Change Order
The formal, signed mechanism for changing scope, price, or schedule after the contract is already in place.
Quick Answer
A change order is a written, signed modification to a construction contract that changes the scope, price, or schedule after the contract was executed. It requires agreement between owner and contractor — or documented direction — before the changed work proceeds and gets paid. Change orders are the formal route for handling anything that wasn't in the original contract documents.
The Full Picture
No set of contract documents anticipates everything a real project encounters — owner-requested upgrades, design errors discovered mid-build, unforeseen site conditions, or a code update mid-project. A change order exists because the contract needs a route to formally adjust scope, price, and time without tearing up and renegotiating the whole agreement every time something changes.
The process usually starts with a trigger — an RFI answer that adds scope, an owner request, or a field condition — which the GC prices, often built up from subcontractor quotes, and submits as a proposed or potential change order (PCO) for review. Once the owner and contractor agree on the price and time impact, it's executed as a formal change order, commonly on a form like AIA G701, and the contract sum and schedule are formally adjusted.
A common trigger is a differing site condition: excavation uncovers unsuitable soil that wasn't indicated in the geotechnical report, and the added cost to remediate it becomes a change order — either drawn against a contingency already built into the contract, or negotiated as new money depending on how the contract allocates that risk.
The quality of the original scope definition in preconstruction directly drives change order volume later. A well-scoped GMP with clearly stated assumptions and allowances produces fewer disputed change orders, because everyone agreed in advance on what was and wasn't included. Vague scope in the original bid packages, by contrast, is one of the most common sources of change order disputes during construction.
Real Examples
Common Misconceptions
People assume: People assume any extra work automatically becomes a paid change order.
Actually: most contracts require written authorization before the changed work proceeds — work performed ahead of an executed change order risks going unpaid if the owner disputes it later.
People assume: People assume change orders always mean something went wrong.
Actually: many are legitimate, owner-driven scope additions or upgrades that have nothing to do with a design error or omission — a change order is a mechanism, not a verdict on who's at fault.
Does MeltPlan Solve This?
Partially — adjacentPartially — MeltPlan doesn't run a change order tracking or approval workflow. But the same scope-gap detection and side-by-side comparison logic behind its bid leveling is exactly what a precon team needs when checking whether a change order's price is reasonable against comparable trade pricing, since both come down to comparing scope and cost apples to apples.
Compare pricing the same way you level bids →Frequently Asked Questions
What is a change order in construction?
A written, signed modification to a construction contract that changes the scope, price, or schedule after the original contract was executed, requiring agreement between owner and contractor before the changed work is paid.
What triggers a change order?
Common triggers include owner-requested scope changes or upgrades, design errors or omissions discovered during construction, unforeseen or differing site conditions, and RFI responses that add scope beyond the original contract documents.
How is a change order priced?
Typically built up from subcontractor and supplier quotes for the added or changed work, plus the general contractor's overhead and fee, then submitted as a proposed change order for the owner's review before being executed.
What's the difference between a change order and a claim?
A change order is a mutually agreed modification to the contract. A claim arises when the contractor and owner disagree — for example, about whether a delay was excusable or who should pay for extra costs — and hasn't been resolved through the normal change order process.
Why does preconstruction scope quality affect change order volume?
Clear, well-defined scope in the original bid packages and GMP means fewer disputes over what was already included. Vague or incomplete scope definition during precon is one of the most common root causes of contentious change orders later.