Tennessee: Mechanic's Lien Waiver Form and Advance-Waiver Rules

Requirements one by one

Contract lien waivers are void

Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-124(b)(1) states the rule without a work-start or
payment-stage qualifier:

Any contract provision that purports to waive any right of lien under this
chapter is void and unenforceable as against the public policy of this state.

The restriction is broader than a rule that merely forbids a pre-work clause.
It reaches any purported lien-waiver provision in the construction contract.

Soliciting the clause creates a licensing-board path

Under § 66-11-124(b)(2), the solicited person reports the prohibited provision
to the State Board for Licensing Contractors. If the contractor deletes it and
states that the language will not appear in future Tennessee construction
contracts, the board takes no further action on that first complaint. Refusal
can lead to a hearing and immediate license revocation, followed by notice to
the contractor's licensing authorities in other states.

The same subsection gives a solicited person reasonable attorney fees and costs
in an action for damages based on the waiver, in connection with enforcing the
lien.

Tennessee prescribes no payment-stage waiver form

Section 66-11-124 supplies no conditional, unconditional, progress, or final
form. Its payment-specific rule concerns a note: accepting a note for all or
part of the claim does not waive the lien unless the lienor expressly agrees in
writing. Accepting the note also does not change the time to serve or record the
lien notice.

A pre-work payment bond changes remote-contractor security

The separate subsection (c) mechanism is not a waiver. If, before anyone begins
furnishing, the owner or agent provides a payment bond equal to 100% of the
prime contract price in favor of remote contractors, with authorized surety and
recording in every affected county, remote contractors receive no land liens
under the chapter and instead look to the bond.

What trips people up

A note is not payment and does not stop the lien clock. Taking a promissory
note leaves the lien intact unless the lienor expressly agrees in writing to a
waiver, and it does not extend or alter the notice deadline.

The statute does not supply private-form safe harbors. It gives no approved
through-date, amount, exception, payment-condition, signature, or notary fields
for a separate draw waiver.

The board remedy begins with an opportunity to delete. Immediate revocation
does not follow merely from the first report; the contractor first receives
notice and can remove the clause and promise not to reuse it.

The 100% payment bond must predate furnishing. A later bond is not the
subsection (c) route that prevents remote-contractor liens from arising.

Common questions

Can a Tennessee subcontract contain a blanket lien waiver?
No. A contract provision purporting to waive a Chapter 11 lien right is void and
unenforceable.

Does Tennessee require conditional or unconditional waiver forms?
No. Section 66-11-124 prescribes no payment-stage waiver forms.

Does accepting a promissory note waive the lien?
Not by itself. The lienor must expressly agree in writing, and the note does not
change the lien-notice deadline.

Statutes and sources

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-124(a)-(c), note, contract-waiver, and payment-bond
  rules as reenacted — http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/105/Chapter/PC0189.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-23)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-124(b)(2), licensing and fee remedies —
  https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/111/pub/pc0749.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-23)