• Lien rights cannot be waived in a contract.
• Pay-if-paid and other such provisions do not waive lien rights in South Carolina.
• The South Carolina statutes do not set out specific forms to be used as lien waivers
• "Paid if Paid" is not enforceable in South Carolina.
• "Pay when Paid" suggests time for payment.
• Pay-when-paid clause in the subcontract or purchase order does not create a condition precedent to payment.

Retainage Provisions

Public

• The maximum rate of retainage that may be withheld in a contract or subcontract is 3.5
  percent. The state releases these funds upon completion of each division of the work. The
  contractor is required to release retention to its subcontractors within 10 days after receiving
  payment from the state. S.C. CODE ANN. § 11-35-3030(4).

Private

• There are no statutes or cases directly affecting retainage on private work. However, the
  Prompt Pay Act, S.C. CODE§ 29-6-10, et seq., requires that the contractor release payment to
  subcontractors within seven days of receipt of payment from the owner. Thus, it is theoretically
  illegal for the contractor to withhold, long-term, retainage in excess of the percentage being
  withheld by the owner from the contractor.