Change order template
A copy-paste change order for freelance projects. Use it the moment a client asks for something outside the agreed scope, so the extra work gets a price, a timeline, and a written yes before you start.
When to use this
A change order is a one-page agreement that adds work to an existing project. It does not replace your contract. It documents one decision: what is being added, what it costs, and how it moves the deadline.
Send it before you start the extra work. A change order sent after the work is done is just an invoice the client never agreed to.
The template
Replace everything in [brackets]. Delete any line you do not need.
CHANGE ORDER [number] Project: [project name] Client: [client name or company] Prepared by: [your name] Date: [date] 1. WHAT CHANGED [One or two plain sentences. Example: "You asked for a careers page with team bios. The original agreement covers five pages and does not include it."] 2. ORIGINAL SCOPE, FOR REFERENCE [The shortest honest summary of what was agreed. Example: "Five-page marketing site: home, about, product, pricing, contact. Two revision rounds included."] 3. ADDED WORK - [Deliverable 1, specific enough to check off when done] - [Deliverable 2] 4. PRICE Additional cost: [$X fixed] or [X hours at $Y/hr] Billing: [added to the final invoice / invoiced separately / 50% before work starts] 5. TIMELINE Current delivery date: [date] New delivery date: [date] ([+X business days]) 6. APPROVAL Approving this change order adds the work above to the project at the listed price and timeline. Everything not listed here stays under the original agreement. Approved by: ____________________ Date: ____________________
Filled-in example
What a finished change order looks like with real numbers.
CHANGE ORDER #2 Project: Brightline Coffee website Client: Brightline Coffee Co. Prepared by: Alex Petrov Date: June 12, 2026 1. WHAT CHANGED You asked for a careers page with team bios and an application form. The original agreement covers five pages and does not include it. 2. ORIGINAL SCOPE, FOR REFERENCE Five-page marketing site: home, about, product, pricing, contact. Two revision rounds included. 3. ADDED WORK - Careers page: layout, team bio section, application form - Form submissions delivered to the hiring inbox 4. PRICE Additional cost: 9 hours at $135/hr, $1,215 total Billing: invoiced separately, due on delivery of the page 5. TIMELINE Current delivery date: August 14, 2026 New delivery date: August 21, 2026 (+5 business days) 6. APPROVAL Approving this change order adds the work above to the project at the listed price and timeline. Everything not listed here stays under the original agreement. Approved by: ____________________ Date: ____________________
How to use it well
Do not bury it in a long thread. One message, one decision. A reply that simply says approved is a valid written record.
Extra work that only costs money still costs days. If the deadline does not move, say so explicitly: timeline unchanged.
The client should recognize their own request in it. Quote their words if that helps. Save the formal tone for the approval section.
The whole point is the order of events: approval first, work second. That holds even when the client is friendly and the change sounds fun.
Common mistakes
Lines like misc fixes or small tweaks restart the argument later. List deliverables you could check off when they ship.
If you start before the approval arrives, you have already donated your leverage. Park the task until the yes lands.
A change order is not a penalty, it is bookkeeping for a healthy project. Write it the way you would confirm a meeting time: neutral and brief.
Section 2 is what makes section 3 feel fair. Without the original scope next to it, the added price looks arbitrary.