Kansas retainage law: 5% cap (10% max), 30-day release (2026)
By Sami Chicha, EditorUpdated Checked against primary sources · not yet reviewed by a licensed professionalFact-checked
Quick answer
Kansas has two near-identical acts, K.S.A. 16-1804 for private construction and K.S.A. 16-1904 for public. Retainage may not exceed 5% of the contract or subcontract unless a higher rate is needed to ensure performance, with 10% as the outer limit. Remaining retainage on undisputed payments is released within 30 days after substantial completion, and late retainage carries 18% interest a year.
Private work
Kansas · Private workVerified 2026-09-22
Retainage cap
5%
5% default ceiling, which the owner or contractor may raise to a maximum of 10% if a higher rate 'is required to ensure performance of the contract'; the owner may also increase retainage up to 10% if the contractor or subcontractor has failed to meet the contract terms, is behind schedule, or there are workmanship problems. Subsection (i) caps withholding at 10% of any undisputed payment due.
Deadline
30 days
Owner must release all remaining retainage on any undisputed payment due within 30 days after substantial completion of the project; if a contractor or subcontractor is still working, the owner may hold the portion attributable to that work until 30 days after it is completed. 'Substantial completion' is defined in K.S.A. 16-1802(i).
(a) Retainage shall not exceed 5% of the value of the contract or subcontract unless the owner or contractor determines that a higher rate of retainage is required to ensure performance of the contract. Retainage, however, shall not exceed 10% of the value of the contract or subcontract.
K.S.A. 16-1804 (Kansas Fairness in Private Construction Contract Act, K.S.A. 16-1801 et seq.) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-22
Public work
Kansas · Public workVerified 2026-09-22
Retainage cap
5%
Same structure as the private act: 5% default, raisable to a maximum of 10% where a higher rate is required to ensure performance, or where the contractor or subcontractor has failed to meet the contract terms, is behind schedule or shows poor workmanship.
Deadline
30 days
Owner, contractor or subcontractor must release all remaining retainage on any undisputed payment due within 30 days after substantial completion of the project, as part of the regular payment cycle; retainage attributable to work still being performed may be held until 30 days after that work is completed.
(a) Retainage shall not exceed 5% of the value of the contract or subcontract unless the owner or contractor determines that a higher rate of retainage is required to ensure performance of the contract. Retainage, however, shall not exceed 10% of the value of the contract or subcontract.
K.S.A. 16-1904 (Kansas Fairness in Public Construction Contract Act, K.S.A. 16-1901 et seq.) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-22
Who this applies to
Kansas handles retainage through a matched pair of statutes. The Kansas Fairness in Private Construction Contract Act, K.S.A. 16-1801 and following, puts its retainage rules in K.S.A. 16-1804 [1]. The Kansas Fairness in Public Construction Contract Act, K.S.A. 16-1901 and following, does the same for public work in K.S.A. 16-1904 [2]. Each reaches the whole payment chain, from owners holding back on contractors to contractors holding back on subcontractors. The two read so closely that one set of numbers serves both; among the differences are who must release and where the interest clause sits.
What the rule says
Under both acts, retainage starts from a 5% ceiling on the value of the contract or subcontract [1][2]. It can go higher when the owner or contractor determines that a higher rate is required to ensure performance, and 10% of the contract or subcontract value is the outer limit [1][2]. Neither act steps the rate down as the work progresses. Once the project is substantially complete, what remains on any undisputed payment comes out within 30 days [1][2], apart from the share tied to work still being performed.
How to comply
Private work
Compare the contract or subcontract rate with 5% [1]. A higher figure requires a determination that it is needed to ensure performance and stops at 10% [1]. The owner may also raise retainage up to 10% if the contractor or subcontractor has not met the contract terms, is behind schedule or has workmanship problems [1].
Subsection (i) separately caps withholding at 10% of any undisputed payment due [1].
Date the release from substantial completion, a term defined in K.S.A. 16-1802(i) [3]. The owner releases all remaining retainage on any undisputed payment due within 30 days [1]; if a contractor or subcontractor is still working on the project, the owner may keep the part attributable to that work until 30 days after it is completed [1].
An owner, contractor or subcontractor that fails to pay retainage owes interest at 18% a year [1], starting the first business day after the payment was due, under subsection (j).
Public work
The same 5% [2] default and 10% [2] limit apply, on the same grounds: a higher rate required to ensure performance, or a contractor or subcontractor that has failed to meet the contract terms, fallen behind schedule or shown poor workmanship.
Release falls to the owner, contractor or subcontractor, within 30 days [2] after substantial completion and as part of the regular payment cycle. Retainage for work still under way may be held until 30 days after that work is completed [2].
Late retainage accrues 18% a year [2] from the first business day after it was due, under subsection (i) of the public act.
Under both acts, a contractor or subcontractor may offer alternate security in place of retainage before work starts [1][2]; the private act's definitions in K.S.A. 16-1802 cover the term [3]. Read the section that governs your job in the Sources below alongside your own contract's retainage clause.
What changed recently
The private section was enacted as L. 2005, ch. 156, § 4 [1], and the public one as L. 2007, ch. 163, § 4 [2]. Chapter 128 of the 2010 session laws amended both, with a July 1 effective date [1][2].
Related
Retainage calculator: pay-application figures at Kansas's default rate or a raised one.
: 1 more jurisdiction verified and published, 47 of 51 in all.
: California private work corrected: Civ. Code § 8811 (SB 61) caps retention at 5% for contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2026; the row had said no cap.
: Missouri private work corrected: Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 436.300 to 436.336 cap private retainage at 10% and require release within 30 days of substantial completion; the row had said no private retainage rule.
: Tennessee corrected: Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-34-203 caps owner-to-prime retainage at 5% of the contract, on public and private work; escrow applies to prime contracts of $500,000 or more, and the $300-a-day damages do not apply to public owners.
: Idaho private work added: Idaho Code § 29-115 caps private retention at 5% and requires release within 35 days of final completion; the row had left private work out.
: Rhode Island corrected: the 5% cap in R.I. Gen. Laws § 37-12-10.1 also covers private lienable work of $250,000 or more, and a retainage application may be submitted only 60 days after substantial completion unless the contract allows earlier.
: Oklahoma public work corrected: since November 1, 2022, 61 O.S. §§ 113.1 and 226 reduce retainage to 2.5% of the amount earned to date after 50% completion with satisfactory progress, with no bond condition.
: Montana public work corrected: state and local public contracts are capped at 5% under Mont. Code Ann. § 18-2-316, and final payment on building contracts is due within 30 days of final acceptance (§ 18-2-306).
: Delaware public work corrected: 29 Del. C. § 6516(f)(3) requires retainage to be paid within 60 days after completion or notice of completion, with interest available from the 61st day; the row had no release deadline.
: District of Columbia corrected: D.C. Code § 2-203.01 requires a 10% retent on District construction contracts until completion and acceptance, and the Private Contractor and Subcontractor Prompt Payment Act counts retainage as an undisputed amount due on its schedule; both rows had said no statute.
: Colorado private work updated: HB26-1311 lets a contractor or subcontractor tender a retainage bond of up to 5% in lieu of retainage on contracts from August 12, 2026, and the owner must accept a compliant bond.
: Kentucky private work updated: 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 156 raised the KRS 371.160 escrow threshold to $2,000,000 and barred waiving it by contract.
: 10 more jurisdictions verified and published, 46 of 51 in all.
: Page published.
: Dataset first published with 36 of 51 jurisdictions verified.
