What Is a Change Order in Construction? The Process From Field Change to Payment

You've just been handed the change process, maybe along with a log you didn't build. You know what a change order is loosely, but nobody's laid out the sequence: who issues what, and where your entitlement to get paid is locked in or lost.

So, what is a change order in construction? Under the AIA's A201 general conditions, a change order is a written instrument prepared by the architect and signed by the owner, contractor, and architect, stating their agreement on a change in the work and any adjustment to the contract sum or contract time. Other contract forms route it differently, but the idea is the same: a written agreement that modifies the contract. But the change order is rarely the start of the story. The event that gives rise to the change often happens days or weeks before the paperwork is agreed, and what happens in that gap can determine whether the contractor can recover the cost or time involved.

This is a guide, not legal advice. Your contract sets the rules.

What Happens Before a Change Order Exists

A change order records an agreed change in the work and any adjustment to the contract sum or time. But before anyone files the paperwork, the event behind the change has already happened. For example:

• The design team asked for a modification.
• The crew hit a buried utility that wasn't shown in the contract documents.
• A revised drawing changed work that had already been installed.

Events like these can give rise to entitlement, the contractual right to an adjustment in cost, time, or both. Whether they actually do depends on the contract, the circumstances, and whether the required notices and procedures were followed.

How much you get paid is a separate question, called quantum or change order pricing, and it gets settled later, often with different evidence than the entitlement argument needed. Time works the same way: a missed notice deadline can put a schedule extension at risk just as it can affect cost recovery. Without an extension, you're still held to the original completion date, and depending on the contract, that can mean liquidated damages or paying to accelerate.

The problem sits in the gap between the event and the change order. By the time someone writes the change order, days or weeks may have passed. Whether it holds up depends on what exists from that earlier moment: who said what, when, and what the site actually looked like.

That gap is where much of the construction change order process can break down, and it's also where unrecovered change starts eroding profit margin.

When Do Construction Change Order Deadlines Start?

Construction change order deadlines can start running as soon as the changed or unforeseen condition is discovered on site, not when you open or submit the change order form.

Under AIA A201-2017, if you encounter a concealed or unknown condition that differs materially from the contract documents, you have to notify the owner and architect before disturbing it, and no later than 14 days after you first observe it.

An architect's order for a minor change carries a similar consequence. If you believe it will affect the contract sum or contract time, you need to notify the architect and not proceed to implement the change. If you perform the work without giving that notice, A201 says you waive the adjustment.

The 21 days people often quote comes from a different part of the contract. It's the A201 §15.1.3.1 window for initiating a Claim, counted from the event or from when you first recognize the condition, whichever is later, and it covers time as well as money. Asking for an adjustment isn't automatically a Claim, so the field notices above usually come due first. But depending on how that clock is read, waiting for a disputed answer can use it up, which is why many contractors send written notice of a Claim early. For additional cost, A201 §15.1.5 also requires notice before you proceed with the affected work, which is usually earlier still.

That means one event can trigger more than one notice requirement, on different timelines:

Say your crew uncovers an unmarked duct bank on day 0, and working around it will cost money. Notice to the owner and architect is due before anyone disturbs it, and no later than day 14. If you want more money, notice of that Claim is due before you proceed with the affected work, which may come well before day 14. And depending on how the 21-day clock is read, it may be running from day 0 as well.

Form matters too. Under A201, notice of a Claim has to be in writing and is only treated as served if it goes to the other party's designated representative by certified or registered mail, or by courier with proof of delivery (§1.6.2).

There's no single universal change order deadline. Your contract sets the notice periods, so read them first, and capture the event as soon as it happens.

Who Issues a Change Order vs. a Construction Change Directive?

Under A201, a change order is issued once the owner, contractor, and architect all sign it. A construction change directive is the owner's order, prepared by the architect and signed by the owner and architect, and it takes effect without the contractor's signature.

A change order (the AIA's G701 form, ConsensusDocs 202, or your contract's equivalent) documents the change in the work and any adjustment to the contract sum or time once all three have agreed. A construction change directive (G714) is different: it tells the contractor to proceed now, before that agreement is reached, usually because waiting would delay the project. Once the parties reach agreement, the adjustment is typically recorded in a change order.

An architect's order for a minor change is a third instrument. It's meant for changes that don't affect the contract sum or contract time, which is why the notice rule above matters if you think it will.

Either way, the record from the site can determine how that later conversation goes.

Who Actually Has the Authority to Direct a Change?

Not everyone who hands you a change instruction has the authority to make it stick.

Your contract sets out who has authority to direct changes and through what process. An inspector, resident engineer, owner's representative, or someone else on site may identify a problem or request something different, but that doesn't necessarily mean their instruction constitutes an authorized contractual change. Document it, and confirm it with the person your contract names.

Why a Spreadsheet, a Change Order Module, or Memory Doesn't Close the Gap

If you've inherited a change process, you've probably inherited some version of a pending change order log: a spreadsheet, an email thread, or maybe even memory. You may also already have change, daily log, photo, and field documentation tools inside platforms like Procore or Autodesk.

Those systems can usually record what happened. The open question is whether the person who sees the event captures it while the details are still fresh.

Someone has to recognize that the event matters, open the right workflow, enter the information, and connect it to the potential change. That's a lot to ask mid-task, which is why site teams often don't report changes in the moment. When that doesn't happen, the office team may only hear about it days later, when they're trying to reconstruct what happened from photos, messages, daily logs, and people's memory.

That's the gap: the distance between what happens in the field and what makes it into the project record.

Where the Record Actually Needs to Get Made

The record has to start when the event happens, in the field. In practice, that can mean as little as a photo and a note about what the crew encountered.

Shape helps teams capture change from site to office. Using features like Channels, crews can send photos and messages about changes, and each one is saved with a date and time. Issues affecting the work, lost time, and out-of-scope progress get flagged for someone in the office to review, so the evidence is ready when the change order is prepared.

Shape doesn't replace your change order process. It drafts the change narrative from the site record for your team to review, and the change order still goes through your normal process. It works alongside Procore or Autodesk if you have them.

A photo or message is evidence of what happened. Formal notice still goes in writing, to the person and by the method your contract names.

See how Shape can help you manage change.

A change order can only be as good as the record made when the event happened. Knowing the sequence, change order versus construction change directive versus an architect's order for a minor change, and knowing which contractual clocks may already be running, helps protect your entitlement long before you sit down to write anything.

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