If you’ve spent time on a construction job, you’ve seen change orders in action. Something doesn’t match the drawings, a detail gets missed, or a client walks the site and decides they want something different now that it’s built. Change orders are how those revisions are handled. They keep projects aligned by updating the contract—detailing what’s changing, the cost, and how it impacts the schedule.
Quick look
- Change orders in construction revise the contract when scope, cost, or timelines change during a project
- They fall into two categories: additive (increase work) or deductive (reduce or remove work)
- Most projects deal with multiple change orders driven by clients, design revisions, site conditions, or code requirements
- Delays typically happen during the pricing, review, and approval stages
- Clear documentation, fast RFIs, and early communication help keep projects moving and prevent disputes
What are change orders in construction?
A change order is a written update to the original contract. It captures any changes to the scope of work, cost, or project schedule, so everyone is working from the same set of expectations. It’s also where the impact of those changes gets spelled out—what’s being added or removed, how much it will cost, and whether it affects the timeline. This is often where projects either stay organized or start to slip.
There are two types of change orders you’ll see on every job:
- Additive: More work is being added. That could be a client upgrading finishes, adding extra space, or asking for features that weren’t in the original plan. On a residential build, that might look like switching standard cabinets to custom ones halfway through, which affects materials, labor, and installation time.
- Deductive: Work is removed or scaled back. Clients might be looking for ways to cut costs, or a feature might be dropped during the value engineering process.
For contractors, both types of change orders matter. They can disrupt crew schedules and affect how materials are planned and ordered. If they’re not handled well, they can chip away at profits and put strain on working relationships.
Why change orders happen
No project runs exactly as planned. That’s not a flaw—it’s how construction works. Once work starts, plans meet reality, and that’s when changes begin to show up. Most change orders fall into a handful of common situations.
Client-driven changes
Most of the time, the client is the one driving the changes. Once a project starts to take off, it’s a lot easier to see what’s working and what isn’t. Before long, requests will start pouring in—tweaks to the layout, better finishes, or features nobody thought of in the original plan.
For instance, on a newly built house, the client might suddenly decide they want stone countertops instead of the standard ones after seeing how they look in a sample installation. On a commercial project, that might mean scooping up a space and reworking the office layout to fit the needs of their new tenants. None of these changes are mistakes; they’re just decisions that get made once you can see the project coming together.
Design revisions
Drawings often change as soon as construction gets underway. Sometimes it’s because some details were left out; other times, trades need to make last-minute adjustments to get their parts to fit together right. What looks good on paper doesn’t always work in practice. It might be a mechanical or structural conflict that pops up, like ductwork suddenly clashing with a beam location, requiring the plans to be revised. When that happens, you need to document the change, get a cost estimate, and get it approved.
Unforeseen site conditions
Site conditions are often unpredictable. When digging underground, you may suddenly hit a patch of rock that wasn’t on any of the original reports. Or unearth old utility lines that weren’t shown on maps. This is quite common on renovation jobs where a wall is opened only to find water damage, outdated wiring, or poor structural supports inside. At that point, the original plan no longer applies, and a change order becomes necessary.
Errors and omissions
Not every issue comes from the field. Some start with the plans. Missing details, conflicting specs, or incorrect measurements can all lead to changes once work begins. Someone catches it, work stops, and a fix gets worked out. That fix—whether it’s additional work or a correction—gets documented as a change order.
Permit and code requirements
Regulatory factors can also drive changes. Inspectors might point out that there’s work that needs fixing before they’ll sign off. Or code requirements might have changed since the project started, or the way they’re interpreted might have shifted depending on who is actually in charge of giving the okay. This can mean a project needs extra fire protection, accessibility adjustments, or even additional structural support to meet the requirements. None of this was in the original plan, but it still needs to get done.
Change order process
On paper, change orders are relatively straightforward. On a jobsite, that’s rarely the reality. Here’s how it usually unfolds when a change needs to be issued.
1. Change is identified
This usually happens when someone on site realizes that what’s happening there doesn’t align with the original plan. Something didn’t go according to the drawings, site conditions changed, or the client wants something different. At that point, the original scope no longer suffices. It’s not uncommon at this stage for crews to keep moving forward with the job while the details are sorted. But without clear direction, work can proceed without approved pricing or scope, leading to confusion, rework, and disputes down the line.
2. Request for Information (RFI)
An RFI is sent to clarify what needs to be done and to get direction before committing to the work. If responses come back quickly, things stay on track. If they don’t, work can stall—or move forward without full clarity, which creates problems later.
3. Defining the change
With clarified direction, contractors need to clearly lay out what’s changing—what’s being added, what’s getting cut, and what needs to be adjusted. If this isn’t communicated correctly from the start, confusion sets in, and problems follow down the line.
4. Pricing the work
Contractors will break down the costs into a few key areas—labor, materials, equipment, and time. For straightforward changes, this can move along quickly, but when changes are bigger, it can take time to untangle and line everything up. Situations like this can cause major delays.
5. Submission and review
The change order is sent to the client for review—the document outlines the scope, total cost, and any impact on the project timeline. This is another point at which projects can stall, as obtaining client approval can be slow.
6. Negotiation
The first number is not always a done deal. Clients will push back, and contractors will have to revise their initial proposal. It will often go back and forth until both parties agree to the terms.
7. Approval and execution
Once the revised number gets the go-ahead, things start to move. Schedules are updated, materials are ordered, and crews adjust their work to match the new scope.
8. Tracking and closeout
Every change needs to be tracked—costs, timelines, and how it affects the rest of the project. If this part isn’t handled well, it shows up later during billing or project closeout. Most delays happen in the middle of this process—waiting on answers, pricing, or approvals.
The impact of change orders in construction
Change orders affect everything on a job.
Cost is the obvious one. Add work, and the budget goes up. Remove work, and it goes down. But it’s rarely that simple. Even small changes can affect how other parts of the project are planned.
Schedules take a hit every time something changes. A change in one area can suddenly push back other trades and cause all sorts of delays. Work that had been lined up to happen in sequence instead gets held up, and crews either need to abandon their work and take a break or come back to it later.
Relationships can also become strained. When communication slips, frustration builds quickly. Clients question costs, contractors spend time chasing approvals, and subcontractors often get caught in the middle. On tight projects, that tension shows up fast.
Handled well, change orders keep everyone aligned. Handled poorly, they become a constant source of friction.
Challenges with change orders
Change orders aren’t the problem on their own—it’s how they’re handled that can create issues.
Timing and approvals
Work doesn’t come to a standstill while a change is being reviewed; the schedule keeps rolling. That’s where risks start piling up. If that change doesn’t get the green light later on, it can quickly turn into a dispute over scope and cost.
Lack of documentation
You see it all the time on-site: a hasty verbal “go ahead” from a supervisor to keep things going. But when it’s time to get paid, a verbal agreement means nothing. Without proper documentation, there’s nothing to back it up.
Unclear scope
If a change order isn’t clear, workers are left to interpret it themselves. Different trades take different approaches, and confusion can set in quickly. This leads to delays and rework that could’ve been easily avoided if the details had been sorted out up front.
Cash flow pressure
It’s not just delays that are problematic—slow approvals also put a hold on payments. For contractors managing multiple projects at once, with multiple change orders piling up, the consequences are a real cash crunch for labor and materials.
Volume and tracking
On big jobs, change orders don’t come in one at a time—they stack up. Tracking scope, pricing, and approvals across dozens of changes isn’t easy, and without a system in place, it’s easy for things to slip through the cracks.
Change order best practices
You can’t avoid change orders. But you can handle them in a way that keeps things under control.
- Put everything in writing: Verbal approvals don’t count when it comes time to get paid. Every change should be documented clearly—scope, cost, and sign-off.
- Stay on top of RFIs: Staying on top of your RFI’s and responding quickly is key to keeping the job moving and preventing work from grinding to a halt.
- Break down costs clearly: Clear pricing is your friend. When clients know exactly what they’re getting into, it’s much easier for them to sign off. Vague numbers, on the other hand, are just a recipe for delay.
- Track changes as they happen: Waiting until the end of a project to sort through change orders leads to problems. Keep records updated in real time.
- Communicate early: If a change is coming, flag it right away and communicate it to the team. Don’t wait until it becomes a bigger issue.
- Keep field and office aligned: What’s happening on site needs to match what’s being documented in the office. And when that doesn’t happen, confusion sets in.
- Set expectations from day one: Having everything spelled out in the contract from day one makes a big difference. Clients and contractors alike should have a clear idea of how the change order process is supposed to work before things get underway.
These aren’t complicated steps. But they make a big difference over the course of a project.
Final thoughts
Change orders are all part of construction. Every project has them. The difference is how they’re handled. When the process is clear, work keeps moving. Crews stay productive. Costs stay under control. Relationships hold up. When it’s not, things slow down. Payments get delayed. Frustration builds across the team. For contractors, this isn’t about avoiding change orders. It’s about managing them in a way that keeps the project on track.
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