specifically treats contract time as part of the change, not an afterthought.
5. Route the document to the people who actually have authority
The right signer depends on the underlying contract and project structure. On a homeowner service job it may be the customer. On a commercial project it might be an owner representative, GC or another authorized party. PocketESign can route to multiple signers and can require signing order when the approval needs to move sequentially.
6. Keep the completed PDF and signing record together
Once approved, save the completed document with the project file. The signed PDF shows the agreed text; the associated audit trail helps record how the electronic signing process occurred. Keep both with the original agreement and any referenced attachments.
What should be on the change order?
Electronic signature: what it does and what it does not do
Under the federal ESIGN Act, a signature or contract generally may not be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic. That does not mean every document is automatically enforceable or that electronic signing eliminates other requirements. Authority, consent, the underlying contract, state law and document-specific formalities can still matter.
For ordinary business change-order workflows, electronic signing is valuable because it compresses the approval cycle: the contractor can send the exact PDF, the recipient can review it from a browser, and the completed record can be returned before the crew moves on.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Starting with a vague scope. If the document cannot tell a third party what changed, it will not improve the record very much.
- Showing price but not time. Delays and sequencing changes can be as important as the dollar adjustment.
- Using the wrong approver. A quick signature is not useful if the signer did not have authority under the project structure.
- Letting field conversation replace the document. Conversation is useful context; the written change should still stand on its own.
- Losing the completed record. Store the signed change order with the original contract and project records.