What Is an All Bills Paid Affidavit in Texas?

An All Bills Paid Affidavit in Texas is a sworn, notarized statement confirming that every contractor, subcontractor, laborer, and material supplier who worked on a property has been paid in full. It exists because Texas Property Code Section 53.085 gives buyers and other requesting parties the right to demand it before closing, and it’s the main document that keeps unpaid construction debts from turning into mechanic’s liens against the new owner.¹

When the Affidavit Is Required

Section 53.085 identifies two situations that trigger the right to demand one. Anyone who furnishes labor or materials for construction can be required to provide the affidavit, confirming they’ve paid their own subcontractors and suppliers, as a condition of getting paid. And a property seller must provide the affidavit to the buyer or the buyer’s agent on request before closing.¹

New construction is the typical setting. A builder working with dozens of subcontractors and suppliers creates a web of payment obligations, and any one of them, if unpaid, can file a lien that follows the property. Title companies know this and routinely require the affidavit before issuing title insurance. The same risk comes up with recent renovations, foreclosure sales where the bank wants assurance that prior construction debts are settled, and commercial properties with tenant improvement work. In any financed transaction involving recent construction, the lender’s insistence on clean title makes the affidavit a practical necessity even where no one invokes the statute by name.

What the Affidavit Has to Say

The document needs to do more than offer a vague assurance. At its core is a sworn statement that the signer has paid every contractor, subcontractor, laborer, and supplier in full for work completed through a specified date. If anyone hasn’t been fully paid, the affidavit must disclose the amount owed and provide the name, address, and phone number of each unpaid party where known.¹ A seller can either confirm everything is paid or disclose what isn’t. Skipping unpaid bills in silence isn’t an option the statute allows.

The affidavit should also address whether any mechanic’s liens have been filed or are expected. Texas gives unpaid contractors and subcontractors a window to file liens after work is complete, so the affidavit’s statement on pending or resolved liens matters to the buyer’s exposure during that window. If a lien was previously filed and later released, the affidavit should note the resolution and ideally attach the recorded release. Any undisclosed lien can delay or kill a closing, because title insurers won’t write a policy on a property carrying an outstanding lien claim.

Title companies often ask for more than the statute requires, including canceled checks, paid invoices, or signed lien waivers from each subcontractor. The affidavit itself must be signed before a notary public, who verifies the signer’s identity and administers the oath. The notarization is what turns the document into a sworn statement with legal weight.

Lien Waivers Are a Separate Document

Lien waivers and the All Bills Paid Affidavit are related but distinct. A lien waiver is signed by the contractor or supplier and gives up that party’s right to file a lien. The affidavit is signed by the property owner or general contractor and confirms that payments have been made. Texas law distinguishes conditional waivers, which take effect only once payment actually clears, from unconditional waivers, which release lien rights immediately. The Property Code prohibits requiring an unconditional waiver unless the claimant has already received payment in good funds.²

A thorough closing typically involves both: individual lien waivers from each subcontractor or supplier, plus the affidavit from the owner or general contractor tying the picture together. The waivers are the proof points; the affidavit is the umbrella statement.

Who Signs

The signer depends on who controlled the payments. In a straightforward home sale where the seller personally hired the contractors, the seller signs. When a general contractor managed the project, title companies frequently require both the owner and the general contractor to sign, because each has direct knowledge of different payment layers. This is common in large residential developments and commercial projects with long subcontractor chains.

For properties held by an LLC, corporation, or trust, an authorized officer or agent signs on the entity’s behalf. For estate sales, the executor or administrator signs. In either case, the title company will usually want documentation of the signer’s authority, such as letters testamentary or a corporate resolution, filed alongside the affidavit.

Filing and Recording

After signing and notarization, the affidavit is filed with the county clerk’s office in the county where the property sits. Recording puts the document in the public record and gives legal notice to future buyers and lenders that payment was addressed at the time of sale.

Filing fees come from Texas Local Government Code Section 118.011, which sets a base statutory rate of $5 for the first page and $4 for each additional page.³ Counties add surcharges on top of the base rate, so the actual total for a one-page document generally runs between $15 and $25 depending on the county.

Record the affidavit before the closing date. If it isn’t on record in time, the title company may refuse to issue a policy, and without title insurance, the lender won’t fund. Last-minute scrambles happen often and are entirely avoidable with a few days of lead time.

What Happens If the Affidavit Is False

The consequences for lying in an All Bills Paid Affidavit are unusually harsh compared with most real estate paperwork. Section 53.085 creates its own criminal offense for anyone who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly makes a false or misleading statement in the affidavit. The penalty is a fine of up to $4,000, jail for up to one year, or both. The statute also bars the court from granting community supervision, meaning there is no option to serve the sentence on probation.¹

Pay attention to the recklessness standard. You don’t have to deliberately lie. Signing without bothering to check whether subcontractors were actually paid can be enough. That catches the contractor who assumes everything was handled and signs without verifying down the chain.

Section 53.085 also makes the signer personally liable for any loss or damage caused by false or incorrect information in the affidavit.¹ If a buyer has to pay off a lien that should have been disclosed, the signer owes those costs directly.

Buyers may also bring claims under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act. When a seller knowingly misrepresents that all bills are paid, the buyer can recover economic damages and potentially up to three times those damages if the misrepresentation was knowing or intentional, along with attorney’s fees.⁴

Federal exposure enters the picture when the affidavit is submitted as part of a mortgage closing. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1014, knowingly making a false statement to influence a federally related mortgage lender is a federal crime carrying penalties of up to $1,000,000 in fines and 30 years in prison.⁵ Federal prosecutors don’t pursue every case, but the exposure exists any time the closing involves a federally regulated lender, which covers most residential mortgages. Between the Section 53.085 penalties, personal civil liability, DTPA treble damages, and potential federal charges, there’s no version of a false affidavit that pays off for the person who signs it.

1
State of Texas. Texas Code Property Code 53.085 – Affidavit Required
2
State of Texas. Texas Code Property Code 53.283 – Unconditional Waiver and Release Payment Required
3
State of Texas. Texas Code Local Government Code 118.011 – Fee Schedule
4
State of Texas. Texas Code Business and Commerce Code 17.50 – Relief for Consumers
5
govinfo. 18 USC 1014 – Loan and Credit Applications Generally