Can a superintendent approve a change order?

Sometimes, but not automatically. A superintendent directs the work in the field, which is not the same as holding authority to commit the contract to additional cost. Some contracts extend limited authority to site staff, many do not. The change order clause in your subcontract is what settles it, not the org chart.

Is a verbal go-ahead from the project manager enough?

Treat it as a reason to send written confirmation the same day, not as authorisation. Almost all construction contracts require changes to be in writing, and a verbal instruction leaves you carrying the burden of proving what was said, to whom, and when — often after the person who said it has moved to another project.

What is a field work authorisation?

It is a document some contracts use to authorise work to begin before a full change order is negotiated, typically for smaller or urgent items. Names vary by project. What matters is whether your contract recognises the instrument and who is permitted to issue one, because an authorisation signed by the wrong person is not binding.

Do I need the owner's signature or just the general contractor's?

That depends on the contract chain. As a subcontractor your agreement is normally with the general contractor, but the GC's own prime contract may require owner approval before the change can be passed through. Ask which approvals the change actually needs before you assume the GC's signature closes it.

I already did the work on a verbal instruction. What now?

Document immediately rather than waiting. Write down who gave the instruction and when, gather the daily records and photographs covering the period, and send written confirmation of what was directed and performed. The claim becomes harder without a prior authorisation, but contemporaneous records made now are considerably stronger than a reconstruction attempted at invoicing.

Who Can Actually Approve a Change Order?

Authority to modify a construction contract comes from the contract, not from a job title or from who happens to be standing in front of you. Project managers, superintendents, architects, engineers, inspectors and owner representatives all give instructions daily. Only some of them can bind the contract, and the difference usually surfaces at invoicing.

Requesting is not authorising

On any active project you will hear some version of these:

"Go ahead and do it this way."
"We'll sort the paperwork out later."
"The PM already knows about it."
"We'll resolve this at the next meeting."

Each may reflect a genuine project need. None is necessarily a contractual authorisation to change scope. In many contracts the power to approve a change order is limited to named individuals or depends on the issue of a specific document. Performing extra work on the strength of an informal conversation is what creates the difficulty later, when payment is requested.

Who typically holds it

Depending on the project, authority may sit with the owner, the general contractor, the architect, or formally designated representatives. Some contracts require a specific instrument before work begins — a signed change order, a construction change directive, a field work authorisation, or an internal form. Others allow provisional authorisation followed by later formalisation.

Whichever model applies, the reference is the contract and the project procedures, not the urgency of the moment.

Confirm important instructions in writing, the same day

When a request arrives verbally, the practical response is to record it immediately — by email, letter, the project management platform, or whatever medium the contract accepts. The point is not bureaucracy. It is preserving a clear record of:

who requested the change
when the request was made
what work was requested
which impacts were already known at that moment

The earlier this is captured, the less room there is for divergent recollections later. A short confirmation email sent the same afternoon costs nothing and settles a question that can otherwise take months.

Authority exists inside your company too

External approval is only half of it. Subcontractors that manage change orders well define internally who is responsible for each step. Some concentrate it in the project manager; others split it between field, engineering, contracts and finance. Either works, as long as everyone knows who:

evaluates whether a situation is a change
issues notices
prepares proposals
reviews pricing
tracks approvals
controls billing

When those responsibilities are undefined, important tasks either get skipped or get done twice.

Never assume

One of the most common sources of contractual conflict is the assumption that a particular person had authority to approve additional work. When in doubt, check the contract or confirm formally before proceeding. The check takes minutes; the dispute it prevents can run for months.

If you have identified a change but not yet secured authorisation, the next step is usually the change order notice — and the mechanics of the change order itself are covered in what a change order is and what it must contain.

ScopeConductor numbers your change orders automatically, attaches field photos as evidence, sends them for signature and follows up until you get an answer.

See how it works