Plumbing contract template
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Between
Customer name
Scope of work
Describe exactly what is included — and what is not.
Price and payment
Total: $0.00
Deposit (50%): $0.00 before work begins
Balance: $0.00 on completion
Terms
Payment
A deposit is due before work begins. The balance is due on completion. Invoices unpaid after 14 days may carry a late fee of 1.5% per month.
Changes to the work
Anything outside the scope above is a change order, priced and agreed in writing before that work starts. Verbal changes are not binding on either of us.
Access
The client agrees to provide access to the property, water and power where needed, on the agreed dates. If we cannot access the site on a scheduled day, a return visit may be charged.
Weather and delays
Work may be rescheduled for weather or conditions that make it unsafe or would affect quality. We will give as much notice as we can. Neither party is liable for delays outside their control.
Existing condition
We are not responsible for pre-existing damage or for defects revealed by the work. Where we find something unexpected, we will stop and tell you before continuing.
Insurance
The contractor carries liability insurance and will provide a certificate on request.
Cancellation
Either party may cancel in writing before work begins. Deposits cover materials already ordered and scheduling held for you, and may be non-refundable to that extent.
This is a starting point written for small home service work, not legal advice. Contract law varies by state, and some states require specific notices, licence numbers or cancellation language on residential contracts. Have a local attorney read it once before you use it for everything.
The reinstatement clause
This is the plumbing-specific clause that prevents the worst arguments.
To repipe a house or run a new line, you open walls, floors and ceilings. The customer sees a bathroom that worked and now has holes in it. Unless the contract says otherwise, they will reasonably expect you to put it back exactly as it was.
Write it down:
Access openings will be made where necessary. The contractor will make good to a rough finish (patched and ready for decoration). Excludes plastering to a finished standard, tiling, painting and floor covering reinstatement.
Who supplies the fixtures
Customer-supplied taps, toilets and vanities are normal and fine. The contract just needs to say what happens when one arrives damaged, wrong or late:
You do not warrant customer-supplied items. Delays caused by their late arrival are not your delays. A return visit to fit a replacement is chargeable at your standard rate.
That is three sentences and it removes an entire category of dispute.
Permits and inspections
State who pulls the permit, who pays the fee, and that work will be scheduled around inspection availability — which is outside your control and routinely adds days.
Payment stages
Deposit for material. Progress payment at rough-in or at inspection sign-off. Balance on completion. A repipe ties up serious material money, and a single payment at the end means you funded it.
Getting it signed the same day
QuoteIQ at $29.99/mo includes e-signatures from the Beginner plan. Jobber at $49/mo produces a more polished customer-facing document and lets them approve on a phone. Housecall Pro adds a flat-rate price book from $189/mo, which is what keeps several plumbers quoting the same job the same way.
Questions operators actually ask
When does a plumbing job need a written contract?
Anything beyond a service call: repipes, sewer lines, bathroom rough-ins, water heater installs with permits. Many states also require a written contract above a dollar threshold for residential work, plus your licence number on the document.
What should a plumbing contract include?
The scope by fixture or run, who supplies the fixtures, permits and inspections and who pays for them, the payment schedule, access requirements, a wall and floor reinstatement clause, and your warranty terms.
Who supplies the fixtures?
State it explicitly. Customer-supplied fixtures are common and entirely workable, but the contract should say you do not warrant them, that you are not responsible for delays if they arrive late or wrong, and that a second visit to fit a replacement is chargeable.
What about opening walls and floors?
Say plainly that access openings are made where necessary, that you will make good to a rough finish only, and that plastering, tiling and decorating are excluded. Customers routinely expect a repipe to leave the bathroom as it was found.
How should payments be staged?
Deposit for materials, a progress payment at rough-in or inspection sign-off, and the balance on completion. Never carry the material cost of a whole repipe to the end of the job.