When a waiver becomes effective
Under O.C.G.A. 44-14-366(g)(2), a lien waiver is conclusively effective at the earliest of three triggers:
- actual receipt of the funds stated in the waiver;
- the claimant's separate written acknowledgment of payment in full;
- 90 days after the waiver is executed, unless an affidavit of nonpayment is filed within that period.
Delivering the waiver to the owner is not a trigger. Handing it over starts nothing.
The 90-day trigger works without payment
The biggest trap is thinking an unpaid waiver never takes effect. It does: absent a timely affidavit of nonpayment, the waiver becomes effective 90 days after execution even if no money arrived.
Worked example: waiver signed January 10, 2025, no payment, no affidavit filed.
- January 10 to January 31: 21 days.
- February 2025: 28 more, total 49.
- March: 31 more, total 80.
- April: 10 more reaches 90 on April 10, 2025.
February 9 is only 30 days. January 10, 2026 treats the period as one year.
The affidavit of nonpayment
The affidavit is how an unpaid claimant stops the 90-day trigger (44-14-366(g)(2)). To work, it must be:
- filed in the county where the property is located;
- filed within the 90-day period after the waiver is executed;
- in at least 12-point font.
Traps: the State Licensing Board is not the filing office and 30 days is not the statutory period. Notarization does not excuse the font rule. The affidavit responds to a waiver already executed; it is not filed before the waiver is signed.
Copy to the owner: 7 days
The statutory form requires the filer to send a copy to the owner within seven days of filing, by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery.
Keep it apart from the other short periods:
- 2 business days: copy of a claim of lien to the owner.
- 10 calendar days: contractor's copy of the notice of commencement on request.
- 30 days: notice to contractor and notice of lien action.