Free Conditional Waiver on Final Payment Form
Signed BEFORE the final check clears. It releases everything on the job, but only once that payment is actually received.
A conditional waiver only takes effect once the payment actually clears. If the check bounces, your lien rights survive. This is the form to hand over when a general contractor asks for a waiver before releasing the check.
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This is the form for the last check on the job
When the work is finished and you bill the balance, the payer will want a final waiver before releasing it. This one gives up everything you could lien the property for, from your first day on site to your last, but only once the final payment actually reaches you. Until then it does nothing, so it is the one to send in with the final invoice.
Retainage usually rides on this payment, so add it up
On a job where retainage was held back from every draw, the final payment is normally where it comes back. Before you sign, add up the contract balance, the retainage held across all the draws, and every approved change order. The amount on the form should be that total.
If the payer's figure is lower, find out why before the form leaves your hands. The gap between their number and yours is exactly the money this form is about to release.
Anything still in dispute goes in the exceptions box
A final waiver closes the lien side of the job for good. A change order that was never signed, an extra the general contractor says was always in scope, a claim for days lost to someone else's delay: each one is released with everything else unless it is written in the exceptions box with an amount.
It is uncomfortable to put a dispute in writing at closeout, and it is the only way to keep it. A claim left off the form to keep the last meeting friendly is usually a claim you have given up.
Final payment often comes with a closeout list
Expect this waiver to be one item among several. Payers commonly hold the last check until they have warranties, manuals, as-built drawings and final waivers from everyone under you who could lien the job, which means your own subcontractors and suppliers.
Collect those as you pay each sub and supplier, not in the last week. A final payment held up by one missing supplier waiver is your money sitting still.
If the final check arrives short
If the payment is less than the amount on this form, do not treat the job as closed. Tell the payer in writing which amount you received and which is still owed, and do not sign the unconditional final waiver until the rest has been paid or is written in as an exception.
What this form must contain
- The words conditional and final, so it is plain that the release waits on the last payment
- The final payment amount, including any retainage being paid back with it
- Who is making that payment, and the property it is for
- Your name as claimant, and the customer paying you, which may be the general contractor rather than the owner
- No through date, because a final waiver covers the job from the first day to the last
- Exceptions: anything you are still claiming after this payment, such as a disputed extra or a delay claim
The other three waiver forms
Questions people ask
When do I sign a conditional waiver on final payment?
With your final invoice, before the last payment is made. It only takes effect once that payment reaches you, so it can go to the payer before the check comes back.
Does a final waiver cover retainage?
Yes. A final waiver releases everything on the job, retainage included, so the amount on it should include the retainage being paid. If retainage is not coming with this payment, list it as an exception.
Do I need waivers from my own subs and suppliers?
Often, yes. Many payers will not release final payment until they have final waivers from everyone below you who could lien the property. Ask for them as each sub and supplier is paid, not at the end.
Does it need to be notarized?
In most states, no. A few states require notarization for certain waiver types and some general contractors ask for it as policy. Check your state and read what your contract requires.
Is this form valid in my state?
It follows the structure common to most states. Twelve states prescribe the wording of a waiver in their own statute: California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Missouri, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Michigan and Mississippi. On a job in one of those, use that state's form instead, free on this site. This is not legal advice.
More detail on the difference is in conditional vs unconditional lien waiver.