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

In Massachusetts, on a private project whose prime contract is $3,000,000 or more (not a project of 1 to 4 homes), every construction contract must let a payment application be approved or rejected within 15 days after it is submitted, after which it is deemed approved, and paid within 45 days after approval, though the statute sets no interest rate. Applications for periodic progress payments may be submitted on a schedule of no more than 30 days, beginning with the end of the first calendar month at least 14 days after work starts, and each lower tier may have 7 more days to approve or reject than the tier above it. A rejection must be in writing, explain its factual and contractual basis and be certified as made in good faith. A pay-when-paid clause is void except where the third party did not pay because of the payee’s uncured default or the third party’s insolvency, and a clause requiring work to continue when an approved payment is more than 30 days overdue is void, with limited exceptions. Any contract term that waives or limits the section is void. A written contract can set its own payment terms where the statute allows. This is M.G.L. c. 149, § 29E.

WhatMassachusetts
Payment deadlinePay within 45 days of approval on $3M+ private jobs
Who this coversPrivate construction, not only public works

What the statute says

“… (iii) for payment, 45 days after approval, unless the payment is subject to the condition of receipt of payment by a third person but only to the extent enforceable under subsection (e)”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

M.G.L. c. 149, § 29E

Read the statute in the General Laws of Massachusetts (Massachusetts Legislature): malegislature.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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