Progress vs Final Lien Waivers
Progress and final lien waivers describe when in the job a waiver applies. Mixing them up is a common reason waivers get rejected — or worse, waive more rights than intended.
Progress vs final lien waivers have nothing to do with payment method or risk tolerance. They describe the stage of billing — not whether the waiver is conditional or unconditional.
What is a progress lien waiver?
A progress lien waiver is used during the job when partial payments are being made. It waives lien rights only for work performed and billed through a specific date or amount.
Progress waiver in plain English
“I’m giving up lien rights for the work I’ve billed so far — not the entire job.”
What is a final lien waiver?
A final lien waiver is used at the end of the job (or at the end of your scope). It waives lien rights for the entire project or scope once final payment is requested or received.
Final waiver in plain English
“I’m giving up lien rights for the entire job because I’m done and requesting final payment.”
The most common progress vs final mistakes
- Using a final waiver on a mid-project pay application
- Forgetting to include a clear coverage period on a progress waiver
- Issuing a final waiver before retainage is released
- Confusing billing completion with payment completion
How progress/final relates to conditional/unconditional
These are two separate decisions:
- Progress vs Final → What stage of the job is this?
- Conditional vs Unconditional → Has payment actually cleared?
Most common safe combinations
- Progress + Conditional → during the job
- Final + Conditional → requesting final payment
- Final + Unconditional → after final payment clears
Next steps
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