Should I sign an unconditional lien waiver before I get paid?

No. An unconditional waiver releases your lien rights the moment you sign, so if payment never arrives or a check bounces, you have given up your main leverage for nothing. If a general contractor or owner asks for an unconditional waiver in exchange for a promise of payment, send a conditional waiver instead and follow up with the unconditional version once the funds clear.

Does a lien waiver have to be notarized?

It depends on the state. Most states accept a signed lien waiver without notarization, but a few require specific statutory wording or notarization to be valid. Texas and a handful of other states publish mandatory forms, so check your state rules before drafting a custom waiver and use the required language where one exists.

What is the difference between a progress payment waiver and a final waiver?

A progress payment waiver covers work billed through a specific date or invoice while the project is ongoing, so you keep lien rights for future work. A final waiver releases all lien rights for the entire project and is meant for your last payment. Never sign a final waiver mid-project, because it wipes out rights to money you have not billed yet.

Can a subcontractor still file a lien after signing a lien waiver?

Only if the waiver was conditional and payment never cleared, or if the waiver was limited to a specific amount or date and new unpaid work exists outside that scope. A properly executed unconditional final waiver generally ends your right to lien for that project, which is exactly why the wording and timing of each waiver matter so much.

Lien Waiver Template: How to Write a Conditional or Unconditional Lien Waiver

Q: What is the difference between a conditional and unconditional lien waiver?

A conditional lien waiver only takes effect once payment actually clears, so your lien rights survive if a check bounces. An unconditional lien waiver gives up your lien rights immediately when you sign, whether or not you have been paid. Sign conditional waivers before payment and reserve unconditional waivers for after the money has cleared your account.

Learn how to write a lien waiver: the four waiver types, conditional vs. unconditional wording, what to include, and mistakes that cost contractors money.

On a construction project, a lien waiver is the piece of paper that gets exchanged every time money changes hands. A general contractor pays a subcontractor, and in return the sub signs a waiver giving up the right to file a mechanic's lien for that payment. It sounds routine, and most of the time it is. But sign the wrong type at the wrong moment and you can wipe out your right to get paid for work you have not been paid for yet.

This guide walks through what a lien waiver does, the four standard types, the conditional-versus-unconditional distinction that trips up even experienced contractors, and how to fill one out so you release exactly what you mean to and nothing more.

What is a lien waiver?

A lien waiver is a signed document in which a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier gives up the right to file a mechanic's lien against a property in exchange for payment. A mechanic's lien is a legal claim against real estate that secures payment for labor or materials; a lien waiver is the release of that claim.

The exchange is simple in principle. You do the work or deliver the materials, you get paid, and you sign a waiver confirming you have no further lien claim for that money. Owners and lenders insist on collecting waivers up the chain because an unpaid subcontractor or supplier can lien the property even if the owner already paid the general contractor. Waivers are how everyone documents that the money reached the people who earned it.

Because a waiver gives up a legal right, the wording controls everything. Two waivers can look nearly identical and yet release completely different things depending on four words: conditional, unconditional, progress, and final.

The four types of lien waivers

Every lien waiver is a combination of two choices: whether it is conditional or unconditional, and whether it covers a progress payment or the final payment. That gives you four documents, and knowing which one is in front of you is the whole game.

Conditional progress waiver

Releases lien rights for a single progress payment, but only once that payment actually clears. This is the safest waiver to sign during an active job. You are saying, in effect, "when this check clears, I waive my lien rights for the work billed through this date."

Unconditional progress waiver

Releases lien rights for a progress payment immediately on signing, with no condition attached. You would sign this only after the specific progress payment has already hit your account and cleared.

Conditional final waiver

Releases all lien rights for the entire project, effective when the final payment clears. Use it when you are submitting your last invoice and want to hand over a waiver before the money is actually in hand.

Unconditional final waiver

Releases all lien rights for the whole project, immediately and unconditionally. This is the last document you sign on a job, and only after the final payment has cleared. It is the strongest release of all, so treat it accordingly.

Conditional vs. unconditional: the distinction that matters most

If you remember one thing about lien waivers, make it this. Conditional waivers protect you; unconditional waivers do not.

A conditional waiver contains language saying it only becomes effective when payment is received and clears the bank. If the check bounces or the wire never lands, your lien rights stay intact. You have given up nothing until the money is genuinely yours.

An unconditional waiver has no such safety valve. The moment you sign, your lien rights for that amount are gone, paid or not. If a general contractor hands you an unconditional waiver and a promise that the check is in the mail, you are being asked to surrender your leverage in exchange for a promise. That is backwards.

The rule that keeps contractors out of trouble is straightforward:

Before payment clears: sign only conditional waivers.
After payment clears: sign the unconditional version if the paying party needs one for their records.

Many payment applications require both. You submit a conditional waiver with your invoice, then follow up with an unconditional waiver once the payment lands. That two-step rhythm is normal and worth building into your billing process so nobody has to chase you for paperwork.

Picture a drywall sub who bills $18,000 for a progress draw. If they sign a conditional waiver, the release only kicks in once that $18,000 clears, so a bounced check leaves their lien rights fully intact. If they sign an unconditional waiver on the same day, the lien rights for that $18,000 are gone the moment the pen lifts, and a bounced check leaves them with a lawsuit instead of a lien. Same amount, same project, wildly different exposure, all decided by one word on the form.

What to include in a lien waiver

A lien waiver is short, but every field carries weight. A well-drafted waiver spells out the following:

Project and property identification: the job name and the property address or legal description, so there is no doubt which project the waiver covers.
The parties: who is signing (the claimant) and who is paying. Include company names, not just individuals.
The payment amount: the exact dollar figure being waived. A waiver tied to a specific number is far safer than one that waives "all amounts."
Through date or invoice number: for progress waivers, the date or billing period the release applies to. Anything after that date stays protected.
Conditional or unconditional language: a clear statement of whether the release is effective on signing or only when payment clears.
Exceptions and reservations: a place to carve out disputed amounts, retainage, change order work, or unbilled extras you do not intend to release.
Signature and date: signed by someone with authority to bind the claimant, dated the day it is signed.

If your state publishes a statutory lien waiver form, use it. States like California, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and a handful of others require specific wording, and a custom waiver that ignores the mandatory language may be invalid or, worse, may release more than you intended.

How to fill out a lien waiver

Here is the step-by-step for completing a waiver correctly, whether you are the one signing or the one collecting it.

Pick the right type first. Decide conditional or unconditional and progress or final before you write anything. Ninety percent of waiver mistakes are choosing the wrong one of these four.
Match the amount to the payment. Enter the exact figure of the payment this waiver covers. If you are waiving for a $12,400 progress draw, the waiver says $12,400, not "all sums due."
Set the through date. For a progress waiver, write the date or invoice period. Work performed after that date is not released, which is exactly what you want on an ongoing job.
List your exceptions. Note anything you are not releasing: retainage being held, a pending change order, or a disputed backcharge. If retainage is being withheld, say so in writing so you keep lien rights over it.
Confirm conditional wording if payment has not cleared. Read the release sentence. If it does not say the waiver is effective only upon receipt and clearance of payment, and you have not been paid, do not sign it.
Sign with authority and keep a copy. The signer must be able to bind the company. Keep a dated copy for your records, and if your state requires notarization, get it notarized before delivery.

Suppliers and lower-tier subs should apply the same discipline. A materials supplier signing an unconditional waiver on a promise of payment is taking the same risk as a subcontractor, just one rung down the chain.

Who signs and when in the payment cycle

Lien waivers flow up the payment chain alongside the money flowing down it. A rough sequence on a typical project looks like this:

The owner pays the general contractor, who signs a waiver to the owner (and the owner's lender).
The general contractor pays each subcontractor, who signs a waiver back to the GC.
Each subcontractor pays its suppliers and lower-tier subs, who sign waivers back to the sub.

At each step, the paying party wants a waiver before or upon payment, and the receiving party wants to make sure the waiver is conditional until the funds clear. On larger jobs the general contractor's payment application will bundle waivers from every sub and supplier, because the lender will not release the next draw until the file is complete. Understanding where you sit in that chain tells you which waivers you will be asked to sign and which you should be collecting from the people you pay.

If you hire subs of your own, treat waiver collection the way a GC does. Your subcontractor agreement should make signed conditional waivers a condition of each progress payment, so your own file stays clean when the owner asks for it.

Common mistakes to avoid

Signing an unconditional waiver before payment clears. The single most expensive error. Send a conditional waiver instead and reserve the unconditional one for after the check clears.
Signing a final waiver mid-project. A final waiver releases the entire job. If you sign one while you still have work and invoices ahead of you, you have released rights to money you have not even billed. Use progress waivers until the last payment.
Waiving retainage without meaning to. If the owner is holding retainage, your waiver should exclude it. A broad "all amounts" release can sweep retainage away.
Forgetting change order work. Unbilled change order amounts can vanish inside a waiver that releases everything through a given date. Carve out pending extras explicitly.
Ignoring the statutory form. In states with mandatory waiver language, a homemade form can be void or can release more than the statutory version would. Start from the required form.
Letting anyone sign. The signer must have authority to bind the company. A field foreman signing a final waiver can create a real dispute about whether the release is enforceable.

Most of these come down to the same habit: read the release sentence, confirm the type, and never release money you have not received. A tight construction contract that spells out the payment schedule and waiver process up front prevents a surprising number of these problems before they start, and the broader legal guide to construction contracts covers how payment terms and lien rights fit together on a home project.

Related guides

Generate Your Lien Waiver with Contractable

A lien waiver is short, but the difference between a conditional and unconditional release, or a progress and final one, can be the difference between getting paid and eating a loss. Contractable generates the right lien waiver for your situation in seconds, with the correct conditional wording, the amounts and dates filled in, and space to reserve retainage and change order work. No legal background required.