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

In Delaware, every construction contract an owner awards must require the owner to pay for satisfactory work within 30 days of the end of the billing period, every subcontract must require the contractor to pay within 30 days out of amounts it is paid, and a late payment carries an interest penalty at the legal rate. Where a contract has no payment term, the owner pays undisputed amounts within 30 days after the end of the billing period or after delivery of the invoice, whichever is later, and a contractor pays undisputed amounts to its subcontractors within 15 days after receiving payment; a party disputing an invoice must give specific written notice within 7 days or the invoice is deemed accepted. Those fallback and dispute rules do not apply to public works, to contracts for the erection of 6 or fewer residential units under construction at once, or to the alteration or repair of any single residential unit. An owner or contractor that retains part of a payment must give written notice of why within 7 days of the date payment was due. Unpaid interest penalties are added to the principal at the end of each 30-day period. A written contract can set its own payment terms where the statute allows. This is 6 Del. C. §§ 3506, 3507, 3508.

WhatDelaware
Payment deadlineOwner 30 days after billing period; interest at legal rate
Who this coversPrivate construction, not only public works

What the statute says

“A payment clause which obligates the owner to pay the contractor for satisfactory performance under the contract within 30 days of the end of the billing period …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

6 Del. C. §§ 3506, 3507, 3508

Read the statute in the Delaware Code (Delaware General Assembly): delcode.delaware.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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