Free Unconditional Waiver on Final Payment Form
Signed AFTER the final payment has cleared. It gives up all lien rights on the job, permanently. Never sign this before the money is in the bank.
An unconditional waiver takes effect the moment you sign it, whether you were paid or not. A check in your hand is not cleared funds. If you have not been paid yet, use the conditional version instead.
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This is the last document you sign on the job
An unconditional final waiver says you have been paid and gives up every lien right you had on the property, for all of the work, back to the start of the job. It takes effect when you sign it and there is no condition to fall back on. Of the four waiver forms it is the one that can cost the most, because nothing comes after it.
Wait until the final payment is really final
The final payment is often the largest single check on a job, and the one most worth waiting on. A deposit can show as available before the bank has collected the check, and a check returned after that point leaves you holding a signed waiver and no money. Wait for the bank to confirm the check has been paid, or take the final payment by wire.
Read the sentence that says you have been paid
Most unconditional final forms state that you have received payment in full for all of your work on the job. If anything is still owed to you, that sentence is wrong, and a signed statement that you were paid in full is hard to argue with later. Either list what is owed in the exceptions box with an amount, or do not sign this form yet.
Check what else it releases
Read the release language to the end. Many waiver forms give up payment bond rights along with lien rights, and on a bonded job the bond claim is the one you would rely on if the payer fails.
Some forms written by a general contractor go further and add a release of any claim at all arising from the job. That is no longer a lien waiver, it is a general release, and it can end claims you never meant to give up. Strike that wording or use a plain form like the one on this page.
Keep it with the proof of payment
File the signed waiver with the bank record showing the payment cleared. If the job ever comes back as a dispute, the two together show what was paid and when, and the date on the waiver shows you signed it after the money arrived, not before.
What this form must contain
- The words unconditional and final, which together mean every lien right on the job is gone once you sign
- The amount of the final payment you actually received
- Your name as claimant, the customer who paid you, and the property
- Exceptions, if anything is still owed to you on this job after this payment
- The date you sign it, which should fall after the final payment cleared, never before
The other three waiver forms
Questions people ask
When do I sign an unconditional waiver on final payment?
Only after the final payment has cleared your bank. It releases every lien right on the job the moment you sign it, whether or not the money ever arrives.
The general contractor will not release the final check without this form. What do I do?
Offer the conditional waiver on final payment instead. It gives them the same release the moment the payment clears. Sign this one once the money is in, if they still need it for their own closeout.
What if retainage or a disputed amount is still outstanding?
Then the final payment has not covered everything. List each amount in the exceptions box, or hold off on this form and give a conditional final waiver until the rest is settled.
Does this waiver end my warranty obligations?
No. A lien waiver gives up your right to lien the property. It does not release you from the warranty or the other promises in your contract, which carry on after final payment.
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.