Partial Lien Waiver: What It Is and When to Use One

A partial lien waiver is a signed form that gives up lien rights for one payment, not for the whole job. It covers the work you are paying for now, through a date written on the form, and nothing after that date.

Most state forms call it a progress payment waiver. "Partial" is just what people search for and say out loud, along with "partial lien release" and "waiver of lien to date". The form that ends a job is the final waiver, and that is a different document.

What a partial lien waiver covers

A good partial waiver states four things:

• Who is signing. The sub, supplier or contractor, and who they are being paid by.
• The project. Usually the property address or the job name.
• The amount. The payment this waiver is for.
• The through-date. The work covered stops on this date. Later work is not released.

That last line is the one people skip. A partial waiver with no through-date can be read as releasing rights for far more work than the payment covers. Always write the date.

Conditional or unconditional

There are two versions of a partial waiver, and the difference is when it takes effect.

Version	Takes effect	Use it when
Conditional partial	When the payment is received	You are about to pay
Unconditional partial	The moment it is signed	The payment has already cleared

The rule that keeps you out of trouble: if the money has not cleared, send conditional. If it has, send unconditional. If you want the full walkthrough, read conditional vs unconditional lien waivers.

The expensive mistake is the unconditional version signed before payment. The sub gives up their lien rights, the check is late or bounces, and they have nothing left to push on. That is why many state forms print a warning in bold on the unconditional waiver: do not sign this until you have been paid.

Which states prescribe the form

Twelve states set the form or its exact wording: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. In those states, a generic template can be challenged even if everyone signed it in good faith.

Two examples:

• California has separate forms for conditional and unconditional progress payments. See California lien waiver requirements.
• Texas sets its waiver forms in Property Code Chapter 53. See Texas lien waiver requirements.

Not sure what your state needs? Pick it on the lien waiver requirements by state page, or run your current form through the free lien waiver audit.

What to check before you pay

Before a payment goes out, look at four things on the signed waiver:

1. The amount matches the pay application.
2. The through-date matches the pay period.
3. The type matches where the money is: conditional before payment, unconditional after.
4. The retainage language. Some waivers release more than the sub expects. Read the retainage carveout your waiver might be missing if you hold retainage.

How to fill out a lien waiver, field by field covers the five fields that matter. For the full reference, see lien waivers in construction.

Get a partial waiver form

You can start from a ready-made form:

• Conditional progress payment waiver template
• Unconditional progress payment waiver template
• The free lien waiver generator, which fills in the right form for your state

If you collect partial waivers from several subs every pay period, doing it by email gets slow. LienDone sends each sub a link, they sign on their phone in about two minutes with no account, and you see who has signed on each project. It costs $99 a month with unlimited waivers.

Want to try it? Start a 14-day free trial. No card. Add one project and one sub, send a waiver, and see what your sub sees.