What Is a Sworn Contractor's Statement? A Construction Closeout Essential
A sworn contractor's statement — sometimes called a contractor's affidavit, contractor's sworn statement, or sworn statement — is a notarized document in which the general contractor attests, under penalty of perjury, to the status of payments on a construction project. It lists every subcontractor and material supplier who has worked on the project, the contract amount with each, the amount paid to date, and the balance owed.
The document exists because owners, lenders, and title companies need reliable information about the project's payment status to make specific decisions — funding the next draw, issuing title insurance, closing the construction loan. The sworn statement, backed by the GC's perjury-level attestation, is the mechanism by which that information becomes reliable. A GC's representation 'in writing' is one thing; a notarized statement under oath is legally different.
Sworn statements come up at specific moments in a construction project, each tied to a decision someone else is about to make.
Typical moments when a sworn statement is required
- Construction loan draw — lender requires sworn statement before funding each progress payment
- Title policy issuance — title company requires sworn statement before issuing title insurance or endorsements
- Mechanic's lien waiver exchange — owner or GC requires sworn statement alongside lien waivers
- Project closeout — owner requires final sworn statement before releasing retainage
- Sale or refinance during construction — buyer or new lender requires sworn statement
- Post-completion if defects are alleged — may be referenced during legal proceedings
The specific format varies by state and by the requesting party (title company, lender, owner), but the core content is consistent across jurisdictions.
Information captured on a sworn statement
- Project identification — legal description, street address, owner name
- Contractor information — legal name, address, license number (where required)
- Contract amount — total contract value including change orders
- Subcontractor and supplier list — every party who contracted directly with the GC to perform work
- For each sub/supplier: name, address, trade or scope, contract amount, amount paid, amount owed
- Statement that no other subcontractors or suppliers have performed work (if applicable)
- Statement that all listed parties have been paid to date or identifying unpaid balances
- Contractor's signature, notarized
- Specific statutory language required by state law (varies)
Sworn statements and lien waivers are complementary documents. The sworn statement tells the owner/lender/title company who has done work on the project. The lien waivers (conditional and unconditional, progress and final) document what each of those parties has waived in exchange for payment.
A proper closeout package typically includes both: a final sworn statement listing every sub and supplier who worked on the project, and unconditional final lien waivers from each of those parties. Together they demonstrate that (a) no party not listed has lien rights against the property, and (b) every listed party has received payment and waived their rights. This combination is what title companies and lenders require before signing off on project completion.
Like most construction documentation, sworn statement requirements vary by state. In some states — Illinois being a well-known example — sworn statements are central to the mechanic's lien process itself. The Illinois Mechanic's Lien Act (770 ILCS 60) references sworn statements repeatedly, and owners often use them to confirm which parties can and cannot claim liens against the property.
In other states, sworn statements are more closely tied to title insurance practice than to statutory lien law. Title companies in those states have developed their own form preferences. A contractor working across multiple states needs to understand both the statutory framework and the title company's requirements for each market they operate in.
Signing a sworn statement that contains false information exposes the contractor to perjury liability, fraud claims, and personal liability even behind the corporate veil in some states. The signature is not a formality. Courts enforce sworn statement representations seriously.
The standard failure mode: a GC signs a sworn statement stating every sub has been paid through a certain date, and later it turns out one sub was missed. If the title company paid out on the title policy, or the lender funded based on the false statement, the GC's personal and corporate exposure is significant. This is why careful reconciliation of the sub list against internal AP records before signing any sworn statement is essential.
Get AP insights in your inbox
Get our weekly roundup of AP automation tips and industry news. No spam, ever.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
The preparation process involves pulling accurate data from the company's project records and cross-referencing it with the information the requesting party needs.
Sworn statement preparation sequence
- Pull the full list of subs and suppliers from the job cost system for the specific project
- Cross-reference against all executed subcontracts and material POs
- Reconcile each sub/supplier's YTD contract amount and paid amount
- Verify no work has been performed by parties not on the list (field verification or PM confirmation)
- Identify any unpaid balances and confirm they are accurate
- Collect unconditional lien waivers (for paid amounts) and conditional waivers (for amounts being paid in exchange for the statement)
- Prepare the statement in the format the requesting party requires
- Notarize — the notary witnesses the signature and applies their seal
Progress sworn statements accompany draw requests during the project. They update the subcontractor/supplier list to include any new parties since the last draw and update paid amounts. Lenders use them to verify that prior funds have reached the subs before releasing the next draw. Title companies use them to confirm that prior title insurance endorsements remain valid.
Final sworn statements are issued at project closeout. They cover the entire project's subcontractor and supplier history, reflect final contract amounts including all approved change orders, and document final payments. The final sworn statement is typically accompanied by final unconditional lien waivers from every party on the list, forming the complete closeout package.
On large projects, each subcontractor may also be required to provide their own sworn statement listing their sub-subcontractors and suppliers. This creates a nested structure: the GC's sworn statement lists the subs, and each sub's sworn statement lists their own downstream relationships. At project closeout, the owner has a complete tree of payment relationships, with sworn attestations at each level.
Subcontractor sworn statements matter because of tier-based lien rights. A sub-sub with lien rights that the GC doesn't know about can file a lien that the GC didn't anticipate. Requiring sub sworn statements — and reviewing them — surfaces these tier-2 and tier-3 relationships during the project rather than discovering them at closeout.
Errors that create closeout problems
- Missing a sub or supplier — creates potential for unidentified lien rights
- Listing parties that weren't actually on the project — inaccurate representation
- Contract amount discrepancies — sworn statement amount doesn't match actual subcontract or PO
- Paid amount discrepancies — AR on the sub's side doesn't match AP on the GC's side
- Missing change order amounts in totals — base contract shown, change orders not rolled up
- Sworn statement contradicts accompanying lien waivers — amounts don't reconcile
- Failure to attach required supporting documents per state or lender requirements
The sworn contractor's statement is one of the highest-stakes documents in construction. A title company won't issue coverage without one. A lender won't fund a draw without one. An owner won't release final retainage without one. And the signature carries personal and corporate legal exposure if it's wrong. The discipline to prepare sworn statements accurately — reconciled against job cost data, cross-referenced with sub agreements, matched to lien waivers — is what makes project closeouts clean rather than contentious.
Written by
Marcus Reyes
Construction Industry Lead
Spent twelve years running AP at a $120M general contractor before joining Covinly. Lives in the world of AIA G702/G703, retainage schedules, and lien waiver deadlines. Writes about the construction-specific workflows that generic AP tools get wrong.
View all posts