Georgia: Mechanic's Lien Waiver Form and Advance-Waiver Rules
The short answer
Georgia makes a lien or bond waiver signed before labor, services, or materials are furnished null, void, and unenforceable. For payment-stage waivers, a claimant must substantially use Georgia's interim-payment or final-payment statutory form, including the required notice. Either form becomes conclusively effective upon actual payment, a separate written acknowledgment of full payment, or 90 days after execution unless the claimant timely files an affidavit of nonpayment.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in Georgia. Ezel applies current Georgia law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and project scope | O.C.G.A. § 44-14-366, in the mechanics-and-materialmen lien part; applies to lien and labor/material-bond waivers. The statutory waiver does not affect the claimant's other rights or remedies. |
|---|---|
| Advance or prospective waiver | A lien or bond right cannot be waived before furnishing labor, services, or materials; an advance waiver of the claim or § 44-14-366 is null, void, and unenforceable (§ 44-14-366(b)). Subordination and bona fide post-furnishing dispute settlements are exceptions (§ 44-14-366(f)). |
| Statutory form requirement | Mandatory substantial compliance with one of two prescribed forms, duly executed by the claimant, in at least 12-point type. Omitting the statutory notice makes the waiver unenforceable and invalid; incorrectly completed blanks do not invalidate it if the subject matter is reasonably determinable (§ 44-14-366(c)-(e)). |
| Waiver types and payment stage | Two forms only: Waiver and Release of Lien and Payment Bond Rights Upon Interim Payment, and the parallel form Upon Final Payment (§ 44-14-366(d)-(e)). Georgia does not provide four separate conditional/unconditional progress/final forms. |
| Payment and effectiveness | Either form is conclusively effective at the earliest of actual receipt of the stated funds, a separate written acknowledgment of payment in full, or day 90 after execution unless an affidavit of nonpayment is filed before then. Filing suspends the waiver until full payment (§ 44-14-366(g)). |
| Required contents, exceptions, and through date | Both forms identify contractor, labor/materials, project/building, city, county, owner, property description, and payment sum. Interim adds a through date and reserves retained amounts; final has no through-date or retainage reservation. Blank errors are tolerated only if the released subject matter remains reasonably determinable (§ 44-14-366(d)-(e)). |
| Rights released and reserved | Releases property-lien and labor/material-bond rights only, to the extent stated; other claimant rights and remedies remain. Interim runs through the stated date except retention; final reaches labor/materials furnished for the property. Subordination, bona fide dispute settlements, and cancellation of recorded liens remain outside the rule (§ 44-14-366(a), (d)-(f)). |
| Signature, authority, notary, and format | Claimant duly executes the waiver under hand and seal; the statutory forms include witness and address lines, require at least 12-point type, and require no notary. The separate affidavit of nonpayment is sworn, witnessed, and notarized, then filed in the property's county (§ 44-14-366(c)-(e), (g)). |
| Noncompliance, remedies, and transition traps | Advance waivers are void; nonstatutory adverse statements create no estoppel; missing notice makes a form unenforceable and invalid. An unpaid claimant must file the statutory affidavit before day 90 and send required copies within seven days. Current forms incorporate the 2020 rewrite and 2021 affidavit correction. |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Georgia uses two payment-stage forms, not four
O.C.G.A. § 44-14-366(d) prescribes the interim-payment form; subsection (e)
prescribes the final-payment form. Each must substantially follow the statutory
language, use at least 12-point type, and contain the all-caps statutory notice.
The forms need not otherwise be printed in boldface capitals.
The interim form identifies the contractor, furnished labor or materials,
project, city, county, owner, property, payment amount, and a through date. It
releases lien and labor/material-bond rights through that date but expressly
excepts retained amounts. The final form uses the same project and payment
identification without a through date or retainage exception.
A signed form does not wait indefinitely for payment
Georgia's forms are unusual because they can become effective without payment.
Under § 44-14-366(g), the waiver is conclusively effective at the earliest of
actual receipt of the stated funds, a separate written acknowledgment of full
payment, or 90 days after execution. An unpaid claimant must file the statutory
affidavit of nonpayment in the county where the property is located before that
90-day period expires. Filing suspends the waiver until payment in full.
The affidavit is a different document from the waiver. It is sworn, witnessed,
and notarized. Within seven days after filing it, the claimant must send the
required copy to the owner by registered or certified mail or statutory
overnight delivery. A claimant outside privity must also send the contractor a
copy when a notice of commencement was filed.
Only lien and bond rights are released
Section 44-14-366(a) limits the statutory waiver to lien and labor/material-bond
rights and says it does not affect the claimant's other rights or remedies.
The current text reflects the 2020 rewrite and the following session's
correction to the affidavit's copy directions.
What trips people up
Filing a claim of lien is not the statutory way to stop the 90-day waiver.
The current rule calls for the affidavit of nonpayment. The statute separately
says it does not shorten the ordinary deadline for filing a lien.
A missing notice is different from an imperfect blank. Omitting the
statutory notice makes the waiver unenforceable and invalid. A blank completed
incorrectly does not automatically invalidate the form if the subject of the
release can still be reasonably determined.
The advance-waiver ban has express edges. It does not invalidate a lien
subordination to another property interest, even if agreed before furnishing,
or a waiver used to settle a bona fide dispute over already-furnished work. It
also does not govern cancellation of a lien already recorded.
Common questions
Does a Georgia lien waiver need notarization?
The interim and final statutory waiver forms do not contain a notary block. The
separate affidavit of nonpayment must be sworn and notarized.
Does Georgia have a conditional final-waiver form?
Not as a separately labeled form. Georgia supplies interim and final forms, and
the same payment-or-90-day effectiveness rule applies to both.
Can the waiver release a breach-of-contract claim?
Not through § 44-14-366 itself. Subsection (a) limits these statutory forms to
lien and labor/material-bond rights and preserves other rights and remedies.
Statutes and sources
- O.C.G.A. § 44-14-366(a)-(g), official 2020 SB 315 text —
https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20192020/194229
(accessed 2026-07-23) - O.C.G.A. § 44-14-366(g)(2)(C), official 2021 SB 143 text —
https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20212022/197304
(accessed 2026-07-23)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
Get the answer for your situation
You just read how Georgia handles this in general. Ezel applies current Georgia law to your facts and answers your specific question, with citations.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.