Change orders · NOC Signatures
Document a price, scope, or schedule change to an existing construction contract and email it to your customer for a legally binding electronic signature. Every signed change order is protected by SHA-256 hashes, signer IP and user-agent capture, and an append-only audit trail — the same evidentiary backbone NOC Signatures uses for Notices of Commencement and lien waivers. Free for all signed-in users while in beta.
Verbal change orders are the most common cause of construction payment disputes. Once the job is finished, a customer who remembers the conversation differently has every incentive to treat the extra work as included in the original price, and there is nothing to point at. Worse, mechanic's lien statutes in many states will not secure extras that were never documented in writing — so the work is both disputed and unsecured.
A signed change order fixes the scope, the price, and the new contract total at the moment both parties agree, while the reason for the change is still fresh. Issue them individually and number them in sequence, and the contract file explains itself at closeout.
Electronic signatures are enforceable under the federal E-SIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq.) and, in Florida, the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (Fla. Stat. § 668.50). Both give an electronic signature the same legal effect as a handwritten one, provided the signer intended to sign and the record is retained in a form that can be accurately reproduced. Every signed change order carries the signer's drawn signature, printed name, title, timestamp, and IP address for non-repudiation, plus SHA-256 hashes of the original and signed PDFs for tamper-evidence.
A change order is a written modification to a construction contract that documents a change in scope, price, or schedule after the contract has been signed. Common triggers include hidden conditions discovered after demolition, an owner-requested upgrade, a code or permit change, or a material substitution. Once both parties sign it, the change order becomes part of the original contract.
Verbal change orders are the #1 cause of construction payment disputes. Without a signed change order, you have no enforceable record that the customer approved the extra work or the new price — and many state mechanic's lien statutes will not cover extras that weren't documented in writing. A signed change order protects your right to be paid for the work you actually did.
Yes. Every change order signed through NOC Signatures is protected by the federal E-SIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq.) and state Uniform Electronic Transactions Acts. We capture the signer's IP address and user-agent at submission, generate SHA-256 hashes of the original and signed PDFs, and maintain an append-only audit trail — the same evidentiary backbone we use for Notices of Commencement and lien waivers.
We add the change amount to the original contract amount and display the new total on the PDF. For credits or deducts, enter a negative change amount (e.g., -500) and we'll subtract automatically.
Yes — change orders are issued individually. You can issue as many as the project requires (CO #001, #002, #003, etc.). Each one is a standalone signed document with its own audit trail.
You get an email notification with the signer's name, title, and timestamp. The signed PDF is generated on the fly and includes the customer's drawn signature plus a footer with the signer IP for non-repudiation. You can download it from the change order detail page at any time.
This page is general information about construction change orders and electronic signatures — not legal advice. Consult a licensed construction attorney about your contract or your state's requirements.