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

In Louisiana, an owner pays a contractor’s written payment request within 35 days, a contractor or subcontractor pays its subcontractors and suppliers within 7 days of being paid, and an unpaid amount carries a penalty of 1.5% a month, though a written contract for a single-family home may allow up to 61 days. When there is a good faith dispute, the party disputing must still pay the undisputed amount by the deadline. If the owner obtained a construction loan before the request and timely asked for the disbursement, payment is due on the later of 35 days after the request or the fifth day after the loan proceeds arrive. The penalty starts the day after payment is due and stops when payment is delivered, mailed (if delivered within three days) or a judgment is rendered. A waiver of the Section is absolutely null, the court must award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party, and the Section does not apply to oil, gas, mineral and well or mine service agreements or replace the public contract rules of R.S. 38:2191. A written contract can set its own payment terms where the statute allows. This is La. R.S. 9:2784.

WhatLouisiana
Payment deadlineOwner pays within 35 days; 1.5% a month penalty
Who this coversPrivate construction, not only public works

What the statute says

“… the owner shall pay the amount owed to the contractor, unless any amount is withheld as authorized by law, the contract, or this Section, no later than thirty-five days following receipt of the written request …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

La. R.S. 9:2784

Read the statute in the Louisiana Laws (Louisiana State Legislature): legis.la.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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