{"id":4342,"date":"2016-04-04T11:47:27","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T16:47:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/smallbusiness\/business-contracts-forms\/do-all-construction-contracts-have-to-be-in-writing.html"},"modified":"2024-05-24T02:25:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T07:25:25","slug":"do-all-construction-contracts-have-to-be-in-writing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/smallbusiness\/business-contracts-forms\/do-all-construction-contracts-have-to-be-in-writing.html","title":{"rendered":"Do All Construction Contracts Have to Be in Writing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Do All Construction Contracts Have to Be in Writing?<\/h1>\n
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\n By Lisa Burden, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Aviana Cooper, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
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Construction contracts do not have to be in writing. However, all states in the U.S. have a business law, generally known as a statute of frauds<\/a>, that requires certain types of contracts to be in writing to be a legally enforceable<\/a> agreement.<\/p>\r\n

The statute comes from the common law. As the name suggests, it prevents fraudulent claims, especially in the case of large contracts involving significant subject matter. If agreements listed in the statute of frauds are not in writing, they are not enforceable contracts.<\/p>\r\n

Contract law sometimes treats construction contracts as falling within the terms of a state’s statute of frauds. If that’s the case, then such contracts must satisfy the writing requirement.<\/p>\r\n

The Statute of Frauds<\/h2>\r\n

Oral contracts can be valid contracts under certain circumstances. However, the statute of frauds requires specific contracts to be in writing to be enforceable. The types of contracts<\/a> that must be in writing are:<\/p>\r\n