Simple Pay ApplicationCalifornia lien waiver forms and what the statute says
California sets the wording of all four lien waivers in its Civil Code: a conditional and an unconditional waiver for a progress payment, and the same pair for the final payment. Each of the four sections says a waiver and release given for a payment is null, void, and unenforceable unless it is in substantially the following form
, and then sets out the form.
In the app, a project located in California gets these four forms with the statute's words unchanged. You fill the blanks from the pay app the payment is for, sign, and the waiver goes into the PDF beside the pay application.
The four California forms at a glance
Each form has its own section. The right-hand column quotes the line in each form that says what the signer gives up and when; it is the statute's text, not ours.
| Form | Section | Kind | The form's own words on payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conditional Waiver and Release on Progress Payment | Civil Code 8132 | Conditional, progress | “This document is effective only on the claimant’s receipt of payment from the financial institution on which the following check is drawn” |
| Unconditional Waiver and Release on Progress Payment | Civil Code 8134 | Unconditional, progress | “The claimant has received the following progress payment” |
| Conditional Waiver and Release on Final Payment | Civil Code 8136 | Conditional, final | “This document is effective only on the claimant’s receipt of payment from the financial institution on which the following check is drawn” |
| Unconditional Waiver and Release on Final Payment | Civil Code 8138 | Unconditional, final | “The claimant has been paid in full.” |
The two progress forms run through a Through Date, so work after that date keeps its rights. The two final forms have no Through Date: they cover all labor, service, equipment and material on the job, with a single exception line for disputed claims for extras.
What the Civil Code says about using them
Sections 8132, 8134, 8136 and 8138 each open the same way. When a claimant has to sign a waiver and release to get paid, or to bring a payment on, the waiver and release is null, void, and unenforceable unless it is in substantially the following form
, and the form follows. Section 8124(a) adds that a waiver does not release the owner, the construction lender or the surety unless it is in substantially the form in the article and the claimant has signed it.
Section 8122 keeps one party from signing away another's rights: an owner, direct contractor or subcontractor may not, by contract or otherwise, waive, affect, or impair any other claimant's rights
.
The forms apply to any claimant asked to sign a waiver in exchange for a payment, or to bring one on, and the sections set no limit to houses or to GCs.
- Statute
- Cal. Civ. Code §§ 8132, 8134, 8136, 8138
- Use of the form
- Yes: a waiver is unenforceable unless it is in substantially the statute’s form (8132-8138).
- Who it applies to
- Any claimant asked to sign a waiver in exchange for, or to induce, a payment (8132-8138).
- Notary
- The statute is silent.
Source: Cal. Civ. Code §§ 8132, 8134, 8136, 8138. California Legislative Information (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov), read Nov 12, 2026.
Notice wording and type size
Every California form starts with a notice in capital letters. The conditional forms warn the reader not to rely on the waiver until the claimant has been paid. The unconditional forms carry a Notice to Claimant: the document is enforceable against the signer even without payment, and a claimant who has not been paid is pointed to the conditional form.
For the two unconditional forms, sections 8134 and 8138 also set the size of that notice: in at least as large a type as the largest type otherwise in the form
. The conditional forms have no type-size rule. The app prints all four notices in capitals, as the statute does, and sets the unconditional notice at the largest size on its page.
The full text of each form
Below is each California form as the app prints it, word for word. Blank lines are where the app writes the job's details, and the headings inside each form are the statute's own. The four sections were added by Stats. 2010, Ch. 697 (SB 189), effective January 1, 2011, and operative July 1, 2012.
Conditional Waiver and Release on Progress Payment Cal. Civ. Code § 8132, read Nov 12, 2026
CONDITIONAL WAIVER AND RELEASE ON PROGRESS PAYMENT
NOTICE: THIS DOCUMENT WAIVES THE CLAIMANT’S LIEN, STOP PAYMENT NOTICE, AND PAYMENT BOND RIGHTS EFFECTIVE ON RECEIPT OF PAYMENT. A PERSON SHOULD NOT RELY ON THIS DOCUMENT UNLESS SATISFIED THAT THE CLAIMANT HAS RECEIVED PAYMENT.
Identifying Information
Name of Claimant:
Name of Customer:
Job Location:
Owner:
Through Date:
Conditional Waiver and Release
This document waives and releases lien, stop payment notice, and payment bond rights the claimant has for labor and service provided, and equipment and material delivered, to the customer on this job through the Through Date of this document. Rights based upon labor or service provided, or equipment or material delivered, pursuant to a written change order that has been fully executed by the parties prior to the date that this document is signed by the claimant, are waived and released by this document, unless listed as an Exception below. This document is effective only on the claimant’s receipt of payment from the financial institution on which the following check is drawn:
Maker of Check:
Amount of Check: $
Check Payable to:
Exceptions
This document does not affect any of the following:
(1) Retentions.
(2) Extras for which the claimant has not received payment.
(3) The following progress payments for which the claimant has previously given a conditional waiver and release but has not received payment:
Date(s) of waiver and release:
Amount(s) of unpaid progress payment(s): $
(4) Contract rights, including (A) a right based on rescission, abandonment, or breach of contract, and (B) the right to recover compensation for work not compensated by the payment.
Signature
Claimant’s Signature:
Claimant’s Title:
Date of Signature:
Unconditional Waiver and Release on Progress Payment Cal. Civ. Code § 8134, read Nov 12, 2026
UNCONDITIONAL WAIVER AND RELEASE ON PROGRESS PAYMENT
NOTICE TO CLAIMANT: THIS DOCUMENT WAIVES AND RELEASES LIEN, STOP PAYMENT NOTICE, AND PAYMENT BOND RIGHTS UNCONDITIONALLY AND STATES THAT YOU HAVE BEEN PAID FOR GIVING UP THOSE RIGHTS. THIS DOCUMENT IS ENFORCEABLE AGAINST YOU IF YOU SIGN IT, EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN PAID. IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN PAID, USE A CONDITIONAL WAIVER AND RELEASE FORM.
Identifying Information
Name of Claimant:
Name of Customer:
Job Location:
Owner:
Through Date:
Unconditional Waiver and Release
This document waives and releases lien, stop payment notice, and payment bond rights the claimant has for labor and service provided, and equipment and material delivered, to the customer on this job through the Through Date of this document. Rights based upon labor or service provided, or equipment or material delivered, pursuant to a written change order that has been fully executed by the parties prior to the date that this document is signed by the claimant, are waived and released by this document, unless listed as an Exception below. The claimant has received the following progress payment: $
Exceptions
This document does not affect any of the following:
(1) Retentions.
(2) Extras for which the claimant has not received payment.
(3) Contract rights, including (A) a right based on rescission, abandonment, or breach of contract, and (B) the right to recover compensation for work not compensated by the payment.
Signature
Claimant’s Signature:
Claimant’s Title:
Date of Signature:
Conditional Waiver and Release on Final Payment Cal. Civ. Code § 8136, read Nov 12, 2026
CONDITIONAL WAIVER AND RELEASE ON FINAL PAYMENT
NOTICE: THIS DOCUMENT WAIVES THE CLAIMANT’S LIEN, STOP PAYMENT NOTICE, AND PAYMENT BOND RIGHTS EFFECTIVE ON RECEIPT OF PAYMENT. A PERSON SHOULD NOT RELY ON THIS DOCUMENT UNLESS SATISFIED THAT THE CLAIMANT HAS RECEIVED PAYMENT.
Identifying Information
Name of Claimant:
Name of Customer:
Job Location:
Owner:
Conditional Waiver and Release
This document waives and releases lien, stop payment notice, and payment bond rights the claimant has for labor and service provided, and equipment and material delivered, to the customer on this job. Rights based upon labor or service provided, or equipment or material delivered, pursuant to a written change order that has been fully executed by the parties prior to the date that this document is signed by the claimant, are waived and released by this document, unless listed as an Exception below. This document is effective only on the claimant’s receipt of payment from the financial institution on which the following check is drawn:
Maker of Check:
Amount of Check: $
Check Payable to:
Exceptions
This document does not affect any of the following:
Disputed claims for extras in the amount of: $
Signature
Claimant’s Signature:
Claimant’s Title:
Date of Signature:
Unconditional Waiver and Release on Final Payment Cal. Civ. Code § 8138, read Nov 12, 2026
UNCONDITIONAL WAIVER AND RELEASE ON FINAL PAYMENT
NOTICE TO CLAIMANT: THIS DOCUMENT WAIVES AND RELEASES LIEN, STOP PAYMENT NOTICE, AND PAYMENT BOND RIGHTS UNCONDITIONALLY AND STATES THAT YOU HAVE BEEN PAID FOR GIVING UP THOSE RIGHTS. THIS DOCUMENT IS ENFORCEABLE AGAINST YOU IF YOU SIGN IT, EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN PAID. IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN PAID, USE A CONDITIONAL WAIVER AND RELEASE FORM.
Identifying Information
Name of Claimant:
Name of Customer:
Job Location:
Owner:
Unconditional Waiver and Release
This document waives and releases lien, stop payment notice, and payment bond rights the claimant has for all labor and service provided, and equipment and material delivered, to the customer on this job. Rights based upon labor or service provided, or equipment or material delivered, pursuant to a written change order that has been fully executed by the parties prior to the date that this document is signed by the claimant, are waived and released by this document, unless listed as an Exception below. The claimant has been paid in full.
Exceptions
This document does not affect the following:
Disputed claims for extras in the amount of: $
Signature
Claimant’s Signature:
Claimant’s Title:
Date of Signature:
The filled sample, field by field
The sample beside the introduction is the conditional progress waiver for the first pay app of the demo drywall job, Maple Street Clinic: $25,650 of work, 5% retainage held, $24,367.50 due. These are the blanks the app filled, and where each value came from.
| Blank on the form | Sample value | Where the app takes it from |
|---|---|---|
| Name of Claimant | Delta Line Drywall LLC | Your company name on the account |
| Name of Customer | Northgate Builders Inc. | The party you bill on the project, usually the GC |
| Job Location | 1450 Maple Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 | The project's site address |
| Owner | Maple Street Medical Partners LLC | The project's owner |
| Through Date | October 31, 2026 | The period end date of the pay app |
| Maker of Check | Northgate Builders Inc. | The customer, which you can change |
| Amount of Check | $24,367.50 | The pay app's current payment due |
| Check Payable to | Delta Line Drywall LLC | Your company name |
| Date(s) and amount(s) of unpaid earlier waivers | None; 0.00 | Typed on the waiver screen |
Making a California waiver here
- Set the project's State to California when you create the job. The four forms above become the ones offered.
- Make the pay application for the period and mark it final, so its figures can no longer change.
- Open Lien waivers, choose the form and the pay app it is for. The blanks fill from the project and the pay app.
- Fill any exception lines the form has, such as unpaid earlier progress payments or disputed extras.
- Sign typed or drawn, or send the signing link to the person who signs, then download the PDF.
How the waiver follows the pay app
The amount on a progress waiver is the payment the pay app asks for, not the contract sum and not the work to date. Take a concrete sub whose second pay app, for the period to June 30, 2026, shows $126,250 completed and stored to date, $12,625 retainage held and $64,800 paid on the first application. The current payment due is $48,825.
The conditional progress waiver for that payment reads $48,825.00 as the Amount of Check and June 30, 2026 as the Through Date. The $12,625 of retainage is not part of the payment, and the California progress forms list retentions among the things the document does not affect. When the retainage is paid at the end, it is covered by a final waiver for that payment.
Because the waiver is made from a finished pay app, the figures on the two documents cannot drift apart. A revised pay app makes a new version, and a new California waiver can be made from it. The pay application guide shows where the current payment due comes from line by line.
California waiver questions
Does a California lien waiver need a notary?
The sections that set the four forms say nothing about a notary. The app prints each form as the statute gives it, ending with the claimant’s signature, title and date.
Can a GC use its own waiver form in California?
The Civil Code makes a waiver that is not in substantially the statute’s form null, void and unenforceable, and section 8122 says an owner, direct contractor or subcontractor may not waive another claimant’s rights by contract.
Does a progress waiver cover retainage?
Both California progress forms list retentions first among the things the document does not affect.
Are change orders covered by the waiver?
Work under a written change order fully executed by the parties before the waiver is signed is released, unless it is listed as an exception. Extras not yet paid are listed by the form itself as not affected.
What date goes in the Through Date?
The date the progress waiver runs through. The app fills it with the period end date of the pay app the payment is for.
What if the check for an earlier conditional waiver never came?
The conditional progress form has an exception line for it: the dates of those earlier waivers and the amounts still unpaid. The unconditional progress form has no such line.
Sources: Cal. Civ. Code §§ 8132, 8134, 8136, 8138.
Other States and the four kinds
Beyond California, the lien waiver guide sets out the four kinds side by side, and conditional vs unconditional covers the timing. Nearby States with their own statutory forms: Arizona and Nevada.