Lien and title risk
When completing statutory lien waiver forms that request the "owner," providing the name of a single owner is sufficient. Lenders should not delay draw requests solely because a co-owner's name is omitted from the form.
An evaluation of all 31 statutory lien waiver forms across state jurisdictions reveals that 19 ask for the owner’s identity, yet none mandate listing every co-owner when property ownership is shared.
To understand this requirement, note that the owner line functions primarily to help locate and identify the subject property, and the waiver itself is executed exclusively by the claimant. Across all statutory forms, the owner field is framed in the singular alongside the legal description or property address, and the relevant statutes do not impose additional requirements for co-owners.
Arizona, California and Texas have four forms each; Florida, Georgia and Mississippi have two each; and Massachusetts has one. The table lists each state’s forms and the words each form uses for the owner.
| State | Statute | Forms | Owner blank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | A.R.S. § 33-1008(D) | Conditional and Unconditional Waiver and Release on Progress Payment; Conditional and Unconditional Waiver and Release on Final Payment | “on the job of ___ (Owner) located at ___” |
| California | Civ. Code §§ 8132, 8134, 8136, 8138 | Conditional and Unconditional Waiver and Release on Progress Payment; Conditional and Unconditional Waiver and Release on Final Payment | “Owner:” line under Identifying Information |
| Florida | Fla. Stat. § 713.20(4) and (5) | Waiver and Release of Lien Upon Progress Payment; Waiver and Release of Lien Upon Final Payment | “on the job of (insert the name of the owner)” |
| Georgia | O.C.G.A. § 44-14-366(d) and (e) | Waiver and Release of Lien and Payment Bond Rights Upon Interim Payment; Waiver and Release of Lien and Payment Bond Rights Upon Final Payment | “is owned by ___ (name of owner)” |
| Massachusetts | M.G.L. c. 254, § 32(4) | Partial Waiver and Subordination of Lien, used only by a party that filed or recorded a notice of contract | Owner line at the top and “owned by ___” in the body |
| Mississippi | Miss. Code § 85-7-433(1) and (2) | Interim Waiver and Release Upon Payment; Waiver and Release Upon Final Payment, both notarized | “is owned by ___ (name of owner)” |
| Texas | Tex. Prop. Code § 53.284(b) to (e) | Conditional and Unconditional Waiver and Release on Progress Payment; Conditional and Unconditional Waiver and Release on Final Payment | “on the property of ___ (owner) located at ___” |
The other 12 forms don’t ask for the owner at all.
Arizona, California, Massachusetts and Texas all use the same basic test. A waiver is enforceable if it substantially follows the statutory form, and Massachusetts adds that it can’t materially deviate from it. None of the four says anything about co-owners, so a waiver with one owner’s name in the owner blank still follows the form.
Georgia and Mississippi are more direct on the subject and both statutes say that a “blank” on the form isn’t completed correctly, the waiver is still considered valid so long as the subject matter of the waiver can reasonably be determined (Miss. Code § 85-7-419). A waiver that names one of three owners and describes the property correctly meets the test.
Florida gives lenders the most room. Its statutory forms are technically optional, and a waiver that isn’t substantially similar to them is still enforceable according to its terms.
Lenders can still ask for every owner’s name. California, Florida and Texas each have a general rule that the singular in a statute includes the plural (Cal. Civ. Code § 14, Fla. Stat. § 1.01(1), and Tex. Gov’t Code § 311.012(b), which applies to the Property Code). Under those rules, an owner blank written in the singular can hold several names without departing from the form.
California does address co-owners in a related context for a notice of completion under Civ. Code § 8182(e), however, the waiver sections contain nothing similar.
In our review, we haven’t found a reported decision in any of these seven states that voided a statutory waiver because it named fewer than all of the owners.
The owner line becomes a problem when it names the wrong party, especially when the property description is questionable. For example, a waiver might list the borrower or the builder as owner on a job where title is vested in an LLC or a trust, and identify the property only by lot number. In Arizona, California, Massachusetts and Texas, that combination gives a claimant room to argue the waiver never identified the job.
In Georgia and Mississippi, a claimant that signs a waiver and isn’t paid can rely on the waiver’s information when it completes an affidavit of nonpayment. That affidavit is filed in the county where the property is located, so whatever name is on the owner line can end up in the public record.
Draw teams should accept a waiver that correctly names at least one record owner and describes the property well enough to locate it. A missing co-owner isn’t a reason to hold a draw, but a waiver that names someone who isn’t on title should go back to the claimant.
If your team prepares waiver forms for the borrower’s contractors, fill in the owner line from the vesting on title and list the primary owner. Don’t change the statutory wording to make room. Every waiver should also carry the full property address and either the legal description or the APN, because each of these forms relies on that description to identify the property.
In Texas, we found nothing that invalidates a lien waiver when all the owners are not listed. If your team is used to collecting every owner’s signature on Texas deals, that practice comes from the homestead rules. Tex. Prop. Code § 53.254(c) requires both spouses to sign the contract for work on a homestead, but it doesn’t apply to the claimant’s lien waiver.
This post reflects the statutes as of September 2026 and isn’t legal advice. Check with counsel before you change what your draw team accepts.
For more information, visit Land Gorilla’s State Resource Center.
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