Blog№ 003

Construction draw request checklist: what lenders reject and why

A draw is funded when the package is complete, not when it is submitted. The eight documents a lender checks, how lien waivers pair across draws, and the errors that send a package back.

A construction lender does not fund a draw because the work was done. It funds a draw because a package of documents proves the work was done, proves the people who did it were paid, and proves nobody has filed a lien in the meantime.

Miss one document and the lender funds nothing. Meanwhile subcontractors wait. In a 2025 survey of 250 general contractors and subcontractors commissioned by Built, 70% said they regularly face delayed payments.

Figure 1 · A draw package, checked the way a lender checks it
01
G702 application for paymentSigned and notarized
02
G703 continuation sheetTotals match the G702
03
Invoices and backupOne for every line billed
04
Conditional waivers, this drawContractor and 11 subs
05
Unconditional waivers, last drawApex Concrete is missing
06
Inspection reportPercent complete confirmed
07
Change ordersApproved in writing
08
Title date-downNo new liens of record
7 of 8 ready.Draw #7 for $412,600 is held on one waiver.
Seven documents are in order. One is short by a single signature from one subcontractor, and the lender funds nothing until it arrives.

The eight documents

1. AIA G702, Application and Certificate for Payment. The summary page. It shows work completed and stored to date, retainage, previous payments and change orders. The contractor signs it and has it notarized.

2. AIA G703, Continuation Sheet. The schedule of values, line by line: scheduled value, work from prior applications, work this period, materials stored, total to date, balance to finish. Its totals must match the G702.

3. Invoices and backup. One for every line billed this period.

4. Conditional lien waivers for this draw. From the general contractor and every subcontractor and supplier being paid.

5. Unconditional lien waivers for the previous draw. Proof that the last payment reached the people it was meant for.

6. Inspection report. The OCC's handbook for bank examiners says banks typically require an architect or engineering inspection report with each draw, and that each draw should match the improvements made as of the inspection date.

7. Change orders. Approved in writing. The same handbook has examiners check that change orders are approved by both the bank and the architect or engineer.

8. Title date-down. An update to the lender's title policy confirming no new liens have been recorded. In some states a mechanics lien can take priority over the bank's lien, which is why the lender asks every time.

Stored materials add a ninth item when you bill for them: an inventory, the storage location, proof of insurance and photographs.

How lien waivers pair across draws

This is the part that trips up the most packages. Rabbet, Built and Northspyre, three companies that process draws, all name missing lien waivers as the most common cause of a delay.

Figure 2 · How waivers pair across draws
Conditional, for this drawUnconditional, for the draw before
Draw 5
Waiver for draw 5
Waiver for draw 4
Draw 6
Waiver for draw 6
Waiver for draw 5
Draw 7
Waiver for draw 7
Waiver for draw 6
Each draw carries two sets of waivers. A conditional waiver covers the money being requested now. Once that money is paid, the next draw must carry the unconditional waiver for it.

A conditional waiver says: I give up my lien rights for this amount once I am paid. It is safe to sign before the money arrives.

An unconditional waiver says: I have been paid and I give up my lien rights for this amount. California's statutory form carries the warning in capital letters that the document is enforceable against you if you sign it, even if you have not been paid.

So each draw carries conditional waivers for the money being requested now, and unconditional waivers for the money paid last time. One subcontractor who has not returned last month's unconditional waiver holds up this month's entire draw.

Twelve states require specific statutory forms, including California, Texas, Arizona, Florida and Georgia. In those states a waiver on the wrong form may not be enforceable. Georgia's law works differently from the others: it has two forms, interim and final, and a waiver becomes binding unless an affidavit of nonpayment is filed within 90 days. Check your state's statute before you send a template to a subcontractor.

What gets a package sent back

Rabbet's 2026 analysis of draw packages lists the five most common problems:

  1. Missing or incomplete lien waivers, especially from subcontractors.
  2. Amounts that do not reconcile from one document to the next.
  3. Missing subcontractor backup.
  4. Cover letters signed before the final amounts were settled.
  5. Expired or missing certificates of insurance.

Add three that follow from the lender's own controls: billing a line past the percent complete the inspector will confirm, billing against a change order that has not been approved in writing, and running a budget line over without a reallocation.

None of these are hard problems. Every one is a number in one document that does not match a number in another, or a signature that has not come back. They are hard to catch because there are a dozen subcontractors, forty budget lines and one project accountant.

How long it takes

Figure 3 · Business days to process one draw
What lenders said5.5 days
What borrowers said9.4 days
Lenders and borrowers were asked how long a draw takes. Borrowers count from the day they submit. Lenders count from the day the package is complete. The four days between the two answers are the days spent fixing the package.Rabbet, State of Construction Finance, 2019. Sample size not published.

The gap between the two answers is the useful number. The lender's clock starts when the package is complete. Yours starts when you send it. Every correction happens in between.

A checklist to run before you submit

  • G702 and G703 totals match each other and match the invoices.
  • Every line billed is at or under the percent complete on site.
  • Every change order billed against has written approval.
  • A conditional waiver is in hand for every payee in this draw, on the form your state requires.
  • An unconditional waiver is in hand for every payee in the last draw.
  • No budget line is over without a reallocation.
  • Insurance certificates are current.
  • Stored materials have an inventory, a location, insurance and photographs.

Where software fits

dailybuilt runs this checklist for you. It reads the pay application when it arrives, matches each lien waiver to its invoice line, checks each line against the budget, and lists exactly which document is missing and from whom. It assembles the lender package and sends it to your CFO, who approves it before it goes out.

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