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

In Missouri, everyone on a private construction contract makes scheduled payments on the contract’s terms, and a court may award interest of up to 1.5% a month from the date a payment was due plus reasonable attorney fees, though the law does not cover work on owner-occupied homes of four units or less. The statute sets no fixed number of days; payments are due when the contract says. On private projects other than residential construction of four or fewer units, retainage may not exceed ten percent of a payment, the owner must release retainage within thirty days after substantial completion less 150 percent of the cost to finish remaining items, and the contractor must pass each subcontractor’s share on within seven days of receiving it. A court may award up to 1.5% a month on retainage wrongfully withheld and reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party, and contract terms inconsistent with these sections are unenforceable. A written contract can set its own payment terms where the statute allows. This is Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 431.180, 436.300, 436.303, 436.324, 436.333, 436.336.

WhatMissouri
Payment deadlinePay on the contract’s schedule; up to 1.5% a month
Who this coversPrivate construction, not only public works

What the statute says

“The court may in addition to any other award for damages, award interest at the rate of up to one and one-half percent per month from the date payment was due pursuant to the terms of the contract …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 431.180, 436.300, 436.303, 436.324, 436.333, 436.336

Read the statute in the Missouri Revised Statutes (Missouri Revisor of Statutes): revisor.mo.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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