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Handyman contract template
A handyman contract has to pin down the work in writing and say what happens to anything outside it: each extra is a change order, priced and approved in writing before you start it. Then it settles hourly or fixed price, who buys the materials and at what markup, and what happens when an opened wall shows rot. “While you’re here, could you…” is how unpaid work starts, so put the change-order clause on every job, however small.
Fill in the job contract
Write the job as specifically as you would explain it to a helper, and fill in your rate, markup and guarantee period. Delete the permit clause when the job doesn’t need one, and leave the rest in, even on a two-hour job.
Handyman service agreement
Between ____________ (____________) and ____________, ____________.
- Services included: ____________
- Price: ____________
- Schedule: ____________
- Start date: ____________
- Payment terms: ____________
- The work and any changes. We will do the work listed in the services above, and nothing else is included. Anything more, or any change to that work, is a change order: we write down what it is and what it costs, and start only after you approve it in writing. A reply to our text or email counts.
- Fixed price or hourly. A fixed price covers the listed work however long it takes us, and changes only through a change order. Hourly work is billed at $____ an hour in ____-minute steps, with a $____ minimum per visit, and we check with you before going past ____ hours.
- Materials and receipts. We buy the materials unless we agree you will, and bill them at cost plus ____%, with receipts on request. Supply runs during the job are billed as labor. Our guarantee covers how we install materials you supply, not the materials themselves.
- Special-order deposit. For special-order or custom materials, we ask for a $____ deposit before we place the order, credited to your final bill. Special orders often can’t be returned, so if you cancel after we order, the deposit pays for them and they’re yours to keep.
- Hidden conditions. Our price covers what we could see before starting. If we open a wall, floor or ceiling and find rot, water damage, mold or unsafe wiring, we stop that part of the work, show you and price the repair. We carry on with it only after your written approval.
- Permits and inspections. If the work needs a permit, we tell you before starting, and ____ applies for it and pays the fee. Permitted work starts once the permit is issued and is finished when it passes inspection.
- Cleanup and debris. We clean the work area at the end of each day and haul away job debris and the old fixtures we remove. Leftover paint, tile and trim stay with you for touch-ups. Hauling anything else, or hazardous materials, is extra.
- Workmanship guarantee. We guarantee our workmanship for ____ months from the finish date. If something we installed or repaired fails in that time because of how we did it, we come back and fix it at no charge. The guarantee doesn’t cover wear, misuse or later work by others.
- Payment and late payment. Payment is due as set out above. Jobs longer than ____ days are billed every ____ days for the work done so far. A balance more than ____ days late carries a $____ late fee.
- Cancelling the job. Either of us can cancel before work starts by telling the other in writing. If you cancel after work has started, you pay for the work done and the materials bought up to that day.
____________: signature ____________ date ____________
____________: signature ____________ date ____________
What should a handyman change order say?
What the extra work is, what it costs, whether it moves the finish date, and the customer’s yes in writing before you start. On a small job one text covers it: “Rehang the closet door too: $70, about an hour. OK to go ahead?” and a reply that says yes. Keep it in the same thread as the quote, so the invoice can point to both.
Two things go wrong. A small extra done free to be nice becomes what the customer expects next time, and the time after. An extra done on a nod and billed at the end gets remembered as a favor, and the argument starts at the invoice. Price it out loud before you pick up the tool. If you want to do it free, put it on the invoice at $0, so it reads as a gift rather than part of the job.
Should a handyman contract be hourly or fixed price?
Write a fixed price for work you can size before you start, and add that it holds unless the work changes. Write hourly for jobs you only understand once you’re into them, like tracing a drip or a squeaky floor, with the rate, the billing step and a check-in point. At $70 an hour, inside HomeGuide’s $50–$80 band for self-employed handymen (checked October 2026), a six-hour check-in holds labor at $420 until you call.
How do you handle hidden damage in a handyman contract?
Price the likely surprise before you start. On a toilet swap, that’s a soft subfloor around the flange; on a vanity, a rotted cabinet floor or a corroded shut-off valve. Write the repair as an optional line with its own price, so if you find it, approval is one text and the job keeps moving. Anything nobody could have predicted still stops that part of the work until the customer approves a price.
Frequently asked questions
Does a handyman job need a written contract?
Put every job in writing; a one-page agreement is what you both point to when memories differ. For California jobs, add what the state asks for: its Contractors State License Board says home improvement projects over $500 in combined labor and materials need a written contract that includes specific information about the customer’s rights, and that changes to that contract must be in writing.
How long should a handyman guarantee their work?
Long enough to cover the first real use: a door that still closes after a humid summer, a faucet that stays dry through a winter. Pick a period you can afford to honor and write it in. Then say what it covers, which is your labor and how you did the work, not parts the customer bought, normal wear or someone else’s later repair.
How much deposit should a handyman take for special-order materials?
Enough to cover what you can’t send back: a custom-size vanity top, a door ordered to an odd size, special-order tile. Stock parts from the hardware store rarely need a deposit, since they go back on the shelf. Take it before you order, credit it on the final invoice, and check your state’s limit on home-improvement deposits before you set the amount.