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

In Montana, an owner must pay a contractor’s approved payment request within 7 days after it is approved (a request is considered approved 21 days after the owner receives it unless the owner disapproves specific items in writing), a contractor must pay a subcontractor within 7 days after being paid, and a payment more than 30 days late bears interest at 1 1/2% a month. The law covers construction contracts with private as well as governmental owners, but it does not apply to residential projects or improvements intended for residential purposes that cost less than $400,000 in total. A contract may set a later approval or payment date only if it says so clearly and conspicuously and a notice in the statutory form appears in the "Information for Bidders" section of the construction documents. An owner may withhold only enough to pay the direct cost it reasonably expects of correcting a listed problem, such as unsatisfactory progress, defective work or disputed work, and must give the contractor a written statement naming it. Interest runs from the day after the payment was due, and acceptance of the final payment releases any claim for interest on it. A written contract can set its own payment terms where the statute allows. This is Mont. Code Ann. §§ 28-2-2101, 28-2-2103, 28-2-2104, 28-2-2107, 28-2-2115.

WhatMontana
Payment deadlinePaid 7 days after approval; subs in 7 days; 1.5% a month
Who this coversPrivate construction, not only public works

What the statute says

“… if an owner approves all or a portion of a contractor’s request for payment as provided in subsection (1)(b), the owner shall pay the contractor the approved amount within 7 days after the contractor’s request for payment is approved …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

Mont. Code Ann. §§ 28-2-2101, 28-2-2103, 28-2-2104, 28-2-2107, 28-2-2115

Read the statute in the Montana Code Annotated (Montana Legislature): leg.mt.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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