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

In Virginia, a private owner must pay a general contractor within 60 days after receiving an invoice for satisfactorily completed work, and a general contractor must pay a subcontractor within the earlier of 60 days after the subcontractor’s invoice or 7 days after being paid for that work, with interest penalties on late payments. An owner that withholds any part of an invoice must tell the general contractor in writing within 45 days of receiving it, naming the reason, the contractual noncompliance and the dollar amount withheld, and a general contractor withholding from a subcontractor must give the same notice within 50 days. Payment by the owner is not a condition of paying a subcontractor unless the owner is insolvent or in bankruptcy, and a contrary contract term is unenforceable. Late payment results in interest penalties consistent with § 2.2-4355, which sets interest at the prime rate reported in The Wall Street Journal, capped at the rate established under § 58.1-1812. The section does not cover public bodies, and the same payment terms must flow down to lower-tier subcontracts only on projects other than single-family homes worth more than $500,000. A written contract can set its own payment terms where the statute allows. This is Va. Code §§ 11-4.6, 2.2-4355.

WhatVirginia
Payment deadlineOwner pays within 60 days; sub within 7 days of payment
Who this coversPrivate construction, not only public works

What the statute says

“… the parties shall include a provision that requires the owner to pay such general contractor within 60 days of the receipt of an invoice following satisfactory completion of the portion of the work for which the general contractor has invoiced …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

Va. Code §§ 11-4.6, 2.2-4355

Read the statute in the Code of Virginia (Virginia General Assembly): law.lis.virginia.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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