What does Arizona’s prompt payment law require on private construction?

In Arizona, an owner pays a contractor within seven days after a billing is certified and approved (a billing is deemed approved 14 days after receipt unless the owner gives written reasons), a contractor pays a subcontractor within seven days of being paid, and a late payment carries interest of 1.5% a month. Billings are on a thirty day cycle unless the contract and each page of the plans conspicuously set a different cycle, and longer payment or approval periods also need a conspicuous notice on each page of the plans. An owner may withhold only an amount sufficient to cover the direct costs it reasonably expects to incur for reasons stated in writing, such as defective work not remedied. For the construction of a dwelling for an owner-occupant, the owner’s payment rules in § 32-1182 apply only if each billing carries the statutory notice of the Arizona prompt pay act on its front page. The owner’s payment rules do not apply to the state or its political subdivisions. A written contract can set its own payment terms where the statute allows. This is A.R.S. §§ 32-1182, 32-1183, 32-1187, 32-1188.

WhatArizona
Payment deadlineOwner pays 7 days after approval; 1.5% a month
Who this coversPrivate construction, not only public works

What the statute says

“… the owner shall pay the contractor interest at the rate of one and one-half percent a month or fraction of a month on the unpaid balance, or at a higher rate as the parties to the construction contract agree …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

A.R.S. §§ 32-1182, 32-1183, 32-1187, 32-1188

Read the statute in the Arizona Revised Statutes (Arizona Legislature): azleg.gov.

Checked against the statute on November 15, 2026.

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

How Seayora uses this rule

A contractor on Seayora keeps every job’s dates, its estimate, its invoices and its payments in one record, so the date work was last performed, the date each invoice went out and the amount still owed are on file when a lien or payment deadline is counted.

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