Business9 min read
Roofing Contract Template: 12 Clauses Your Attorney Should Review
A roofing contract template in 12 clauses: scope, hidden decking, payments, change orders, permits, warranties, lien notices, and the right to cancel.
In this article
A roofing contract is the signed agreement that says what you’ll do on a homeowner’s roof, what they’ll pay, and what happens when something changes. Your estimate sold the job. The contract decides how the job ends: with a final payment and a good review, or with an argument over a rotted deck nobody priced.
Most free templates are written for any contractor in any state, and that’s the problem. Rules on deposits, cancellation, and lien notices change at the state line. So treat this as a checklist for your attorney, not a form to print tonight. It’s general information, not legal advice.
The short answer
A solid roofing contract names both parties and your license number, attaches the estimate, spells out scope and exclusions, prices hidden decking up front, and lays out every payment. It also covers change orders, the schedule, permits, insurance and cleanup, warranties, lien notices, and the right to cancel. Your attorney fits each clause to your state.
Estimate or contract: which paper is this?
Your roofing estimate answers “what will this cost?” The contract answers “what are we each agreeing to?” Some roofers have the homeowner sign the estimate and treat it as the contract. Others send a separate agreement that points back to the estimate. Ask your attorney which fits your state.
Expect the homeowner to read it closely, because the Federal Trade Commission tells them what to look for. Its list includes “the contractor’s name, address, phone number, and license number,” “an estimated start and completion date,” any promises made in conversation about the scope of work, and a written statement of the right to cancel (FTC: how to avoid a home improvement scam (opens in a new tab)).
The roofing contract template at a glance
| Clause | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Parties and license | Your legal business name, address, phone, and license number. The customer’s name and the job address |
| Contract documents | The signed estimate, photos, and product specs, listed and attached |
| Scope and exclusions | The work in crew order, plus a short “not included” list |
| Hidden conditions | Decking sheets included, the price per extra sheet, and how you’ll tell the homeowner |
| Price and payments | Contract price, each payment, what triggers it, and accepted methods |
| Change orders | Written and signed before any change in work or price |
| Schedule | Estimated start and completion, and what can move them |
| Permits | Who pulls them and who books inspections |
| Insurance and site care | Proof of coverage, protecting the yard and driveway, cleanup |
| Warranties | Manufacturer coverage and your workmanship warranty, kept separate |
| Lien notices | Any notice your state requires, in its required wording |
| Right to cancel | Your state’s cancellation notice and forms |
The 12 clauses, one at a time
1. Parties and license
Use your legal business name exactly as it appears on your license and insurance, plus your address, phone, and license number. California’s contractor board says a contract “should identify the contractor, their business address, and contractor license number” (CSLB on home improvement contracts (opens in a new tab)). Then add the homeowner’s name and the job address. If the person signing isn’t the owner (a tenant, a grown child handling a parent’s house, a property manager), ask your attorney how to confirm they can sign.
2. Contract documents
List every document that’s part of the deal: the signed estimate, the photo set, the material specs, and any change orders signed later. A line like “Includes Estimate [number] dated [date], attached” keeps the scope in one place instead of retyped in two. Anything your rep promised at the kitchen table belongs here too. Ask your attorney whether to add language saying these documents are the whole agreement.
3. Scope and exclusions
Pull the scope from the estimate in the order the crew will work: tear-off or overlay, layers removed, underlayment, flashing, ventilation, haul-away. Then add a short “not included” list. Gutters, skylights, interior drywall, and anything mounted on the roof are the usual ones. New York requires a specific description of the work and materials, down to brands and model numbers (New York AG home improvement fact sheet (opens in a new tab)).
4. Hidden conditions
Nobody sees the deck until the shingles come off, so write the plan before that day. Say how many sheets of decking are included, what each extra sheet costs, and that you’ll photograph the damage and tell the homeowner before replacing more than the included amount.
This clause turns the worst phone call of the job into a line item they already agreed to.
5. Price and payment schedule
State the contract price, then every payment: the amount, what triggers it, and how you accept it. The FTC (opens in a new tab) tells homeowners not to pay the full amount up front and to hold the final payment until the work is done and they’re satisfied. So tie the last payment to the final walk-through and cleanup, not to the last shingle.
Check your state’s deposit rules
California’s board says “the down payment cannot be more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less,” and that payments can’t run ahead of the work done (CSLB (opens in a new tab)). In Florida, a contractor who takes more than 10 percent up front on residential work must apply for needed permits within 30 days and start within 90 days after permits are issued, unless there’s a valid reason or the owner agrees in writing (Fla. Stat. 489.126 (opens in a new tab)). New York (opens in a new tab) requires payments received before substantial completion to go into a trust account, or a bond in its place. Look up your own state before a deposit amount goes on a form.
6. Change orders
Any change to the work or the price gets a written change order, signed before the work happens. California requires a change order signed by both sides “prior to the change” (CSLB (opens in a new tab)). Keep the form in every truck.
7. Schedule and delays
Give an estimated start and completion date. California’s board (opens in a new tab) says the contract “must provide a date of completion,” and New York asks for approximate start and completion dates “including any contingencies which would change the completion date” (New York AG (opens in a new tab)). For a roofer, those contingencies are mostly weather, material delivery, and permit timing. Name them, and say how you’ll let the homeowner know when a date moves. If that’s by text, get their consent to texts first.
8. Permits and inspections
Say who pulls permits and who books inspections. The CSLB (opens in a new tab) puts it plainly: “The contract needs written direction as to who will get the necessary permits.” The FTC (opens in a new tab) lists a contractor asking the homeowner to get building permits as a warning sign of a scam, so your default should be that your company handles it wherever a permit is required.
9. Insurance, site care, and cleanup
Say that you carry the insurance your state requires and will provide certificates on request. (Our roofing insurance guide covers the usual policies.) Then cover the property: tarps over plants and shrubs, how you’ll protect the driveway, where the dumpster sits, and a magnet sweep for nails. California’s board (opens in a new tab) lists cleanup and debris removal among the things a contract should cover.
10. Warranties
Keep the manufacturer’s material warranty separate from your workmanship warranty, and say how long each lasts and what each excludes. The FTC’s guide says federal law doesn’t require any business to offer a written warranty. But if you do offer one on a consumer product, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act applies, and written warranties on products costing more than $10 must be labeled “full” or “limited” (FTC: businessperson’s guide to federal warranty law (opens in a new tab)). Have your attorney word this one.
11. Lien notices
Some states require a lien warning inside the contract, in set words. Florida requires a construction lien notice in any direct contract over $2,500 for homes of up to four units. It goes on the front page or a separate page signed and dated by the owner, in at least 12-point, capitalized, boldface type (Fla. Stat. 713.015 (opens in a new tab)). New York’s fact sheet (opens in a new tab) lists a lien law notice among the notices its contracts need. If you hand over lien releases at final payment, say when the homeowner gets them.
12. Right to cancel
The FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule gives buyers until midnight of the third business day to cancel certain sales made at home. The seller must tell the buyer about that right at the time of sale and give two copies of a cancellation form plus a dated contract or receipt. Sales needed to meet an emergency are exempt, and so is repair or maintenance the customer asked you to come out for, but anything sold beyond that request is covered (FTC Cooling-Off Rule (opens in a new tab)).
States add their own layer. New York (opens in a new tab) gives home improvement customers an unconditional right to cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing, and California’s board (opens in a new tab) says a contract must tell consumers about their right to cancel. Have your attorney write this section for your state.
Storm and insurance-claim jobs need extra care
Insurance-claim contracts
States regulate how contractors handle roof claims, and Florida is a clear example. Its law bars contractors from offering a rebate, gift, or deductible waiver in exchange for a roof inspection or for filing a claim. It also bars them from interpreting policy provisions or advising on coverage unless they hold a public adjuster license, and from offering a repair agreement on a claim without an itemized good faith estimate (Fla. Stat. 489.147 (opens in a new tab)). Other states set their own rules. Keep claim language out of your template until your attorney has reviewed it for your state.
Questions to bring to your attorney
Bring these to the meeting:
- Is our signed estimate the contract, or do we need both?
- Which notices does our state require, and in what wording and type size?
- How much can we collect up front, and when?
- What happens if the homeowner stops paying, or stops answering, halfway through?
- How are disputes handled, and where?
- Can we use electronic signatures, and how do we deliver copies?
- How should our workmanship warranty be worded and labeled?
Signing it the right way
Fill in every blank or strike it out. The FTC (opens in a new tab) tells homeowners to “make sure all blank spaces are filled in.” Walk through the payment schedule, the decking clause, and the cancellation notice out loud. Leave a signed copy the same day. Our roofing sales guide covers the steps that lead up to this moment.
Clean paperwork helps you close the leads you already have. If you need more of them, a website that shows real jobs and explains how you work is a strong place to start. Every plan includes one, built by our roofing website design team.
Questions roofers ask about contracts
What should a roofing contract include?
At minimum, your name, address, phone, and license number, the scope of work, the price and payment schedule, estimated start and completion dates, and a written notice of the right to cancel. Stronger contracts add a decking clause, change orders, permits, warranties, and any lien notice your state requires.
What does a roofing contract look like?
Often a few pages: the parties and job address up top, the attached estimate by reference, then short clauses in plain English and a signature block. Any notice your state requires appears in its required format, which in Florida’s lien notice means capitalized boldface type.
Can a homeowner cancel a roofing contract after 3 days?
The FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule window runs until midnight of the third business day for covered home sales, and some states add their own rights. After that window, whether a homeowner can cancel depends on the contract’s terms and state law. Ask your attorney before you promise or refuse anything.
How long is a roofing contract good for?
A contract usually runs until the work is finished and the final payment is made, while warranties last for their own stated terms. Some states set deadlines that apply after you take a deposit, as Florida does. Put a “valid until” date on the estimate so an unsigned price doesn’t sit open forever.
