Nevada lien waiver forms: which one to use and when

The four Nevada forms

Each form opens with the same header blanks: Property Name, Property Location, Undersigned's Customer, Invoice/Payment Application Number and Payment Amount. The conditional final form adds Payment Period and Amount of Disputed Claims; the unconditional final form adds Amount of Disputed Claims. Each ends with Dated, the company name, “By” and “Its,” for the signer's title.

Why the exact wording matters

The rest of the section closes the gaps. Any contract term that tries to waive or impair the lien rights of a contractor, subcontractor or supplier is void. A claimant's written consent to waive lien rights only counts if the claimant signs and delivers one of these forms, or has an authorized agent sign it, and, for a conditional waiver, actually receives the payment (subsection 1). Any other statement that adversely affects a lien isn't enforceable unless there's a written waiver in the statutory form and the claimant was paid, and then only to the extent of the payment (subsection 2).

Two kinds of agreement fall outside the forms: an accord and satisfaction of a real dispute, and a settlement of a pending lawsuit or arbitration. Either one must be in a writing the claimant signs and must specifically refer to the lien rights it affects (subsection 4).

What the forms release and keep

• What's released: “any notice of lien, any private bond right, any claim for payment and any rights under any similar ordinance, rule or statute related to payment rights” on the property.
• Progress forms keep “any retention withheld, any items, modifications or changes pending approval, disputed items and claims, or items furnished that are not paid,” and release only to the extent of the amount actually paid.
• Final forms keep only the Amount of Disputed Claims you enter in the header. Leave it blank and the final waiver keeps nothing back.
• Every form has you warrant that you've paid, or will promptly use the money to pay, your laborers, subcontractors, materialmen and suppliers for the work covered.

The bounced-check rule

Subsection 5(e) applies “notwithstanding any language in any waiver and release form,” so it reaches the unconditional forms too:

That's a safety net, not a reason to sign an unconditional form early. The notice printed on the unconditional final form still warns that it is enforceable against you “even if you have not been paid,” and a payment promised but never made by check isn't covered by the rule.

Joint checks

Payment by a two-party joint check, made out to you and another payee you're in privity with, counts as payment to you once you endorse it and it clears, but only for the smallest of three figures: the amount of the check, the amount the payor meant to pay you out of it, or the balance owed to you for the work the check covers (subsection 3). Sign a waiver for that figure, not the face of the check.

Signing: claimant or agent, no notary

A Nevada waiver must be signed by the lien claimant or the claimant's authorized agent. The forms have no notary or witness block. Nevada's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act says an electronic signature satisfies a law requiring a signature (NRS 719.240), and the federal ESIGN Act says the same, so the person in the “By” line can sign from a phone or computer. More in Nevada's e-signature law.

Common Nevada mistakes

• A GC's “substantially similar” form. Nevada's statute has no “substantially,” so use the statutory text as written.
• Unconditional for a promise. The 5(e) rule covers dishonored checks, not payments that never arrive.
• Waiving the face of a joint check. You're paid only the lesser of the three figures in subsection 3.
• Empty Disputed Claims on a final form. It's the only thing a final waiver keeps.

Sending Nevada waivers with SignMaster

1. 1

   Copy the forms exactly

   Type all four forms from NRS 108.2457(5), notices in type at least as large as anything else on the page, and upload each with New template.

2. 2

   Map the header to fields

   Property Name, Property Location, Undersigned's Customer, Invoice/Payment Application Number, Payment Amount, Payment Period and Amount of Disputed Claims become text and currency fields. Add Signature, Company and Date signed fields, and a text field for the signer's title on the “Its” line.

3. 3

   Pair every billing

   Send the conditional form with each progress billing and the unconditional one once paid. On paid plans, bulk send covers a whole draw from one CSV.

4. 4

   Keep the proof

   Each signed waiver returns as a PDF with a certificate of completion: who signed, when, from which email and IP address. Store it with the cleared check.