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

In Hawaii, on private work a contractor pays a subcontractor within ten days after the later of receiving the subcontractor’s invoice with its supporting documents or being paid by the owner for that work, and a late payment carries interest of 1.5% a month, but no statute sets a deadline for the owner’s payment to the contractor. Interest does not apply if the delay is due to a bona fide dispute between the contractor and the subcontractor over the goods and services. If payment depends on funds held in escrow or trust, the contractor must say so clearly in its solicitation of bids, and interest then begins only after the tenth day following the later of the invoice or receipt of the escrow or trust funds. The section does not apply to public contracts under chapter 103. A written contract can set its own payment terms where the statute allows. This is Haw. Rev. Stat. § 444-25.

WhatHawaii
Payment deadlineSub paid within 10 days; 1.5% a month interest
Who this coversPrivate construction, not only public works

What the statute says

“The subcontractor shall be entitled to receive interest on the unpaid amount at the rate of one and one-half per cent per month from the date payment is due …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 444-25

Read the statute in the Hawaii Revised Statutes (Hawaii State Legislature): capitol.hawaii.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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