Title: Who approves extra work on a residential job? | Cercha

Description: Confirm who approves extra work before committing the crew. Record the request, check scope, and follow the agreed change process.

Canonical: https://cercha.pages.dev/guides/who-approves-extra-work/

# Who approves extra work: sub, super, or crew?

Crew responsibilities

Use the approval process in your company's agreement. Record the request and send it to the authorized decision maker before committing the crew to changed work.

You are on site when the super asks your crew to do something outside the assignment you received. Follow the change process in your company's agreement. Contact the person authorized to approve the work. Before committing labor or materials, record the request and ask what approval covers it.

The following is a recommended field process, not an interpretation of your contract. Ask the company's manager or attorney about uncertain authority, notice requirements, or disputed payment. Keep the crew's record factual while the companies decide scope and payment.

## Name who can approve changes before work starts

Ask your company who can approve scope changes for the sub and the hiring party. Record the required method, such as a named change document or written instruction. Get a backup contact in case the person who approves changes is unavailable.

Do not rely on a title as your approval record. Instead, ask which decisions the super can make on this job and which require another signer's approval. Have the company explain the process in terms the crew can follow.

The [NC board’s contract guidance](https://www.nclbgc.org/remodeling-home-improvement-contracts/) recommends recording changes in writing. Ask your company which written record its agreement requires.

Record the answers on a sheet like this:

| Item | Answer to obtain from your company |
| --- | --- |
| Sub's decision maker | Who commits the company to changed work? |
| Hiring party's decision maker | Who can approve the request under the agreement? |
| Notice route | Where must the company send notice? |
| Required record | What document or instruction releases the work? |
| Price and time | Who agrees the cost and schedule treatment? |
| Urgent conditions | Which separate procedure applies? |
| Crew release | Who tells the lead to proceed? |

[NARI's outside-designer guidance](https://nari.org/nari-blog-main/4-expert-tips-for-remodelers-working-designers/) calls for defined responsibilities and documented procedures. It concerns designers rather than subcontract approval law. Use that guidance to discuss who approves changes. Follow the process in your own agreement.

## Check whether the request changes your scope

Record what someone asks for without agreeing that it belongs in your scope. Use the current assignment and [trade scope of work](/guides/trade-scope-of-work/) to locate the relevant boundary. Ask your company to classify the request when the answer is uncertain.

Ask whether the request clarifies existing work, corrects a defect, or adds or revises work. Those labels alone do not decide payment. Do not decide that every return visit is extra or that every instruction is included.

For example, if someone asks you to move a device, send your company the current drawing and requested location. Explain whether the work is already installed and which adjoining work is affected. Let the authorized people decide the scope and how to handle it.

Use [inclusions and exclusions](/guides/inclusions-and-exclusions/) to prepare the original scope. A specific boundary gives the company something to compare with the request.

## Record the field facts

Capture the job, location, requester, date, and requested result. Identify the plan or scope reference you are working from. Describe the physical condition that affects the task.

Keep observations separate from assumptions. Write that a unit is missing from the delivered package if you checked the package. Do not write that the supplier lost it unless you have confirmed that explanation.

Recommended request information includes:

- The original task and its document reference.
- The requested changed result.
- Work completed before the request.
- Material or equipment affected.
- Work by another trade that might need review.
- The decision needed before the crew proceeds.
- The portion of the assigned work that can continue safely.

Take photographs only when permitted and safe. Label the location and stage. Keep the original records with the company's project file so a cropped image does not replace the full context.

## Route the request through your company

Tell your supervisor or business contact what you were asked to do. Ask for a decision on the affected task. Say which task or area must wait. Do not promise a revised completion time.

If the super is waiting, explain that your company needs to confirm the change. Keep the conversation about the work and the approval route. Avoid debating price or responsibility in front of the crew.

Use [jobsite communication](/guides/jobsite-communication/) to separate a request, confirmation of receipt, and approval to start. “Request received” does not mean “do the work.”

If the requester changes the proposal, send the revision back through the same route. Ask the person deciding to identify which version they reviewed. Do not combine pieces of several messages into your own final scope.

[AIA’s G701S change-order instructions](https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500010255802-instructions-g701s-2017-change-order) describe recording the changed subcontract scope, price, time, and both parties’ signatures. It is one document example; use the process in your agreement.

## Keep immediate safety action separate

Follow the site's safety and emergency procedures when a condition requires immediate attention. Report the condition through the designated route. Do not wait for a commercial discussion before taking the protective steps assigned to you.

OSHA's [multiemployer guidance](https://www.osha.gov/safety-management/communication) recommends communicating nonroutine hazards, emergency procedures, and decision-making contacts. Ask your employer and site contact how that arrangement works before a problem occurs.

After the immediate issue is controlled, give the company a factual record. Identify who instructed the action and what was performed. Let the authorized people decide what the agreement requires. Do not treat an emergency response as permission for an unrelated expansion of scope.

## Confirm approval before starting changed work

Ask your company which task is approved, which document records it, and what it includes. Confirm which drawing applies and whether any required technical review remains open. Repeat back what the crew will do.

In North Carolina, [G.S. 160D-1112](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_160D/GS_160D-1112.html) generally requires inspection-department approval for deviations from approved permit documents unless the change is clearly permissible under the code. Ask the permit holder to resolve that approval separately from commercial authorization.

Check these items before starting:

| Check | Crew's confirmation |
| --- | --- |
| Instruction | The company has released the specified work |
| Version | The approved request matches the current plan |
| Materials | The required package is identified |
| Technical questions | Responsible people have resolved the affected details |
| Timing | The company has provided a workable instruction |
| Record | The crew knows where to record the work |

Ask [the crew lead](/guides/crew-lead/) to brief affected workers. Name any work that still waits. Mark the old instruction so nobody confuses it with the revision.

## Leave evidence for billing and closeout

Record work performed against the approved reference. Keep labor, material, and progress records in the format your company requires. Note unresolved items and the person responsible for the next answer.

The [IRS recordkeeping guide](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/recordkeeping) identifies invoices, paid bills, receipts, and payroll records as business supporting documents. Connect the billing package to those underlying records.

Do not turn a field log into a guarantee of payment. Its purpose is to preserve what the crew did and why. The company uses the agreement and approval records to handle billing or a dispute.

Review unclear requests at the next job briefing. Add the missing authority or scope boundary to the crew's instructions. Fix the missing instruction before the same argument happens again.

## Handle an unavailable decision maker

Use the backup contact on the authority sheet. State what waits and what answer the crew needs. If neither contact responds, follow your company's standing instruction for unresolved changes. An urgent request is not approval.

Record who you tried to reach and what the crew did while waiting. Ask the company to improve the fallback after the issue is resolved. The fallback should tell the crew what to do with the task and who to keep informed. It should also explain how the lead receives the final instruction.

## Where Cercha fits

Cercha's direct messaging can help you reach a member and begin a conversation. Keep change approvals and crew release in your company's agreed project process. The profile and message thread support contact, while the agreement determines the approval steps to check.

Published 2026.10.14. Updated 2026.10.14.

[More guides: Support trades and crews](</guides/topics/support-trades-and-crews/>)

## Related guides

- [What a crew lead owns on a residential job](</guides/crew-lead/>)
- [Jobsite communication between supers, subs, and crews](</guides/jobsite-communication/>)
- [Change orders: get extra work in writing](</guides/change-order/>)
- [Writing a trade scope a sub can price](</guides/trade-scope-of-work/>)
- [Inclusions and exclusions in a trade bid](</guides/inclusions-and-exclusions/>)

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## Sources

<a id="source-1"></a>

1. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.). *Communication and Coordination for Host Employers, Contractors, and Staffing Agencies*. Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://www.osha.gov/safety-management/communication

<a id="source-2"></a>

2. National Association of the Remodeling Industry. (2024, December 9). 4 Expert Tips for Remodelers Working Designers. *NARI*. https://nari.org/nari-blog-main/4-expert-tips-for-remodelers-working-designers/

<a id="source-3"></a>

3. North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors. (n.d.). *Building, remodeling, improving your home*. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://www.nclbgc.org/remodeling-home-improvement-contracts/

<a id="source-4"></a>

4. AIA Contract Documents. (n.d.). *Instructions: G701S–2017, Change Order*. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://help.aiacontracts.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500010255802-instructions-g701s-2017-change-order

<a id="source-5"></a>

5. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-1112. https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_160D/GS_160D-1112.html

<a id="source-6"></a>

6. Internal Revenue Service. (n.d.). *Recordkeeping*. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/recordkeeping