Free Contractor Agreement Template (PDF, Word)

The agreement is the document that decides what happens when something goes wrong. Most contractors work off an accepted estimate and discover the gap only when there is a dispute. A short written agreement covering scope, price, schedule, changes and termination closes it.

What the agreement should cover

Both parties, with legal business names rather than trading names
The job address and a scope of work written in plain language
The price, and whether it is fixed, cost plus, or time and materials
The payment schedule: deposit, progress payments and what triggers each one
Start date and substantial completion date, with what counts as an excusable delay
How changes are priced and approved, in writing, before the work happens
Who pulls permits, who carries insurance, and what the warranty period is
How either side can terminate, and what gets paid if they do

A finished contractor agreement, filled in

A basement conversion, written up as an agreement rather than as an accepted estimate. This is page one of two, and page one is the half that is different on every job: who, where, when, what exactly is in the price and how the money is released. Page two is the clauses, and they are printed in full further down this page.

Page 1 of 2. An illustration. The company, the homeowner, the address and every figure are invented, and the price is a round number chosen to make the payment schedule easy to follow.

Two legal business names, not two trading namesThe header carries the company as it is registered, the address, the phone, and the license number, and the CONTRACTOR field repeats it. "Harlow Brothers" on its own is a sign on a truck. If the entity that signs is not the entity that is registered and insured, the contract is against a business that does not legally exist, and that is the first thing anyone looks for when it goes wrong.
The job address is its own fieldHere it happens to be where the client lives. On a rental, a flip, a second home or anything with a property manager it is not, and an agreement that names only the client's mailing address does not say which building you agreed to work on. It is also the address a mechanics lien would attach to, which is reason enough to write it out in full.
Two dates, start and substantial completionA single "completion date" invites the argument about whether you were late, because it never says when the clock started. Two dates make the duration visible, and the delay clause on page two moves both of them together when the reason is weather, a permit, a material shortage or the client.
Clause 1 is the scope, and it is seven lines with numbers in themThis is what a scope of work looks like when it is written to be enforced rather than to sound thorough. Approximately 900 square feet. Fourteen receptacles, nine recessed lights, two switch banks, one dedicated circuit. Two supply runs and one return. Drawings identified by their date. Every one of those numbers is a line someone can check against the finished job, and "finish the basement" is not a scope of work, it is a wish.
The exclusions paragraph, in the small print under the scopeWhat is not in the price, named. Radon mitigation, foundation crack repair, mold and asbestos, a sub panel, appliances, window coverings. The one that pays for itself is the last one, any repair to structure or plumbing found behind existing finishes, because nobody can see behind a wall while they are pricing the job, and without that line the contractor is the one who eats what is behind it.
Contract price and pricing basis, two fields not one$61,500 means nothing on its own. Fixed price means that is the number unless a change order moves it. Cost plus means it is an estimate of a number that will be whatever it turns out to be. Time and materials means it is neither. The figure and the basis have to sit next to each other or the client will read whichever one suits them later.
The payments are tied to events, not to datesDeposit at signing and before materials are ordered. Progress payment on rough in passed inspection. Progress payment on drywall, texture and paint. Balance on substantial completion. A schedule tied to calendar dates pays you for a week in which nothing happened and stops paying you in the week you worked through the weekend. A schedule tied to events is self proving: either the inspection passed or it did not.
The four payments add up to the price exactly9,225 plus 18,450 plus 18,450 plus 15,375 is 61,500, which is 15, 30, 30 and 25 percent. Check yours with a calculator before you send it. A payment schedule that does not reconcile to the contract price is the first thing anyone reading it adversarially will find, and it makes every other number on the page look careless.
A $2,000 holdback, named before there is anything to hold backIt comes out of the final payment, not on top of it, and it is released when the punch list is signed off. Written in at signing, it is a normal term. Raised for the first time at the end by a client who does not want to pay, it is a dispute. The purpose of the clause is to have had the conversation in October.
Page 1 of 2, and page two is the clausesChange orders, substantial completion, delay, permits and insurance and license, warranty, termination, disputes, and then the signature block for both parties. They are the same on nearly every job, which is why they are on the second page and why they are printed in full further down this page. Page one is the half you rewrite each time.

This is a template and a worked illustration, not legal advice. Residential contracting is regulated state by state and often adds requirements a generic form does not know about: a mandatory cancellation notice, a cap on the deposit you may take, a license number that has to appear on the contract itself. Get the structure right here, then have a construction attorney in your state read it once. That one review covers every job after it.

The change order clause is the one that pays for itself

Almost every construction dispute starts as an undocumented change. The clause needs to say three things: that changes must be in writing, that they are priced before the work is done, and that the completion date moves when the scope moves.

Without the third part you can end up doing extra work and still being liable for finishing on the original date.

Say what substantial completion means

"Finished" is not a defined term and a punch list item can hold a final payment hostage for months. Substantial completion normally means the work is usable for its intended purpose, with minor items outstanding.

Tie the final payment to substantial completion plus a short punch list window, not to the customer declaring themselves satisfied.

This is a template, not legal advice

Construction contracting is regulated at state level and residential work often carries extra requirements: mandatory notices, cancellation rights, deposit caps, license number disclosure. A generic template does not know your state.

Use this to get the structure right and to stop working on a handshake. For a job where real money is at stake, have a construction attorney in your state review it once. That single review then covers every job you do afterwards.

Questions people ask

Is a contractor agreement the same as an independent contractor agreement?

Not quite. In construction, a contractor agreement is between you and the client for a specific job. An independent contractor agreement usually describes a worker classification relationship. This template is the construction job version.

Does the client have a right to cancel?

In many states, residential customers have a statutory cancellation window on contracts signed in their home, commonly three business days. Where that applies the notice usually has to appear in the contract itself, so check your state requirement.

Can I use this for a subcontractor?

The structure works, but a subcontract normally also needs flow down terms from the prime contract, lien waiver requirements and insurance certificates. Add those before using it that way.

Do I need this if I already send estimates?

An accepted estimate is a contract, but a thin one. It usually says nothing about changes, delays, termination or warranty, which are exactly the things people argue about.

Free Contractor Agreement Template

Download the blank template