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

In Kansas, an owner pays a contractor within 30 days after receiving a timely, properly completed, undisputed request for payment, a contractor pays its subcontractors within seven business days of being paid, and late amounts carry 18% a year interest, though the law does not apply to homes of four units or less or to public works. Retainage may not exceed 5% of the contract unless a higher rate is needed to ensure performance, and never more than 10%; the owner must release remaining retainage within 30 days after substantial completion. If an undisputed payment is not made within seven business days after it is due, a contractor or subcontractor may suspend work after seven more business days’ written notice. A court or arbitrator must award costs and reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party, and these rights cannot be waived by contract. A written contract can set its own payment terms where the statute allows. This is K.S.A. 16-1801, 16-1803, 16-1804, 16-1805, 16-1806, 16-1807.

WhatKansas
Payment deadlineOwner pays within 30 days; 18% a year interest
Who this coversPrivate construction, not only public works

What the statute says

“All contracts for private construction shall provide that payment of amounts due a contractor from an owner, except retainage, shall be made within 30 days after the owner receives a timely, properly completed, undisputed request for payment.”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

K.S.A. 16-1801, 16-1803, 16-1804, 16-1805, 16-1806, 16-1807

Read the statute in the Kansas Statutes (Kansas Revisor of Statutes): ksrevisor.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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