What a Roofing Contract Should Include

A roofing contract should name the exact products, list the scope line by line, set a unit price for any rotten decking found after tear-off, and require a signed change order before extra work, because those are the points where the price moves once the old roof is off. Some states add their own terms: Colorado, for one, requires a written contract before any roofing work begins.

Read the draft with a pen. Mark every item below that is missing or vague, and ask for a revised copy in writing before you sign. A preprinted form is not a reason to accept gaps; a roofer can attach a page of added terms that both of you sign.

Who Is Bound: Parties and License Number

The first lines decide who you can hold to the promises. Check that the contract shows:

• the contractor’s full legal business name, street address and phone number;
• your name and the property address where the work will be done;
• the license number, in a state that licenses roofers;
• the name and title of the person signing for the company.

Illinois makes the license line mandatory. The state’s consumer brochure Find a Licensed Roofer says each state-licensed roofing contractor must put its license number and name on contracts, bids and permit applications, and Illinois roofing license numbers begin with 104-. In any state, the business name on the contract should match the name on the license record and on the insurance proof. A mismatch is something to resolve before signing, not after.

Scope and Products, Line by Line

The scope section should describe the job line by line, because each vague line is a place where the job can shrink or the price can grow. The Federal Trade Commission sets only a floor in How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam: “A written estimate should include a description of the work to be done, materials, completion date, and the price.” A roofing contract needs more detail than that.

Ask for each of these in writing:

• Tear-off: how many existing layers come off, or a clear statement that the job is an overlay.
• Measurements: the number of squares the price is based on.
• Shingles or panels: manufacturer, product line and color.
• Underlayment and ice barrier: product names and where each goes.
• Starter, hip and ridge pieces, and drip edge: product names.
• Flashing: which areas get new flashing and which, if any, are reused.
• Ventilation: vents to be removed, added or replaced.
• Permit: who applies, who pays the fee, and who schedules inspections.
• Debris: dumpster, haul-off, magnet sweep for nails, and protection for landscaping. Who handles old shingles and the dumpster covers what to expect.
• Dates and weather: planned start, expected completion, how weather delays are handled, how the roof will be covered if rain arrives while it is open, and who pays for interior damage if water gets in during the job.
• Warranties: the manufacturer warranty by name and who registers it, and the roofer’s workmanship warranty with its length and what it covers.

Deck Allowance and Change Orders

The full extent of soft, delaminated or rotted sheathing shows up only when the old roof is off, and at that point your house is open and your bargaining position is weak. The contract has to price that unknown before you sign.

A workable deck clause states three things: the unit price for each sheet of decking replaced (or each linear foot of plank board on an older plank deck), how many sheets, if any, are already included in the base price, and how replaced sheets are documented. The documentation should be photographs of each damaged area before it is covered, and a count you can check against the photos.

Deck charge = (sheets replaced minus sheets included in the base price) times the contract unit price.

Hypothetical example: The contract includes two sheets in the base price and sets a unit price for each additional sheet. After tear-off, the crew photographs and replaces nine sheets. The added charge is seven times the stated unit price. Without that unit price in writing, the same nine sheets would be priced after the fact, on an open roof, with no comparison bid.

An “all decking included” clause also works: the roofer carries the deck risk and prices it into the base, while a unit-price clause keeps the base lower and leaves your final total open. What the contract cannot do is leave the deck price to a phone call after tear-off. How deck replacement is priced and why it fails covers the materials side.

Change orders follow the same logic. The contract should say that any work beyond the written scope requires a change order signed by both of you before the work is done, stating the item, quantity, price and any change to the schedule. If a same-day decision is unavoidable, such as rot found mid-job, the clause can allow approval by text or email with photos, followed by a signed change order the same day.

An invented example of a change order that does its job, using the deck example above:

Change Order 1, dated the day of tear-off
Item: replace 7 sheets of roof decking beyond the 2 included in the base price
Location: rear slope, photos 14 to 20 attached
Price: 7 x the contract unit price per sheet
Schedule: completion date unchanged
Signed: owner and contractor, before the sheets are covered

Every line answers a question you would otherwise argue about later: what, where, how much, how long, and who agreed.

Payment, Cancellation and Dispute Clauses

These clauses decide what happens to your money and how you leave the deal if you need to.

• Payment schedule: each payment amount and the event that triggers it. How to stage roofing payments explains what each payment should be tied to.
• Lien releases: a promise that the roofer will deliver releases from itself and its suppliers and subcontractors with each payment. Which releases to collect explains why.
• Cancellation: any cancellation right that applies to your sale, restated in the contract, with the forms attached. When and how you can cancel covers the federal three-day rule and state rights.
• Disputes: if the form includes a mediation or arbitration clause, read what it requires and where a dispute would be heard before you sign. Whether such a clause is enforceable is a question of state law; if it matters to your decision, have an attorney licensed in your state read it first.

Conditions to Write In Before You Sign

Some jobs need a condition that a standard form does not carry. Add each one that applies to your job:

• Insurance claim: if you sign before the insurer’s written estimate arrives, the contract should say in plain words that the work and price depend on claim approval, and how you cancel if the claim is denied. When to sign during a claim explains the timing.
• HOA approval: no signed contract without an approval contingency, and each condition in the approval letter copied into the scope. How HOA roof approval works covers the review.
• Asbestos: if old layers nobody has tested will be torn off, or a repair will cut or break old material, make the contract conditional on the test result, and state who tests, who removes, and the price line and disposal site if the test is positive. When to test old roofing for asbestos has the checklist.
• Lead paint: in a house built before 1978, if the job removes painted fascia, soffit, trim or siding, or disturbs more than 20 square feet of exterior painted surface, list the painted components in scope, the firm’s RRP certification, the certified renovator’s name, and who does that portion if it is subcontracted. Lead-safe roof projects explains the thresholds.

Notices Some States Require

Colorado’s rule appears in section 6-22-103 of the 2026 Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 6, which reflects amendments effective August 12, 2026. The contract must include “a rescission clause allowing the property owner to rescind the contract and obtain a full refund of any deposit within seventy-two hours after entering the contract,” a written statement of the separate right to rescind after an insurance denial under section 6-22-104, and, “on the face of the contract, in bold-faced type,” a statement that the roofer “shall hold in trust any payment from the property owner until the roofing contractor has delivered roofing materials at the residential property site or has performed a majority of the roofing work.” The article does not cover roofing work paid $1,000 or less per contract. Check the Colorado General Assembly’s site for amendments after the 2026 session. The Texas Department of Insurance page Roofing and insurance: Know the law describes the deductible notice for claim-funded contracts of $1,000 or more.

In California, the CSLB’s progress payment bulletin reminds contractors that the down payment may not exceed $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, and cites section 7159(d)(8) and (9) for the contract notice. Florida’s section 489.147 requires every residential roof contract to advise the owner, in bold 14-point type, to contact the insurance company to verify coverage, requires a contract signed during a declared state of emergency to carry the statute’s cancellation language in bold 14-point type immediately before the owner’s signature, and lets the owner void the contract within 10 days after signing if the statute’s notice barring rebates and similar inducements is missing.

The table is not a full list for any state. Notices vary by state and by how the job is paid for, so ask your state contractor licensing agency which notices a home improvement or roofing contract must include.

Sign, Revise or Walk Away?

Sign when every item that moves money is in writing: named products, a deck unit price, a change-order rule, payment triggers tied to work, a lien release promise, and any of the conditions above that applies to your job. Revise when items are missing but the roofer agrees to add them on a signed page. Walk away when the roofer refuses to price decking or put change orders in writing, or when the name on the contract does not match the license and insurance records.

Send the marked-up copy back with a numbered list of the additions you need, and keep the signed final version with the rest of your vetting records.

This guide is general information for U.S. homeowners, not legal, insurance, tax, or engineering advice. Codes, laws, and policy terms vary by location and change over time; confirm details with your local building department, your insurer, or a licensed professional.

Sources

• Find a Licensed Roofer, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
• How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam, Federal Trade Commission
• Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, Title 6 (section 6-22-103), Colorado Revised Statutes
• Roofing and insurance: Know the law, Texas Department of Insurance
• CSLB Reminds Contractors of Progress Payment Restrictions (Industry Bulletin #22-14), California Contractors State License Board
• Chapter 489 Section 147, 2026 Florida Statutes, The Florida Senate