Guides

Roofing Contract Template: Every Clause Explained

A clause-by-clause roofing contract outline you can adapt, with decking unit prices, insurance-claim wording for Texas and Colorado, warranty language, lien notices and cancellation rules.

Ijharul Islam October 21, 2026 10 min read

A roofing contract template, in short, needs: both parties and your license number, a scope naming the shingle line and underlayment, a per-sheet price for rotted decking, permits, a payment schedule, written change orders, insurance-claim terms, manufacturer and workmanship warranties, cleanup, lien notices, and the right to cancel, which is three business days for most sales made at the home.

More on this topic: Pricing, estimates and getting paid, every guide in one place.

Most roofing disputes start with something the contract didn't say: how much decking was included, who pays the deductible, or whether “lifetime warranty” covered the installer's mistakes. This guide explains each clause and the rules that set required wording. It's general information, not legal advice; roofing contract law varies by state, so have a local construction attorney review your final form.

Key takeaways

Name the materials: brand, shingle line, color and underlayment.
Price the unknowns: per-sheet decking and per-square extra layers.
Insurance jobs carry state wording. Texas requires a deductible notice on contracts of $1,000 or more paid from insurance; Colorado requires a 72-hour rescission clause and a trust statement.
Separate the two warranties: the manufacturer covers the product, and you cover the installation.
Sales made at the home of $25 or more usually carry the FTC's three-business-day right to cancel.
Change orders in writing, signed before the extra work starts.

What clauses should a roofing contract include?

A roofing contract should include the clauses below, in roughly this order. Most of them prevent a specific, common argument.

Clause	What to write	The argument it prevents
Parties and license	Your legal business name, address, phone, email, license number; the owner's name and the property address	Who agreed to what, and where
Scope of work	Layers to tear off, what gets installed, square count, ventilation, flashing, drip edge, gutters if included	“I thought that was included”
Materials	Manufacturer, product line, color, underlayment, ice and water barrier, ridge and starter products	Swapped or cheaper materials
Hidden damage	Unit price per sheet of decking and per extra layer; photos before replacing	Surprise bills after tear-off
Permits and inspections	Who pulls the permit and who pays the fee	Failed or missing inspections
Price and payment schedule	Total price, deposit, payments tied to milestones, accepted methods	Paying ahead of the work, or late payment
Change orders	Changes only by a signed written change order with price and schedule effect	Verbal extras nobody agreed on
Insurance claims	Who deals with the insurer, the deductible, what happens if the claim is denied	Deductible waivers and denied claims
Schedule and weather	Approximate start, duration, weather delays, how the roof is protected overnight	Delays and interior water damage
Warranties	The manufacturer's warranty (and registration) and your workmanship warranty, in years	“Lifetime” misunderstandings
Site, cleanup and property	Dumpster placement, landscaping protection, daily cleanup, magnet sweep for nails	Damaged plants and nails in tires
Lien and cancellation notices	Your state's lien notice and the right-to-cancel notice and form	Unenforceable contracts and lien surprises
Signatures and date	Both parties sign and date; the customer gets a copy	No proof of agreement

Roofing contract template (copy and adapt)

Replace the bracketed text, delete clauses that don't apply, and add your state's required notices. For the square count in clause 2, the free roofing calculator works it out from the footprint and pitch, with waste.

1. Parties. This agreement is between [Business name], license [number], [address, phone, email] (“Contractor”) and [Owner name] (“Owner”) for work at [property address].
2. Scope. Remove [one] layer of shingles to the deck on about [28] squares; install [synthetic underlayment], [ice and water barrier at eaves and valleys], drip edge, pipe boots, flashing, [ridge vent], starter, ridge cap and [Manufacturer, product line, color] shingles per the manufacturer's instructions.
3. Hidden damage. Damaged or rotted decking found after tear-off will be photographed and replaced at [$__] per 4×8 sheet installed. Each additional layer of roofing found beyond the [one] layer priced is [$__] per square. Contractor will tell Owner the count before closing the roof that day.
4. Permits. Contractor will obtain the required permit and schedule inspections. The permit fee is [included / billed at cost].
5. Price and payments. Contract price: [$__]. Payments: [deposit of $__ on signing]; [$__ when materials are delivered to the site]; [balance on completion and final inspection]. Hidden-damage charges are added to the final payment.
6. Change orders. Changes to the scope, materials or price take effect only by a written change order signed by both parties before the changed work begins, stating the work, the price change and any change to the schedule.
7. Insurance. If Owner is paying with insurance proceeds, Owner is responsible for the deductible. Contractor will not pay, waive or rebate any part of it. [State-required notices here.]
8. Schedule. Work is expected to start on or about [date] and take [2] working days, weather permitting. Contractor will not leave the roof deck exposed overnight.
9. Warranties. The shingles carry the manufacturer's [name of warranty], which Contractor will register within [30] days of completion. Contractor warrants its workmanship for [__] years from completion, as set out in the attached workmanship warranty.
10. Cleanup. Contractor will protect landscaping, remove debris and magnet-sweep the property on completion.
11. Notices. [Your state's mechanics lien notice.] [Right-to-cancel notice and Notice of Cancellation form, where the sale was made at the home.]
12. Signatures. Owner [signature, date] · Contractor [signature, date]. Owner received a signed copy on [date].

How should a roofing contract handle rotted decking?

Price it per sheet in the contract, because nobody can count bad decking until the old roof is off. For example, at a hypothetical $95 per sheet installed, 6 soft sheets add $570, documented with photos and added to the final payment. Without a unit price, those sheets become a negotiation on a half-open roof. Our guide to estimating a roofing job covers pricing the rest of the roof.

What should a roofing contract say about insurance claims?

It should say the homeowner pays the deductible, what happens if the claim is denied, and include any notice your state requires. Two states with roofing-specific rules:

Texas. A contract for goods or services reasonably expected to be paid wholly or partly from a property insurance claim, with a price of $1,000 or more, must carry the statutory deductible notice in at least 12-point bold type. Paying, waiving, absorbing or rebating the deductible without the insurer's consent is a Class B misdemeanor (Business and Commerce Code 27.02). The Insurance Code separately requires the insured to pay the deductible (707.002).
Colorado. Before any roofing work, the roofer must give the owner a written contract signed by both parties with set terms: scope and materials, approximate dates, approximate costs based on damage known at signing, contact details, the roofer's surety and liability insurer, a clause letting the owner rescind and get any deposit back within 72 hours of signing, and a statement that the roofer can't pay or rebate the deductible. A bold statement must say payments are held in trust until materials are delivered or most of the work is done (C.R.S. 6-22-103). If the insurer denies the claim in whole or part, the owner may rescind within 72 hours of the written denial, and the roofer returns payments within 10 days, less the value of work actually performed (6-22-104).

Other states have their own rules, so check your licensing board or insurance department.

How do manufacturer and workmanship warranties differ?

The manufacturer's warranty covers defects in the products; your workmanship warranty covers the installation. Write them as two separate lines. Some manufacturer system warranties add workmanship coverage when a certified contractor installs the roof. Owens Corning's Platinum Protection warranty (August 2026 edition), for example, applies only to roofs installed by a Platinum Preferred Contractor, covers application errors for the first 25 years of its workmanship period on a single-family detached home, and makes the installing contractor responsible for repairing application errors found in the first two years. See our workmanship warranty template for wording.

Does the 3-day right to cancel apply to roofing contracts?

Usually yes when you sell the roof at the customer's home. The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule covers consumer sales of $25 or more made at the buyer's residence ($130 or more at other temporary locations). The buyer can cancel until midnight of the third business day after the sale, and a business day under the rule is any day except Sunday and federal holidays, so Saturdays count. The rule requires you to:

Put the cancellation statement by the buyer's signature, in at least 10-point bold type.
Give two copies of a completed Notice of Cancellation with the cancel-by date filled in.
Use the language of the sales pitch; a pitch in Spanish needs a Spanish contract and notice.
Tell the buyer orally, and refund all payments within 10 business days of a valid cancellation.

Two exclusions matter to roofers. A repair the homeowner called you out to do is excluded, but extra goods or services sold during that visit aren't. And in a bona fide emergency the buyer started, they can waive the three days only with a separate, dated, signed statement in their own handwriting. States add their own rules on top: California ties cancellation rights to the signed home improvement contract, and Colorado gives the 72-hour rescission above.

What payment terms and lien notices belong in a roofing contract?

Tie each payment to a milestone the homeowner can see, such as signing, materials delivered and completion, and add the lien notice your state requires. California is the strictest common example: on home improvement contracts over $500, the down payment can't exceed $1,000 or 10% of the price, whichever is less; progress payments must be listed under the heading “Schedule of Progress Payments” in dollars against specific work; it's against the law to collect for work not yet done or materials not yet delivered; change orders must be written and signed before the work; and the contract must carry a “Mechanics Lien Warning” and promise lien releases as each payment is made. Our guides on contractor payment terms and how much deposit to ask for cover the numbers.

Which mistakes make roofing contracts fail?

“Replace roof” as the whole scope, with no product line or underlayment.
Offering to “take care of” the deductible, a crime in Texas and banned in Colorado.
One “lifetime warranty” line that blurs product and workmanship.
Verbal change orders that first appear on the final invoice.

Where CrewRobin fits

CrewRobin doesn't write contracts or state notices; keep those in your own reviewed form. It handles the selling around it: good, better, best quotes sent by text that the homeowner picks and signs online, follow-up texts on day 2, 5 and 10, and a deposit (any percent or a fixed amount, within your state's limit) paid by card through your own Stripe account and taken off the final invoice. You can mark up roof photos with arrows, circles and text for the job record. See how it works for roofers.

Frequently asked questions

What should be included in a roofing contract?

The parties and license number, a detailed scope, named materials, unit prices for hidden decking damage and extra layers, permits, the price and payment schedule, change-order rules, insurance and deductible terms, schedule, manufacturer and workmanship warranties, cleanup, your state's lien and cancellation notices, and signatures.

Can a homeowner cancel a roofing contract after signing?

Often, yes. Under the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule, a buyer can cancel a sale of $25 or more made at their home until midnight of the third business day. Some states add more: Colorado lets owners rescind within 72 hours of signing and within 72 hours of an insurance denial.

Can a roofer pay or waive the homeowner's insurance deductible?

Not in Texas or Colorado. Texas makes it a Class B misdemeanor to waive, absorb or rebate a deductible without the insurer's consent, and Colorado requires the contract to say the roofer can't. Many other states have similar rules.

How much deposit can a roofer ask for?

It depends on the state. California caps home improvement down payments at $1,000 or 10% of the price, whichever is less, and Colorado requires payments to be held in trust until materials are delivered or most of the work is done. Check your state.

Does a roofing contract need a decking price?

It should. Rotted decking can't be counted until tear-off, so a per-sheet price lets you replace it without a dispute.

Put it to work this week

Send roofing quotes the homeowner can approve, sign and pay a deposit on from their phone. CrewRobin is free until your first 10 booked jobs, no card up front. Start free or see pricing.

Sources

Figures from outside CrewRobin were checked against these pages in October 2026. Most industry benchmarks come from vendors and agencies, so treat them as ranges, not rules.

#roofing #templates #contracts #guides