Free Change Request Form Template

The client wants two extra website features. They're outside the original deal. Who pays, and does the deadline move? Our change request form template helps both sides settle those questions before work starts.

Describe the proposed work, assess the costs and timing, and record a decision both sides can rely on.

A change request form records a proposed change to an ongoing project or retainer, the impact on scope, price, and schedule, and the decision of the authorized parties. Either the client or provider can initiate it.

Start with the PDF's question: “Requested work within agreed scope?”

Not always. A change request template supports assessment and approval; it doesn't replace a separate amendment or change order required by the governing agreement. Depending on the contract and applicable law, an email exchange may sometimes evidence an agreed modification — but a request alone proves no such agreement. Enter any required supporting document under Amendment / change order / supporting documents reference. See Addendum vs. Amendment.

This form suits many private service, project, and retainer arrangements. If there's no existing deal, establish the work first using a Service Contract or Statement of Work.

Before completing the request for change form, open the signed agreement and find its change-control clause. Check who may approve changes, any spending limits, the required form, and deadlines or notice rules.

Locate the current SOW, deliverable list, and acceptance criteria. Enter an exact Current scope / baseline reference, such as “SOW § 3.2, signed June 1.” Without a written baseline, select Unclear and settle that baseline before quoting a new fee.

Find the latest approved total. If an $8,000 project already has an approved $400 addition, its current baseline is $8,400. Keep prior changes identifiable by Request number.

This request for change form template takes the proposal from identification to authorization in five steps.

Fill in Project / retainer, Request number, Agreement / order reference, and Request date. Enter the requester under Requested by and Role / contact. Use sequential IDs such as CR-001 and CR-002 to trace changes over time.

Identify the existing scope, check Yes, No, or Unclear, and complete Proposed change and Reason / expected benefit.

For example:

Both parties can evaluate that.

Start with Scope / deliverables / acceptance criteria impact. Say what the revised deliverable includes and how the client will accept it. Then complete the impact fields:

For a retainer, a move from $1,200 to $1,400 per month means +$200 each billing period, not a one-time fee. Specify the applicable period. Here, retainer includes recurring engagements and banks of hours or units, not only a lawyer's advance deposit.

A higher fee for unchanged duties can raise common-law consideration issues; fair modifications due to unanticipated circumstances may be treated differently (Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 89). For goods, UCC § 2-209(1) generally allows good-faith modifications without new consideration. Explain what changed rather than relying on a new number alone.

The reviewer completes Assessment by, signs, and dates the impact assessment.

Select Proposed, Approved, Declined, or Deferred. Explain the outcome in Conditions / decision reason. A short condition — “Approved if delivered with release 2” — may turn an initial “no” into an agreement with limits. For a deferral, record the date or event that triggers another review.

Complete Client approver name / title and Provider approver name / title, with the corresponding signature fields. Enter Implementation date if approved and any amendment or change-order reference. The form states that all other agreement terms remain unchanged. See the signing requirements below.

The project change request form provides three different signature fields:

For an approved change, both client and provider approvers should sign this form, and may also need to sign a separate amendment. In Client approver name / title, name an authorized decision-maker, not merely the requester. Check the original contract for named approvers and spending thresholds.

The client also faces risk: repeatedly accepting or paying for unapproved changes may support an argument that the parties waived their “changes in writing” procedure. That depends on applicable law and does not erase statutory writing requirements.

A Declined request means the original approved scope continues. A Deferred request stays on hold until its stated review date or event. A Proposed request is still awaiting a decision.

After approval, update the SOW, milestones, acceptance checklist, and billing records. Invoice under the new price for its agreed effective period. Keep the approved form alongside the underlying agreement and any amendment. Number each new request instead of editing a signed record. If only the contract term needs extending, consider a Contract Extension Agreement.

An emailed PDF invites version trouble: the client changes a price in one copy, the provider agrees to another, and nobody is sure what got signed. With Loio's PDF tools, edit the working document and redline a disputed figure or condition with markup or strikeouts. Review the proposed edit with the other party, then finalize one version for signature; redlines don't themselves mean the change was accepted.

Use Request eSignatures to collect all three signatures when needed: the assessor first, the provider approver next, and the client approver last. The client then signs the terms the provider has accepted. Track progress and send reminders. The timestamped audit trail shows when the last signature was added, helping you check whether approval was completed before the Implementation date; confirm any separately required amendment too.

The signed copy stays in your Loio account. For frequently changing projects, reuse the signature request as a template for new requests with the same recipients and signing order, updating the scope, figures, dates, and request number each time.