Unpaid change orders in Texas: records, payment and lien deadlines

What makes an unpaid change order different from a late invoice?

A crew reroutes conduit after a revised drawing arrives. The field superintendent says the price will be sorted out later. Weeks pass, the base-contract pay application is processed, and the extra labor remains in a pending change-order log. That is a familiar construction problem, but the log alone does not explain who owes what.

Start with the signed subcontract, incorporated documents and original scope. Compare the requested change against what was already included. A drawing revision can create additional work, clarify an existing requirement or correct defective work. Those situations need different analysis. Calling every revision an extra can weaken an otherwise well-supported request.

This guide focuses on Texas private construction payment administration. Public work uses different contract procedures and payment rules; the Texas public works payment bond guide explains that separate route. Residential and homestead projects also require a project-specific review.

Separate authorization, valuation and timing in the project file. An approved scope change may still have an unresolved price. A priced proposal may never have been authorized. Work performed under a disputed direction may need prompt contract review even before the next billing cycle.

Build an authorization trail before arguing about the balance

Read the change provisions before drafting a demand. Identify who can direct changes, whether written notice is required, where notices must be sent, how quickly a price request must be submitted and whether time impacts need a separate reservation. These are contract questions; no universal email subject line satisfies every subcontract.

Preserve the original instruction, revised drawing number, date received and the name and role of the person giving the direction. If an instruction was verbal, make a contemporaneous written summary identifying what was requested and ask for confirmation. A follow-up message helps document the exchange but does not automatically establish authority or acceptance.

Keep the unanswered messages too. An email chain that shows a requested change, a price objection and a later instruction to proceed is more informative than a screenshot containing only the words proceed now. Preserve attachments and surrounding messages so a reviewer can understand the sequence.

Do not overwrite an earlier proposal when the quantity changes. Give each version a date and revision number. Connect the final requested amount to the work actually performed rather than leaving a reviewer to guess which estimate is current.

Before the next billing cycle, use the subcontractor invoice packet checklist to separate approved changes from pending proposals and preserve submission evidence.

• Original subcontract scope and incorporated drawing set.
• Direction, revision or request for information that triggered the change.
• Authorized contact and required contract notice recipient.
• Dated proposal versions, acknowledgments and any signed change order.
• Labor records, material support and daily reports for the changed work.

Texas's 10% rule for owner-directed unsigned additional work

Property Code Section 28.0091 addresses certain owner-directed additional work without a fully executed written change order. Its threshold is aggregate actual or anticipated unsigned additional work exceeding 10% of the contractor's or subcontractor's original contract amount. It permits an election not to proceed with that additional work when the statutory conditions are met.

An arithmetic example helps prepare a review: for a $100,000 original contract, $6,000 of earlier unsigned owner-directed extras plus $5,000 of proposed unsigned owner-directed extras totals $11,000. That exceeds $10,000. Exactly $10,000 does not exceed the threshold. These numbers illustrate the calculation, not a conclusion that a particular instruction qualifies.

Verify who directed the work, which items remain unsigned and the actual original contract amount. An instruction from a general contractor is not automatically proof of owner direction. Do not substitute the revised contract total or total unpaid invoices for the statutory inputs.

This provision concerns an election about additional work. It should not be treated as blanket permission to abandon the base scope, skip contract communications or declare an unsigned price enforceable. Have counsel review the project facts before a refusal or suspension decision.

Make the requested change-order amount reproducible

Give the change its own job-cost code or clearly labeled worksheet. List crew hours by date and classification, materials by quantity and invoice, equipment by usage period and any agreed markup separately. If the contract uses unit rates or time-and-material tickets, show how those terms produce the amount requested.

Link daily tickets to the changed area or drawing reference. A signature acknowledging that a crew was on site may not approve the price or establish that every hour was extra. Describe what the signature actually confirms instead of expanding it in a collection letter.

Exclude base-scope items already billed. Account for returned materials, credits, agreed adjustments and previous payments. If disruption or delay is part of the request, keep the schedule evidence and the contractual basis distinct from direct installation costs.

The aim is a worksheet another person can recalculate. A rounded total called extra work is difficult to evaluate. A dated record showing the specific activity, quantity, rate and credit makes a focused payment conversation possible.

Keep the billing clock and lien notice clock separate

Place actual performance dates next to invoice dates, proposal dates and approval dates. They describe different events. A change-order meeting in October does not by itself establish that work performed in September belongs in an October work-month record.

Review Texas monthly lien notice deadlines while the price is still being discussed. Do not assume that an approval backlog, promise of a future signature or invoice reissue extends a statutory deadline. Project type, contractual tier and applicable contract-date rules still matter.

Chapter 53 ties potential lien rights to qualifying work and other requirements. An unsigned proposal is not automatically lienable, and a filed affidavit does not resolve a disputed scope or price. Have the supported claim amount and required notices reviewed before relying on a lien remedy.

Payment timing requires its own trigger analysis. The Texas Prompt Payment Act guide distinguishes an owner's qualifying payment request from a contractor's receipt of attributable upstream funds. Do not apply a generic 35-day countdown to every subcontractor change-order email.

Worked example: separate approved work from a pending extra

Fictional example: Cedar Electrical is a first-tier subcontractor on a Texas private commercial project under an original contract dated January 5, 2026. At the October 8 review, its September work includes $24,000 of acknowledged base billing, signed CO-07 for $3,600 and unsigned PCO-08 for $7,200. Assume no tax, retainage, credits, other invoices or actual receipts at this cutoff. Approval and amount status are recorded separately; this is an administrative reconciliation, not a finding of legal entitlement.

CO-07 links the September 4 instruction, the contract-authorized signer's September 6 execution, drawing R-07 and September 8–10 work tickets. Its $3,600 calculation is 30 labor hours × $60 = $1,800, plus $1,200 materials and $600 agreed equipment/markup. The signed document covers both scope and price in this hypothetical; a signature on an attendance ticket would not establish the same facts.

PCO-08 links a September 12 field direction from the superintendent, drawing R-08 and September 14–16 tickets. Proposal v1 requests $7,200: 60 hours × $60 = $3,600, plus $2,400 materials and $1,200 proposed equipment/markup. The superintendent's authority, compliance with contract notices and acceptance of the proposed price remain unresolved. Preserve the full message chain and original tickets; do not mark the proposal approved merely because work occurred.

The contractor's October 7 message proposes a $2,000 correction-work deduction against PCO-08. Keep the $7,200 request and the disputed $2,000 deduction separately visible. The payer's proposed extra-work figure is $5,200; that is not an agreed credit or a payment. Do not add the $2,000 as another debt or silently replace the request. Use the back-charge record checklist to request the deduction's scope and evidence.

The review therefore shows $27,600 of acknowledged base/signed-change billing and a separate $7,200 pending request, or $34,800 requested in total. The payer's stated position, assuming it accepts the other items, is $32,800. The $2,000 difference explains the disagreement; none of these figures alone establishes a valid lien amount or the amount legally due. Keep actual September work dates through any October proposal revision and continue work-month and notice review.

After a partial payment, preserve the same change identifiers

On October 15, assume actual receipt R-1015 is $10,000 and its remittance specifically allocates $8,000 to B-09 and $2,000 to CO-07. Preserve the receipt and allocation source together. Base open becomes $16,000; CO-07 open becomes $1,600; pending PCO-08 stays $7,200. The requested open total is $24,800 = $34,800 − $10,000, with $17,600 acknowledged open and $7,200 pending. Cash is $10,000 once, not $10,000 on every row.

A promised payment or an approval email is not this receipt. If a real receipt has no supported allocation, record the receipt and unresolved allocation instead of inventing the split above. The remittance allocation guide explains that separate control.

A later negotiated price needs a new dated decision and adjustment record referencing PCO-08-v1. Preserve the original request, disputed deduction and revised position; do not backdate approval, erase the earlier evidence or create a second receipt. Route authorization or approaching statutory-deadline questions for qualified review.

Send a focused follow-up and keep a decision log

A useful follow-up identifies the project, change reference, instruction date, performance dates, amount requested and attached backup. Ask which specific scope item, quantity, rate or authorization remains disputed. Ask for the undisputed portion to be addressed without representing a negotiated amount as a legal admission.

Assign one person to maintain the log. Record each response, revised proposal and promised review date. Keep a separate deadline review task so that a weekly commercial negotiation does not become the only reminder on the project.

When the parties resolve the amount, preserve the agreement and payment allocation. Before signing a broad release, compare its covered work and period with the payment actually received. Review Texas conditional and unconditional lien waivers rather than assuming a check receipt and final release mean the same thing.

For an eligible Texas private commercial first-tier subcontractor project, see how project and invoice tracking works before choosing the next step. Keep change authorization, disputed pricing and underlying evidence in your project file for qualified review; the app does not decide entitlement or make an unsigned change approved.

Use one change record from direction through payment

Create a change identifier when extra work is directed. Connect it to the person giving direction, contract-notice reference, scope, estimated cost, actual supporting records, approval status, billing reference and payment. Keep approval status separate from the fact that work occurred.

At weekly review, ask which next decision would move the item forward: scope confirmation, price approval, missing backup or payment allocation. Attach the relevant daily work report rather than sending a generic request to approve everything.

• One stable change ID, original scope comparison and drawing/revision reference.
• Instruction date, giver's role, authority evidence and contract-notice recipient/submission proof.
• Actual work dates and dated labor/material/equipment calculation sources.
• Separate scope approval, price approval, proposal revision and disputed deduction fields.
• Invoice reference, actual receipt reference and supported allocation; preserve prior versions.
• Next owner/action and unresolved notice-review questions; do not label an internal target a statutory extension.

Frequently asked questions about Texas unpaid change orders

Can I collect an unsigned change order? The absence of a signature does not answer every contract question. Authorization, notice provisions, actual performance and the available evidence need review. Do not assume either that all verbal directions are enforceable or that every unsigned extra is worthless.

Does the 10% rule mean the contractor must pay immediately? No. Section 28.0091 addresses an election not to proceed with qualifying additional work. It is not a universal approval rule or an automatic payment deadline.

Should I wait for approval before reviewing notice deadlines? No. Preserve actual work dates and review the applicable notice track while the dispute is pending. Waiting for a signature can leave the underlying timing problem unresolved.

What should I do first when a change is rejected? Request the specific reason, preserve the original instruction and contract provisions, and reconcile the price with contemporaneous records. Escalate an approaching deadline or a decision about stopping work for qualified review.