What is a lien waiver and why does it matter?
A lien waiver is a document in which a subcontractor or supplier gives up their right to file a mechanic's lien against a property in exchange for payment. On a commercial project, lien exposure is one of the largest financial risks a GC carries. If a sub files a lien — even after you've already paid them — the property owner can come back to you for the amount.
Collecting waivers before or at the time of every payment is the only way to close that exposure.
The four types of lien waivers
There are four standard lien waiver forms used in most US states:
1. Conditional Waiver on Progress Payment
The sub waives lien rights *conditioned on* actually receiving the payment. This is the most common form — it's sent before payment and becomes effective only when the check clears. This is what Spandrel generates automatically when a payment is scheduled.
2. Unconditional Waiver on Progress Payment
The sub waives lien rights *unconditionally* for work done through a specific date. This is typically collected after payment has cleared — not before. Spandrel can generate and collect these as a post-payment step.
3. Conditional Waiver on Final Payment
Same structure as the progress waiver, but used at final payment and covers all work on the project.
4. Unconditional Waiver on Final Payment
The final, unconditional release. This is the document you want from every sub before you release final retention. Spandrel tracks final waiver status per vendor per project.
How Spandrel automates waiver collection
When you approve a bill for payment, Spandrel:
1. Generates the correct waiver form (conditional progress, by default) based on the bill amount and payment date
2. Sends the waiver to the vendor for e-signature — they sign from any device, no account required
3. Holds the ACH payment until the waiver is returned and signed
4. Stores the executed waiver, time-stamped and tamper-evident, in the project document record
The vendor receives an email with a direct signing link. Signature takes under a minute — they enter their name, title, and date, and Spandrel applies the e-signature with a tamper-evident certificate.
What happens if a vendor doesn't sign?
The payment stays in a "Pending Waiver" state. Spandrel sends automated reminders on the schedule you configure (default: every 48 hours). You'll see a dashboard notification for any payment held more than a configurable number of days.
You can also manually release a waiver hold with a supervisor-level override — but the action is logged in the audit trail and requires a reason code.
Retention and final waivers
Retention is tracked per contract line in Spandrel. When you schedule a retention release, Spandrel automatically generates a conditional waiver on final payment. Once the vendor signs and the payment clears, you can request the unconditional final waiver to complete the project's lien closeout package.
State-specific waiver forms
Lien waiver laws vary by state — some states (California, Texas, Nevada, and several others) have mandatory statutory forms. Spandrel's waiver templates are updated annually and can be configured per project state so the right form is always used.