New Jersey lien waiver: void unless you were actually paid, and only as far as the payment went
New Jersey is one of the strictest states in the country on this, and it says so in a single sentence. A waiver is void unless it was given in exchange for payment, and even then it only works as far as the money actually arrived.
A New Jersey construction lien waiver is against public policy and void unless it was given in consideration for payment, and it is effective only upon and to the extent that the payment is actually received.
Read the law: N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-38codes.findlaw.com
N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-38, word for wordFill it in online Type your details in and download it already filled in.Waivers of construction lien rights are against public policy, unlawful, and void, unless given in consideration for payment for the work, services, materials or equipment provided or to be provided, and such waivers shall be effective only upon and to the extent that such payment is actually received.
Read the last nine words twice. Even a waiver given for payment is capped at the payment received, so a $40,000 waiver against a $25,000 check releases $25,000 of lien rights in New Jersey, not $40,000.
Download a blank New Jersey lien waiver
New Jersey prescribes no statutory wording, so this is the general conditional waiver on progress payment, the form that fits most draws. Print it and fill it in by hand, or use the builder below and get it back already filled in.
Free, no signup, no email, no watermark.
What the phrase to the extent actually protects
Most anti waiver statutes are a timing rule: you cannot waive before you are paid. New Jersey adds an amount rule on top of it. The waiver is effective only to the extent the payment is received, which means the dollar figure on the check is the ceiling on what the paper can release.
That covers the two ways a waiver goes wrong in practice. A check that never clears releases nothing, because the payment was not received. A check smaller than the waiver releases only its own value, because the waiver goes no further than the money.
You still have to fill the form in properly
New Jersey prescribes no statutory waiver wording, so the statute gives you the protection and leaves the paperwork to you. Put the payment amount on the face of the waiver. That single number is what the statute measures the release against, and a waiver with no amount on it invites an argument you do not need to have.
Write the through date on a progress waiver. The statute stops the waiver at the money received, not at a date, so a missing through date is the one gap the statute does not close for you.
List every open item in the exceptions box: retainage, an unapproved change order, a disputed extra. Anything that the payment did cover is released, and you want the record to show what it did not.
Working on a residential job in New Jersey? The waiver rule is the smaller half. 2A:44A-21(b)(1) makes a notice of unpaid balance a condition precedent to filing any lien at all, lodged within sixty days of your last day on site, and 2A:44A-5(c) says no lien attaches to residential work unless there is strict compliance with sections 20 and 21.
Not being paid on a New Jersey job? A construction lien claim is lodged with the county clerk within ninety days of your last day on site under 2A:44A-6(a)(2), and a copy served within ten days under 2A:44A-7. Get the number wrong on purpose and 2A:44A-15 forfeits the whole lien and makes you pay the other side's legal costs.
Already filed a New Jersey lien and the number has moved? An amendment to construction lien claim under 2A:44A-11 puts the new figure on the record, and subsection b. says the part in excess of the amount previously claimed attaches as of the date the original claim was filed rather than as of today.
Which of the four to sign on a New Jersey job
The statute protects you from a waiver signed before the work or before the payment. It does not protect you from one worded too broadly, or handed over against a check that later bounces, so the conditional form is still the right default.
Questions people ask
Is a lien waiver signed before payment valid in New Jersey?
No. N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-38 says waivers of construction lien rights are against public policy, unlawful and void unless given in consideration for payment, and effective only upon and to the extent that the payment is actually received.
The check I signed a waiver against bounced. Did I lose my New Jersey lien?
No. The statute makes a waiver effective only upon the payment being actually received. A check that does not clear is not payment received, so the waiver never took effect.
I signed a waiver for more than I was paid. What does it release?
Only the amount received. The statute makes a New Jersey waiver effective to the extent of the payment actually received, so the release is capped at that figure rather than at the number typed on the form.
Does New Jersey have a required lien waiver form?
No. New Jersey prescribes no statutory waiver wording. The Construction Lien Law protects you regardless, but a form that states the payment amount and the through date makes that protection much easier to prove.
Working in another state? The general lien waiver forms page covers all four waiver types, and conditional vs unconditional lien waiver explains which of the two to sign and when.
This page quotes N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-38 and explains what it says. It is not legal advice, and a statute can be amended. Read the linked section before you rely on it.