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

In Nebraska, an owner must pay a contractor within thirty days after receiving a payment request, a contractor must pay a subcontractor within ten days after receiving each periodic or final payment, and a late payment bears interest at one percent a month, due only after the payer has been notified of the interest provision. The act covers private owners and political subdivisions but not the State of Nebraska, and it does not apply to improvements to residential property of no more than four residential units. Retainage may not exceed ten percent, the owner must release all retainage within forty-five days after the project or a designated portion is substantially complete, and a contractor must pay a subcontractor’s retainage within ten days after receiving it. Otherwise an owner may withhold only a reasonable amount, if the contract allows it, for unsatisfactory job progress that will miss the completion date, third-party claims, or the contractor’s failure to pay for labor, equipment, subcontractors or materials. Acceptance of progress payments or a final payment releases all claims for interest on those payments. The act applies to contracts and subcontracts entered into on or after October 1, 2010. A written contract can set its own payment terms where the statute allows. This is Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 45-1202, 45-1203, 45-1204, 45-1205, 45-1207, 45-1208.

WhatNebraska
Payment deadlineOwner pays in 30 days; subs in 10 days; 1% a month
Who this coversPrivate construction, not only public works

What the statute says

“… the owner shall pay the contractor within thirty days after receipt by the owner or the owner’s representative of a payment request made pursuant to the contract …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 45-1202, 45-1203, 45-1204, 45-1205, 45-1207, 45-1208

Read the statute in the Nebraska Revised Statutes (Nebraska Legislature): nebraskalegislature.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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