Use this scope change request email when the added work is already clear and you need a decision. Replace every bracketed field, remove any option you cannot offer, and send it through the approval channel your project uses.
If you are still deciding whether the request changes the agreement, start with the scope check for extra work. This page starts at the next step: a complete message, a filled impact comparison, and the agreement you record after approval.
Copy the complete change request message
Keep the subject specific enough to find later. A change number is useful when several additions are being discussed at once; a small project can use the request date instead. The recipient should be able to approve the message without reconstructing the conversation from earlier chat threads.
Ready-to-send email template
Edit the message here, then copy it. It is not saved or sent by this page.
A filled comparison for an added deliverable
Suppose a small event project includes a two-page PDF handout, using approved text, due Friday 16 October. On Wednesday the requester asks for a separate phone-friendly web page. The following numbers are hypothetical and illustrate the calculation; they are not recommended market rates.
| Option | Deliverables | Additional effort and fee | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| A: keep agreement | Two-page PDF; one review round | 0 extra hours; no change to the existing fee | Friday 16 October |
| B: approve addition | Same PDF plus one web page; one review round for the page | Estimated 4 hours at an already agreed $60/hour = $240 additional | PDF Friday 16 October; web page Tuesday 20 October |
| Condition for B | Approved text and access to the existing publishing system | Estimate covers the defined page only | Approval and inputs by Thursday 15 October, noon UTC |
The four-hour estimate includes two hours for layout, one for implementation and one for checking and the stated review round. If that breakdown does not fit the actual job, change it before asking for approval. A precise-looking total should still be based on work you understand.
Send the filled decision request
Subject: Approval needed: event handout, added web page
Hi team, our current agreement is the two-page PDF handout due Friday 16 October, with one review round. You asked on Wednesday to add a phone-friendly web page using the same approved text.
Option A keeps the PDF and Friday deadline unchanged; we can estimate a later web page separately. Option B adds the page for an estimated four hours at our agreed $60 hourly rate, or $240 additional. The PDF still arrives Friday, and the web page arrives Tuesday 20 October, provided approved text, system access and approval arrive by noon UTC on Thursday 15 October.
Please confirm A or B by that time. Until then I will continue the agreed PDF. After approval I will update the brief with the selected deliverables, fee and dates.
This example keeps the original PDF deadline visible. If the addition would delay that work, say so directly and put the revised PDF date in both the comparison and the message. Do not leave two conflicting promises in different parts of the request.
Record the agreement after the reply
A short acceptance record might read: "Option B approved by the project owner on 15 October at 10:30 UTC. Add one web page, one review round and $240 estimated additional effort. PDF due 16 October; page due 20 October. Approved text and access received." This is an illustrative project record, not a legal agreement template.
Link the approval to the working brief and update the task list. If the reply only says "looks good" while leaving the option unclear, ask which option was approved. If required inputs arrive late, send a revised timing proposal before relying on a date whose condition was missed.
For a final check, compare the approved deliverables with the completed work and the recorded review allowance. Keep any later addition as a separate request so the acceptance record still explains what happened. Use a written summary of agreement when the decision spans several messages.
