Template: the four California lien waiver and release forms (Civil Code 8132 to 8138)
In one paragraph
All four California statutory waiver and release forms, reproduced from Civil Code 8132, 8134, 8136 and 8138 with the one-sentence rule for choosing among them: conditional when you have not been paid yet, unconditional only after the money has cleared; progress while the job is running, final at the end. Beside each blank form is the same form filled in for one job, so you can see the Through Date, the check details and the Exceptions lines carry the numbers that protect you. A release in any other wording is void, and an unconditional release signed before the money clears is enforceable against you anyway.
The rule
A waiver and release given for a progress or final payment is null, void and unenforceable unless it is in substantially the statutory form (Civil Code 8132, 8134, 8136, 8138); a conditional release becomes effective only on receipt of payment, while an unconditional release states that you have been paid and is enforceable against you even if you have not (8134, 8138 Notice to Claimant). A conditional release binds the owner or lender only with evidence of payment (8124), and any other statement purporting to waive a lien is void unless the claimant has actually been paid in full (8126). Change-order work is released only if the change order was fully executed before the release is signed, unless listed as an exception.
Why it matters
You will be asked to sign one of these on nearly every job that pays in stages, usually by someone holding your check. The forms are the law's own; there is nothing to draft. What matters is picking the right one of the four, dating the Through Date correctly, listing unpaid extras and retention in the Exceptions, and never signing an unconditional release for money that has not cleared. Done right, the release is a receipt. Done wrong, it is the end of your claim.