Montana lien waiver requirements
Montana voids advance lien waivers by statute. Pay first, then collect the waiver.
Montana Code Annotated §§71-3-521 et seq.
No. Montana does not prescribe a specific lien waiver form, so the language in your contract or waiver template controls, as long as it meets the substantive requirements in MCA §71-3-521. A vague waiver, or one missing a required element, can still be challenged later.
The short version
Montana's construction lien statute is MCA §71-3-521 and following. The statute creates the lien, defines who can claim it, and sets the deadlines. Montana also has an anti-waiver rule at MCA §28-2-723 that voids any contract clause requiring a sub to waive lien rights before payment. There is no statutory waiver form. Waivers are governed by general contract law, so your language has to be clear and unambiguous on its face.
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At a glance
- MCA §§71-3-521 et seq. govern construction liens
- MCA §28-2-723 voids advance lien waiver clauses
- No statutory waiver form is prescribed
- Subs without direct owner contracts must serve a 20-day notice
Montana's anti-waiver rule and why it matters
MCA §28-2-723 makes a contract clause that forces a contractor, sub, or supplier to waive lien rights before payment void. That's a hard line. You can't bury an advance waiver in the subcontract and rely on it.
What you can do is collect a payment-conditioned waiver with every check. The rule blocks pre-payment waivers, not post-payment ones. Conditional waivers with progress draws stay on the right side of the statute.
The 20-day notice subs have to send
Under MCA §71-3-531, a sub without a direct contract with the owner must serve written notice on the owner within 20 days of first furnishing labor or materials. Miss the window and the sub loses lien coverage for work done before the notice.
As a GC, that notice is your early warning system. When it lands, log the sub and start tracking their waiver paper. Once you've collected a signed waiver tied to a cleared payment, that sub is no longer a lien risk on that work.
The 90-day filing deadline drives the schedule
A Montana construction lien must be filed within 90 days of the claimant's last day of furnishing labor or materials, or the date the Notice of Completion is filed, whichever comes first. That window controls when waivers need to be in your file.
Don't wait for the project to wrap. Collect conditional waivers with every pay app, then unconditional waivers as soon as the bank confirms each payment. By day 90, your file should be done, not started.
Questions
No. MCA §28-2-723 voids any clause requiring waiver of lien rights before payment is made.
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Missouri lien waiver requirements
Missouri prescribes an unconditional final lien waiver form for residential property, and a refusal to sign after payment carries a $500 penalty.
Nebraska lien waiver requirements
Nebraska §52-144 lets a sub waive lien rights with no consideration and even before work starts, but ambiguities are read against the sub.
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