Contractor Not Getting Paid? 5-Step Action Checklist (Free)

First — write down the dates that control your leverage

Use the free 50-state lookup to fill in the last three rows for your project's state.

Step 1 — Verify your own paperwork (day 1)

1. Contract or purchase order signed; scope matches what you billed.
2. Change orders in writing and signed — unsigned extras are the most common reason a payer withholds.
3. Invoice or pay application submitted in the form the contract requires, with backup (delivery tickets, timesheets, lien waivers from your own subs if required).
4. Preliminary notice served on time if your state requires it (template).
5. Confirm the invoice was received: get a name and a date, not "it's in accounting".

Step 2 — Escalate in writing (days 1–7)

1. Send a short written statement of account to your hiring party: invoice numbers, dates, amounts, total due, and a request for a payment date.
2. Ask directly whether there is a dispute. If there is, get it in writing so you can answer it — silence is how 30 days becomes 90.
3. Ask whether the owner has paid the GC for your work. If "pay-when-paid" or "pay-if-paid" language is in your contract, check what it actually says; enforceability varies by state.
4. Keep every message. The paper trail is evidence later.

Step 3 — Formal demand letter (days 7–21)

1. Send a payment demand letter with a firm deadline (10 days is common), the statement of account attached, and a reference to interest or penalties where your contract or a state prompt-payment law provides for them.
2. Send it by certified mail and email; copy the owner if your hiring party is a GC who is stalling.
3. Calendar the deadline. Do not extend it verbally.

Step 4 — Preserve lien or bond rights (before any statutory deadline)

1. Private project: send a notice of intent to lien (required in some states, effective everywhere), then file the lien before the deadline if unpaid. A lien can be released after payment; a missed deadline cannot be undone.
2. Public project: you generally cannot lien public property — send the payment-bond notice to the prime contractor and surety within the required window (bond claim checklist).
3. Residential owner-occupied work: some states impose extra notice or contract requirements before a lien on a residence — confirm before filing.
4. Do not sign an unconditional waiver for any period you have not been paid for, whatever is promised in exchange.

Step 5 — Choose the enforcement route

1. Negotiate from strength: a recorded lien or bond claim usually produces a call. Settle for full payment plus documented costs where the law allows; release the lien only against cleared funds.
2. Lien foreclosure / bond suit: both have their own filing deadlines after the lien or notice (often measured in months). Enter the date from the free 50-state lookup: ____________
3. Small claims or breach-of-contract suit: for amounts under your state's small-claims limit, or where lien rights were lost, a contract claim against the party who hired you still exists.
4. Arbitration or mediation: if your contract requires it, follow the clause; it may also pause court deadlines — check with an attorney.
5. Bring in a construction attorney when the amount justifies it or when any deadline is within 30 days.