Pennsylvania Construction Change Order (2026)

A signed amendment to a construction or home improvement contract: what changes, what it adds to or deducts from the price, the revised contract sum, how many days it adds to the schedule, and confirmation that everything else in the contract stays the same.

Updated September 2026≈ 5 minReviewed against 73 P.S. § 517.7

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What you'll get

Sample first page of the Construction Change Order. Your answers fill in the blanks; the clauses required in Pennsylvania are added automatically.

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What this document covers

Change order number and the contract it amends
Contractor, licence number and owner
Project address and the date of the original contract
What changes, in the owner's and the contractor's words
Why it changes — owner request, hidden condition, code or design
Itemized pricing or a lump sum, added or deducted
Revised contract sum after every previous change order
Days added to the schedule and the new completion date
Payment terms for this change alone
Confirmation that every other contract term stays in force

Pennsylvania rules that this document follows

Written change order required	Yes — The home improvement contract must include a set of specifications that cannot be changed without a written change order signed by the owner and the contractor, and it is a prohibited act for a contractor to deviate from or disregard the plans or specifications in any material respect without a written change order, dated and signed by both parties, containing the accompanying price change for each deviation.Source: 73 P.S. § 517.7(a)(7); § 517.9(a)(6)
Signature before the changed work	Not stated in the statute; signing before the work starts is the practice the statute assumesSource: 73 P.S. § 517.7(a)(7); § 517.9(a)(6)
Price and schedule in the order	The change in price must be statedSource: 73 P.S. § 517.7(a)(7); § 517.9(a)(6)
Payment for the change	No confirmed statutory limit on when a change order may be billed; pay for extra work as it is performedSource: 73 P.S. § 517.7(a)(7); § 517.9(a)(6)
Licence number on the paperwork	Required on the home improvement contract, so it is printed on the change order too — Office of Attorney General — home improvement contractor registrationSource: 73 P.S. § 517.7(a)(1)

Rules current as of 2026-09-14. Statutes change; verify before relying on them.

How to use this Construction Change Order in Pennsylvania

The home improvement contract must include a set of specifications that cannot be changed without a written change order signed by the owner and the contractor, and it is a prohibited act for a contractor to deviate from or disregard the plans or specifications in any material respect without a written change order, dated and signed by both parties, containing the accompanying price change for each deviation. (73 P.S. § 517.7(a)(7); § 517.9(a)(6)) A change order is not a new contract: it names the original contract and its date, describes exactly what changes, prices the change, and says what it does to the completion date. Everything the contract said before stays in force unless this document changes it.

Price the change the way the owner can check it. Line items — quantity times unit price, labour and materials separated — are what survive a dispute; a lump sum belongs on small, obvious work. Say plainly whether the amount is added to the contract or deducted from it, then carry the arithmetic all the way through: original contract sum, plus the net of every earlier change order, plus or minus this one, equals the revised contract sum. That last number is the only price that should appear on the next invoice, on the lender's draw request and in any lien claim.

Deal with time and money in the same document. Write the schedule effect in whole days, even when it is zero — leave it blank and the original completion date usually still binds, which is how a contractor ends up late because of a change the owner asked for. On payment, no statutory limit was confirmed for Pennsylvania, so the contract governs; billing the change as the changed work is performed is the practice that keeps both sides out of trouble. A deposit for special-order or custom material is the one sensible exception.

Sign before the changed work starts, and give the owner a copy the same day. Signing first is what makes the order provable: the file shows the price was agreed before anyone swung a hammer, not negotiated afterwards. Print the contractor's licence number on the amendment as well, because Pennsylvania requires it on the contract this document becomes part of (73 P.S. § 517.7(a)(1)). Keep the signed order with the contract, the invoices and the lien waivers — together they are the whole story of what the job cost.

Frequently asked questions

Does Pennsylvania require a change order to be in writing?

Yes. The home improvement contract must include a set of specifications that cannot be changed without a written change order signed by the owner and the contractor, and it is a prohibited act for a contractor to deviate from or disregard the plans or specifications in any material respect without a written change order, dated and signed by both parties, containing the accompanying price change for each deviation. (73 P.S. § 517.7(a)(7); § 517.9(a)(6))

Can a contractor bill for extra work with no signed change order?

In Pennsylvania that is the hard case, because the home improvement contract must include a set of specifications that cannot be changed without a written change order signed by the owner and the contractor, and it is a prohibited act for a contractor to deviate from or disregard the plans or specifications in any material respect without a written change order, dated and signed by both parties, containing the accompanying price change for each deviation. (73 P.S. § 517.7(a)(7); § 517.9(a)(6)) Without the signed order the contractor is usually left arguing unjust enrichment, which recovers cost at best and often nothing.

When is the change order money due?

No statutory limit was confirmed for Pennsylvania, so the Contract governs. The safe default, and the one this form uses, is that the change is paid when the changed work is complete or with the next progress payment — never in full before the work.

Does a change order have to state the new completion date?

Even where no statute says so, leave it out and the original date usually still binds, so a contractor can be late on a deadline the owner's own change made impossible. Write the days, even when the answer is zero.

Can extra work be included in a mechanics lien?

Yes — extra work is normally lienable as labor and materials furnished for the improvement. The signed order is what proves both the scope and the amount, so keep it with the contract and the invoices; an unsigned extra is the claim owners defeat most often.

Do I need the licence number on the change order?

In Pennsylvania the licence number is required on the home improvement contract itself (73 P.S. § 517.7(a)(1)), and a change order becomes part of that contract, so print it here too — this form does it for you.

Other names

change order
construction change order
contract amendment contractor
extra work order
change order form
work order change
variation order
contract modification construction
remodel change order
addendum to construction contract

Other states

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