What this template is for
For each shop visit, each vehicle, you’ll fill out the form above once and download either a CSV or a PDF.
The form records which shop it is and which RO this is. It knows who the customer was and what vehicle they drove in. It knows what their complaint was, what caused it, and how you corrected it. It knows what the not-to-exceed amount is and whether or not you got there authorization. It has numbered lines of parts and labor, with money totals included as well. If you charge a hazardous-waste or shop-supply line, you add that. Finally, it includes signature lines for the technician, advisor and customer.
Ask for a written estimate from your mechanic, urges the FTC. It should include: a promise to call before exceeding a specified amount of time or money; the estimated cost of parts; the anticipated labor; and the condition being treated (Auto Repair Basics).
What it is not
- It is not a walkaround inspection, a CMV driver vehicle inspection report, or a state inspection sticker. Do not mark OK / Defect on this work order.
- It is not a California Bureau of Automotive Repair official estimate or invoice, and it is not any other state's mandated form. Estimate and authorization rules are state law. One published consumer example is NY DMV Know Your Rights in Auto Repair. Other states differ. Do not treat New York as federal law.
- It is not a bill of sale, title, odometer disclosure, or registration paper.
- It is not the owner's long-term service history. If you keep a Vehicle Maintenance Log, copy finished visits into that book. That log is a separate page.
How to fill each block
Upon completion, you’ll receive a copy of the completed repair order listing the odometer reading at the beginning and end of service, all repairs, parts, and labor. According to Auto Repair Basics, customers should get a completed repair order that lists each repair, parts, labor, and odometer in and at completion. Its shop-side counterpart is ASE C1, the Automobile Service Consultant.
Here’s what should be covered on the ASE C1 task list by the shop-side consultant: Customer & Vehicle Information Concern Documented Confirm Repair Order Obtain Authorization Explain Invoice Declined Work This page is not an official ASE test sheet.
In this section you enter the shop’s information (name, address, phone, advisor, RO number, date, time). Here you also record the customer type, payment source, documented status, and promised date and time. Only if your state requires it do you enter a shop license or registration number.
The ASE C1 calls for documenting both the customer type and payment source. That will separate out customer pay, insurance, warranty and service contract jobs.
Then you get the customer's information, such as their name, address, phone number, and email, and find out if they want to wait or if they will be leaving. How can we contact them when the car is in the shop? Almost always, there are more things that has to be followed up with a phone call. Then you call to make sure of the number before bringing the vehicle into the bay.
Make/Year/Model/Body/Color/VIN/Plate/Unit/Prod Date; Engine/Miles In/Miles Out/Keys/Personal-Property Notes
At dropoff and completion, FTC Auto Repair Basics asks for the odometer on the finished order. If the page serves as your own separate inspection estimate for a used-car buyer, FTC Buying a Used Car From a Dealer says to show the VIN, make, and model. You should also provide a cost estimate and a written report. Fill out the miles-out on invoice, not write-up.
The complaint is in the customer’s words. Note the where, when, conditions, and lamps. The verified diagnosis is the cause. Work performed shows how you fixed the problem; this is the correction. Additional findings are needs that have not yet been authorized. This is ASE C1. Leave cause and correction blanks until there is a real diagnosis and repair.
You note the method of authorization. (Telephone? Verbal? Was it written? Electronic? You note the amount not to exceed.
You note the pricing of labor. Is it flat rate? Actual time? Is it a mix?
You note the diagnostic fee.
If authorized verbally or over the phone, you also log the number called, name, time and date.
You check whether a copy of the work order or estimate was given. According to the FTC, obtain a signed copy of the written estimate. Additional-authorization notes are where later approvals go. Include the new parts, labor, and total.
The Authorization Checklist is not an Inspection Station. They’re consent rows marked with Yes, No or N/A. It includes diagnosis, listed parts and labor, calls prior to not-to-exceed amounts, returned parts, reauthorization if other findings arise, and a log of verbal authorizations.
Labor 1-6 has its own field group. It includes technician, amount, rate, hours, and description. There's no line-item grid on the form widget. Unused lines remain blank. For more than six ops, you begin another copy of the form using the same RO number.
You fill in parts 1 through 8. You must provide the description, part number, quantity, unit price, amount, and quality. The quality is new OEM, new aftermarket, remanufactured or rebuilt, used, or salvage. That's where those part classes originated: FTC. An example for showing used or not-original-quality parts is NY DMV's page. Other states vary.
Add up your parts subtotal and your labor subtotal. Add shop supplies. If you itemize hazardous-waste or used-oil disposal, add that. Add tax. Add total. Add deposit. Add balance. Add invoice date. Add warranty terms if the shop warrants the work. Don't invent tax rate or federal shop-supply percent.
EPA RCRA In Focus: Vehicle Maintenance documents that shops generate used oil and listed spent solvents.
What varies
Shops generate both spent solvents on the list and used oil, and there are specific rules for managing used oil meant for recycling. State consumer rules and shop policy determine what sort of a disposal fee to pass to customers and how it's disclosed.
You verify that keys were returned.
You verify that original concern was addressed.
You verify that invoice was explained to the customer.
You explain all warranties and declined items.
You verify that all was understood by checking each signature.
Each requires a date and the printed name and signature from the customer, the advisor, and the technician.
There is no single federal law about repair orders for independent light-vehicle shops. The FTC Auto Repair Basics provides consumer guidance on parts classes, written estimates, completed orders, and labor pricing. The certification task list is ASE C1. It is not a rule.
State repair-shop acts include written-estimate triggers, overage rules, verbal-authorization notes, required signs, and the return of parts. One .gov consumer page is cited here, such as the NY DMV, rather than a nationwide form. The numbers are different in Calif., Wash., Va., etc. Use the state that licenses the shop. Don't paste someone else's state's percent cap into this PDF.
After you finish
Then there's the warranty, insurance, and service-contract jobs with their own set of pre-approval rules from the administrator. (According to FTC Auto Repair Basics, "not all service contracts are created equal.") Where should the repair be performed? Is prior authorization needed?
This header is still used for manufacturer campaigns, which require the VIN. It may be replaced by fleet software and also dealer DMS screens. If the network goes down, you can download the above as a written work order. If the customer demands a paper copy, you can download it. Want a copy that leaves this tab? Download a filled PDF or CSV. Answers remain in this browser only. Next user sees a blank form.
When you get authorization for the work from the customer you provide them a copy of your work order or estimate. When you deliver the vehicle to the customer you provide them a copy of the invoice you printed showing the work done and what it cost.
Keep the shop copy with the vehicle file. The customer may have an owner's log and want to enter information about the work. They can make a copy of the invoice, which includes the date, miles, cost, and parts, and enter that information in their log. This isn't something that alone files a tax return, a state complaint, or a warranty claim.
The form is pictured above. Below the form are the preview image and the printable PDF.
Not a substitute for the OEM or a licensed inspection
The form is a record keeping form only. It’s not legal advice. It’s not a substitute for a licensed inspection. It’s not a substitute for following the OEM procedure on the vehicle. It’s not a substitute for following the shop’s licensed estimate process.
Filling out a line doesn’t necessarily mean you gave authorization for the repair in your state. It does not mean that the repair was done according to the manufacturer’s specifications. Each state has different laws for estimates and authorization. Read the current consumer page of the state the shop operates in.