Louisiana Owners Now Have 35 Days to Pay. What Act 822 Changes for Contractors

Louisiana now puts owners on a 35 day clock to pay a contractor's written payment request. Act 822 took effect August 1, 2026, and it rewrote R.S. 9:2784, the state's prompt payment law. Owners get a deadline. The deadline for payments down the line drops from 14 days to 7. A late payment now carries a penalty of one and one-half percent a month.

This is a payment law, and this article says so plainly. Act 822 does not mention contractor licensing. Below is what the Act says about when payment is due, the penalty, disputes and lawsuits, and what it leaves out. Near the end is one place where Louisiana's licensing law speaks to money owed, which is a separate statute. Our Louisiana contractor license page has the licensing details.

At a glance

• What: Act 822 of the 2026 Regular Session (House Bill 638) amended R.S. 9:2784, Louisiana's prompt payment statute.
• Signed and effective: signed June 8, 2026. In effect since August 1, 2026.
• Owners: pay a contractor's written payment request within 35 days, unless an amount is properly withheld.
• Down the line: a contractor or subcontractor has 7 days after getting paid to pay those below it. It was 14 days.
• Penalty: one and one-half percent of the unpaid amount per month. The old penalty was one-half of one percent a day, capped at 15 percent. The cap is struck from the statute.
• Residential: the old exclusion for residential improvements is deleted.
• Left out: public contracts stay under R.S. 38:2191. Oil, gas and mineral agreements and well or mine services are excluded.

Owners now have 35 days to pay

The statute used to be about late payment by contractors to subcontractors and suppliers. Act 822 retitles it to add prompt payment by owners to contractors. Everything in the rewritten Subsection A is added text, and it is the owner's deadline.

When an owner, or a person authorized to act for the owner, gets a written payment request from a contractor, the owner "shall pay the amount owed to the contractor." The request has to be for properly performed work, or for materials that are suitably stored or specially fabricated. Payment is due "no later than thirty-five days following receipt of the written request." The exception is any amount withheld as authorized by law, the contract or the statute.

If the owner misses the 35 days, the owner owes a penalty on top of the payment. The Act says that penalty is "in addition to any other remedies authorized by law or the contract." It applies "in the absence of a good faith dispute."

Loan funded jobs have one more rule. The owner's deadline becomes the later of two dates. One is 35 days after the owner gets the payment request. The other is the fifth day after the owner receives the loan proceeds for that payment. It applies only if the owner got a loan for all or part of the work before the payment request, and timely and properly asked for the loan money.

Seven days down the line

A contractor who gets paid by the owner has to pay each subcontractor and supplier its share of the payment, with any interest accrued. The share is for work properly performed, or for materials suitably stored or specially fabricated, to the extent of that sub's or supplier's interest in the payment. The deadline is the seventh day after the contractor receives payment from the owner.

A subcontractor who gets paid has the same seven days for the subs and suppliers below it. The struck text shows the old period was fourteen consecutive days.

If a contractor or subcontractor misses the seven days, the penalty applies. That is also "in the absence of a good faith dispute," and it comes on top of the payment and any other remedies.

The penalty is one and one-half percent a month

Subsection D sets one penalty for every late payment under the statute. In the Act's words, an unpaid amount "shall incur a penalty at the rate of one and one-half percent of the unpaid amount per month." It starts the day after the payment is due.

It stops on the earliest of three dates. One is the date payment is delivered. Another is the date it is mailed, if it is delivered within three days. The third is the date a court enters a judgment on a suit under the statute.

The old penalty was one-half of one percent of the amount due per day. A sentence capped the total at fifteen percent of the outstanding balance. That sentence is struck, and the amended text states no cap. The old text also applied only when a contractor failed to pay "without reasonable cause." Those words are struck too.

If there is a dispute, pay what is not in dispute

If there is a good faith dispute, the owner, contractor or subcontractor who disputes the obligation still "shall pay the amount that is not in dispute by the applicable date required by this Section." A good faith dispute "may include a dispute regarding whether the work was performed in a proper manner under the contract."

Residential jobs are covered now

The old statute said it did not apply to "improvements to immovable property used for residential purposes." Act 822 strikes that sentence. Residential jobs are now inside the statute.

Suits, fees and waivers

A contractor, subcontractor or supplier "may bring an action to collect the payments and penalties owed." The court "shall award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party," which means the fees can go either way. The Act says it creates no right of action against a lender or an insurer.

On waivers, the Act is blunt: "A waiver of a provision of this Section shall be absolutely null." There is one exception. A written contract for a single family residence may set payment at not later than 61 days after the owner receives the payment request. An unpaid amount under that kind of contract still incurs the penalty.

What the Act leaves out

• Public contracts. The Act says its provisions "do not supercede the prompt payment obligations and penalties for contracts with a public entity as required in R.S. 38:2191." Public contracts stay under that statute.
• Oil, gas and minerals. The statute does not apply to agreements authorizing the exploration, production, manufacturing or development of oil, gas and other minerals, to well or mine services, or to buying, selling, gathering, storing or moving oil and gas by pipeline or a fixed associated facility.
• Contracts signed before August 1. The Act has no section saying which contracts it reaches. Phelps Dunbar reads it as likely applying to obligations that arise on or after August 1, 2026, even under an older contract. That is one law firm's reading, not the statute.
• Retainage and lien deadlines. The text of the Act does not mention them.

Where Louisiana's licensing law touches money owed

Act 822 does not mention licensing. Louisiana's licensing law does speak to money owed, in a separate statute. R.S. 37:2159(D) reads:

"No contractor who fails to obtain a license as provided for in this Chapter shall be entitled to file a statement of claim or a statement of lien or privilege with respect to monetary sums allegedly owed under any contract, whether express, implied, or otherwise, when any provision of this Chapter requires that the contractor possess a license in order to have properly entered into such a contract."

That subsection is about filing a statement of claim or a lien or privilege. It does not mention R.S. 9:2784 or the Act's penalty and payment suit. Neither the Act nor the law firm summaries we read say whether an unlicensed contractor can use that suit. A Louisiana construction attorney can say how the two fit together on a given job.

Our Louisiana page says: "A commercial license is required for projects of $50,000 or more, and commercial electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work needs a license at just $10,000." Whether a particular job needs a license is a question for the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors.

For companies that want to work in Louisiana

Under R.S. 37:2156.1(D), the applicant designates a qualifying party for each classification and for the Louisiana business and law requirement. The statute says any principal or full time employee, as the licensing chapter defines those terms, may be the qualifying party once all requirements are met. Whether a given person fits those definitions is the board's call. The Louisiana contractor license page covers the board, the thresholds and the qualifier rules.

An owner with the experience can qualify the company personally. A company whose owner does not yet have the experience or the exams can be qualified by a licensed qualifying agent who is a real full time employee of the company. Contractor qualifier services explains how The Licensing Company helps with that. A qualifying agent qualifies the company, and the company holds the license. The board decides every application, and approval is never a promise.

Frequently asked questions

How long does an owner have to pay a contractor in Louisiana? Within 35 days of a written payment request, unless an amount is withheld as authorized by law, the contract or the statute. On a loan funded job it can be the fifth day after the owner receives the loan proceeds, if that is later.

How long does a contractor have to pay subcontractors and suppliers? Seven days after the contractor receives payment from the owner. A subcontractor has seven days after it gets paid. It used to be 14 days.

What is the penalty for paying late? One and one-half percent of the unpaid amount per month, starting the day after payment is due. The old 15 percent cap is struck.

Is the penalty per day or per month? Per month. Subsection D(1) says "one and one-half percent of the unpaid amount per month," and the four law firm summaries we read say monthly. The Act's summary digest uses the word daily, but the enacted text says per month.

Does it cover residential work? Yes. The old residential exclusion is deleted. A written contract for a single family residence can set payment up to 61 days after the request.

Does it apply to public jobs? The Act says it does not supersede the public contract rules in R.S. 38:2191, so public contracts stay under that statute.

Does the Act say anything about licensing? No. Louisiana's separate licensing statute, R.S. 37:2159(D), says a contractor without a license a contract required cannot file a statement of claim or a lien or privilege for money owed under it.

This article is general information about a Louisiana statute, not legal advice. A Louisiana construction attorney can say how it applies to a specific contract or payment.

Marshall Schofield, one of the nation's leading contractor exam prep instructors, has helped thousands upon thousands of contractors get licensed. Jeremiah Jaskulski is a licensed contractor who has lived the licensing process across multiple states. Together they founded The Licensing Company, and they help contractors get licensed the right way in Louisiana and nationwide. Sources: Act 822 of 2026 (HB 638), Louisiana Legislature, HB 638 bill page, Louisiana Legislature, R.S. 37:2159, R.S. 37:2156.1, Cozen O'Connor on JD Supra, October 29, 2026, Jones Walker, July 24, 2026, Baker Donelson, July 14, 2026, and Phelps Dunbar, August 3, 2026.