What are the four types of lien waivers?

Conditional progress, unconditional progress, conditional final and unconditional final. Progress waivers cover payments during the job, up to a through date. Final waivers cover the last payment. Conditional waivers only take effect once payment is received; unconditional waivers take effect when signed.

Can lien waivers be signed electronically?

In many cases yes. Federal and state e-signature laws generally treat electronic signatures as valid. But some states prescribe specific forms or formalities, so check your state's rules before relying on e-signed waivers.

Do lien waivers need to be notarized?

It depends on the state. Many states don't require notarization, and some do for certain forms. Check your state's statute or ask a construction attorney.

Who should I collect lien waivers from?

Everyone on the job who could file a lien: your subcontractors, and where your state gives them lien rights, their sub-subcontractors and material suppliers.

How to Track Lien Waivers: A Simple System for Every Pay App

The waiver cycle for each payment

Every progress payment to a sub or supplier follows the same loop:

Pay app or invoice arrives. Note the amount and the "through" date it covers.
Request a conditional progress waiver for that amount and through date, from the sub and from any lower-tier parties being paid out of it.
Hold the payment until the conditional waiver comes back and matches: right party, amount, through date and form.
Release the payment.
Collect the unconditional progress waiver for that payment once the funds have cleared. Many GCs require it with the next pay app, sometimes called a "lagging" unconditional.

At close-out, the same loop runs with conditional final and unconditional final waivers for the last payment.

What to record for each waiver

Project, and pay app or invoice number
Party name, tier (sub, sub-sub, supplier) and contact email
Waiver type and through date
Payment amount the waiver covers
Dates: requested, received, paid
Where the signed PDF is saved

That's exactly the layout of our free lien waiver tracking spreadsheet. It calculates the status and flags payments to hold from those dates.

A 15-minute weekly routine

Add rows for every pay app and invoice received this week.
Send requests for anything marked "not requested".
Chase overdue waivers with a short reminder that payment is on hold (see the email templates).
Before the check run, pull the hold list. Nothing on it gets paid.
After the check run, enter paid dates and request the unconditional waivers.

Common lien waiver mistakes

Paying before the conditional waiver arrives. This is the most common gap and the most expensive one.
Accepting the wrong type, such as a conditional where you needed an unconditional, or a progress waiver at close-out.
Amounts or through dates that don't match the payment being released.
Skipping lower tiers. Your sub's waiver doesn't cover the supplier your sub hasn't paid.
Using a generic form in a statutory-form state. Several states, including California, Texas, Arizona and Georgia, prescribe specific waiver wording.
Never collecting the unconditional once the money has gone out.
Losing the signed PDF in someone's inbox.

Tracking waivers from lower tiers

Put lower-tier parties on their own rows under the same pay app, with the Tier column set to sub-subcontractor or supplier. That way the hold list shows the payment is blocked until the supplier's waiver is in, not just the sub's. Ask each sub to list their suppliers on the pay app so you know who to expect.

When to automate it

The routine above works on a spreadsheet until the chasing takes more time than the rest of the check run. Autopilot for Google Sheets takes over steps 2 and 3. It sends requests when you log a pay app and reminders when something goes overdue, and it gives you the hold list automatically.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Lien law differs by state. For specific situations, talk to a construction attorney in your state.