Texas is one of the states that writes the waiver for you. Property Code § 53.284 sets out four forms, and a waiver that does not substantially comply with the right one is unenforceable. This generator carries the statutory wording exactly as enacted and lets you fill only the blanks: the check, the sum, the owner, the location and the job. Most progress billings call for the conditional form, so that is where it starts.
Texas does not leave the wording to the general's lawyer. Section 53.284 sets out four forms, and a waiver is unenforceable unless it substantially complies with the one that fits the payment. The choice comes down to two questions: is this the last payment, and has the money already reached you in good funds? A check you are about to receive, or a joint check, always means the conditional form.
The four Texas statutory waiver and release forms| Form | Section | Use it when | Release takes effect |
|---|
| Conditional, progress | § 53.284(b) | You are handing over paperwork to get a progress payment you have not received yet, or you are being paid by check. | When the named check is endorsed and paid by the bank it is drawn on |
| Unconditional, progress | § 53.284(c) | The progress payment is already in your account and the general wants proof. | On signature |
| Conditional, final | § 53.284(d) | Closeout paperwork for the last payment, before good funds have reached you, or a final check. | When the final check is endorsed and paid |
| Unconditional, final | § 53.284(e) | The final payment has cleared. Nothing is left to collect. | On signature |
The site-wide conditional vs unconditional comparison walks through the same split for every state. Outside Texas, the generic conditional and unconditional waiver generators are the better starting point; inside Texas, use the statutory text above.
The Texas conditional forms do not say “on payment”. They name a check: who it is from, the sum, and who it is payable to. The release becomes effective only when that check has been properly endorsed and paid by the bank it is drawn on. Handing over the form, or even receiving the check, does nothing. Section 53.281(b)(3) adds a second lock: a conditional release works only if evidence of payment to the claimant exists, and the form itself tells anyone relying on it to verify that evidence first.
Here is the sample in the generator, a mechanical sub on its fourth progress billing with 10 percent retainage in its subcontract:
Worked example: Pay Application No. 4 under a Texas conditional waiver| Step | What happens | Amount |
|---|
| Oct 18 | Pay application No. 4 billed for the period | 69,311.11 |
| Oct 18 | Retainage held under the subcontract (10%), not released by this waiver | -6,931.11 |
| Oct 18 | Conditional progress form signed, naming a check for this sum | 62,380.00 |
| Oct 22 | Check arrives, endorsed and deposited: release still not effective | pending |
| Oct 24 | Drawee bank pays the check: release effective for this progress payment | 62,380.00 |
If the check bounces, the condition never happens and your lien rights for that billing are untouched. The $6,931.11 is excluded on the form's own terms (“except for unpaid retention”), so it is still yours to chase. Track it with the retainage calculator, and remember the owner side of Texas retainage is separate: the owner must reserve 10 percent of the original contract during the work and for 30 days after completion.
Plenty of national generals still send one house waiver for every state. In Texas that paper has a problem. Section 53.282 says a statement that waives or impairs a lien or payment bond claim is not enforceable, and creates no estoppel, unless one of three things is true:
- It is in writing and substantially complies with a § 53.284 form.
- You have actually received payment in good and sufficient funds, in full, for the claim.
- It sits in a written contract for a single-family house, townhouse or duplex (or the land development for one) and was made before any labor or materials went in. That route is not available against a supplier who furnishes only material.
So a custom form signed before the money clears does not cost you the lien. Once you have actually been paid in full, the claim is gone whatever paper you signed, so the form only matters while money is still owed. Section 53.286 closes the other door: outside § 53.282, any contract clause that waives your right to file or enforce a lien is void as against public policy. A no-lien clause buried in a commercial subcontract does not hold.
Where the forms do not apply
Section 53.287 takes three agreements out of the subchapter: an accord and satisfaction of an identified dispute, an agreement about a pending lawsuit or arbitration, and any agreement signed after your lien affidavit is filed or your bond claim is made. A settlement release at that stage is enforceable on its own wording, so read it as a settlement, not as a routine waiver.
Practical move when a non-statutory form shows up: send back the matching Texas form from this page and keep the general's extra promises (indemnities, bills-paid statements) in a separate document where you can read them. The lien waiver requirements by state guide covers how other states treat the same question, and the Texas mechanics lien guide covers the notices and filing deadlines that protect the claim in the first place.
A Texas waiver no longer needs a notary. H.B. 2237 struck the words “and notarized” from § 53.281(b)(2), effective January 1, 2022. Today the release works if it substantially complies with the form, is signed by you or your authorized agent, and, for a conditional release, evidence of payment exists. The catch is the transition rule: the change applies only to an original contract (owner to prime) entered into on or after January 1, 2022. A job whose prime contract was signed before then still runs under the old law, which required the notary.
Two things keep notaries in the picture. On residential jobs, the disclosure statement the statute makes the original contractor hand the homeowner (§ 53.255) still tells owners to get a “signed and notarized release”, so expect residential owners to ask. Notarizing does no harm. And many Texas generals pair the waiver with a bills-paid affidavit under § 53.085, which is a sworn statement by design. If requested as a condition of payment, you must state that your own subs and suppliers are paid in full, or list who is owed and how much. A false or misleading affidavit made intentionally, knowingly or recklessly is a misdemeanor carrying a fine up to $4,000, up to a year in jail, or both, and the signer is personally liable for the loss. More on when a notary is and is not required elsewhere: do lien waivers have to be notarized?