North Dakota retainage: what they can hold, and when you get it.
For subcontractors and small firms on jobs where 5% or 10% is withheld until after completion. Work out the amount, the statutory release date in your state, and whether they're already late.
Sound familiar?
- “A client is holding back part of every payment and you're not sure how much they're allowed to.”
- “You don't know when the retainage is supposed to be released back to you.”
- “Money's been held back for months and you want to know if it's overdue.”
What this tool does
Works out the retainage held on your contract, checks the percentage against your state's statutory cap, and calculates the release deadline your state's statute actually sets, counting from the event the statute names.
If you take an action based on what you read here, that action is yours. We are a guide, not an advisor, and we give this away for free.
General guidance, not legal advice.
What the law actually says
- •Most states cap how much retainage can be held and set a deadline for releasing it, commonly 5 percent released within 30 to 60 days of completion or acceptance.
- •The event the clock runs from matters as much as the number of days. Completion, acceptance, substantial completion and final acceptance are four different moments and on a real job they can be months apart.
- •Some states set no release period at all and make the money due on an event instead. That is a real rule, not a gap, and this tool says so rather than inventing a date.