About Lien Waivers

A lien waiver is a legal document signed in exchange for payment that waives the signer's right to file a lien for the amount specified in the waiver. A lien is a legal claim filed by a contractor or supplier against the property. The property is used as collateral to satisfy the debt(s) to the downstream collaborator(s). See What is a downstream collaborator?

In the simplest terms:

  • A lien protects a contractor or supplier from not getting paid.

  • A lien waiver protects the property owner from a lien.

Example

An Owner-Builder acting as their own General Contractor on a job or a General Contractor hires you, the specialty contractor, to perform work on a construction project. As the specialty contractor, you possess the right to file a lien against the owner's property until the Owner-Builder or General Contractor pays you for your work. Any subcontractors or suppliers that you hire to perform work or deliver materials on the job site also have the right to file a lien against the property, which serves as collateral for the work and/or materials they provide. A lien waiver signifies that a contractor (a general contractor, a specialty contractor, a subcontractor, and/or a supplier) has released their right to file a lien against the property.

Conditional vs Unconditional

  • Conditional. A conditional lien waiver should be signed when you expect to receive a progress or final payment. Signing a conditional lien waiver only waives your lien rights for the amount specified through a specific date on the condition that payment through that date is received.

  • Unconditional. An unconditional lien waiver is not conditioned on actual payments. Because signing an unconditional lien waiver waives your lien rights immediately, note that Procore Pay protects signees by hiding their signatures until they have been paid for the corresponding invoice in full. A lock is placed on the signed lien waiver until you unlock it.

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