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Retainage · Nevada

Nevada retainage law: 5% cap, 30-day release (2026)

By Sami Chicha, EditorUpdated Checked against primary sources · not yet reviewed by a licensed professionalFact-checked
Quick answer

Nevada caps private retention at 5% of each payment to the prime contractor (NRS 624.609), and money still unpaid is due within 30 days after the owner occupies or uses the work or it becomes available for use (NRS 624.620). On public works, NRS 338.515 withholds 5% until 50% of the work is done, then no more than 2.5%, or 5% alongside noncompliance withholding; NRS 338.520 sets a 30-day payment deadline.

Private work

Nevada · Private workVerified 2026-09-22
Retainage cap
5%
Where the agreement authorizes retention, the owner may withhold a retention amount not exceeding 5 percent of the amount of the payment to be made. Applies to agreements between an owner (owner or lessee of real property) and a prime contractor for a work of improvement.
Deadline
30 days
Occupancy or use of the work of improvement by the owner (or someone acting with the owner's authority), or the availability of the work of improvement for its intended use (with written notice of availability or a certificate of occupancy).
Statute
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 624.609(2)(a)(1); release under NRS 624.620(1).
What the statute says
A retention amount that, if the owner is authorized to withhold a retention amount pursuant to the agreement, must not exceed 5 percent of the amount of the payment to be made.
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 624.609(2)(a)(1); release under NRS 624.620(1). · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2026-09-18

Public work

Nevada · Public workVerified 2026-09-22
Retainage cap
5%
5% of each progress payment is withheld until 50% of the work is performed. After 50%, if the public body keeps withholding: not more than 2.5% of any progress payment (and it must first pay the contractor 50% of the retainage already withheld) unless it is also withholding under NRS 338.525, in which case not more than 5%.
Deadline
30 days
Occupancy or beginning of use of the public work or a portion of it by the public body, recording of a notice of completion under NRS 108.228, or partial occupancy of one or more buildings.
Statute
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 338.515; release under NRS 338.520.
What the statute says
Ninety-five percent of the amount of any progress payment must be paid and 5 percent withheld as retainage until 50 percent of the work required by the contract has been performed.
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 338.515; release under NRS 338.520. · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2026-09-18

Who this applies to

Nevada keeps its private and public retainage rules in different chapters of the Nevada Revised Statutes.

Private work. NRS chapter 624 governs agreements between an owner and a prime contractor for a work of improvement, and "owner" there means the owner or lessee of the real property [1]. Retention on these jobs rests on the agreement: the owner may withhold a retention amount if the agreement authorizes it [1]. Payment of lower-tiered subcontractors is the subject of NRS 624.624 [1], which this page does not cover.

Public works. NRS chapter 338 governs progress payments on public works, where the public body holds the retainage [2]. Those rules reach subcontractors as well, with NRS 338.555 dealing with payments to them [2].

What the rule says

Both sides start from 5% [1] [2], but only the public side changes as the work advances. A private owner's retention is limited to 5% of each payment to the prime contractor, for the whole job [1]. A public body withholds 5% of each progress payment until 50% of the work required by the contract has been performed [2]. After that it may stop withholding. If it keeps withholding, it may take no more than 2.5% of any progress payment, after first paying the contractor 50% of the retainage already held [2]. The exception is a public body that is also withholding for noncompliance under NRS 338.525, which may keep up to 5% [2]. On both sides the unpaid balance, retainage included, must be paid within 30 days after occupancy or use of the work, or after one of the other events each chapter lists [1] [2].

How to comply

  1. Compare the clause with the stage of the job. On private work the ceiling is 5% of each payment from start to finish [1]; on a public job the figure that applies depends on whether 50% of the work has been performed [2].
  2. Date the 30 days from the right event. On a private job, except as NRS 624.620 otherwise provides, money remaining unpaid for the construction is payable to the prime contractor within 30 days after the owner, or a person acting with the owner's authority, occupies or uses the work, or after the work becomes available for its intended use, with a written notice of availability or a certificate of occupancy [1]. On a public job, the public body pays any outstanding payment, including retainage and the interest accrued on it, within 30 days after the first of three events: occupancy or the beginning of use of the public work or a portion of it, recording of a notice of completion under NRS 108.228, or partial occupancy of one or more buildings [2].
  3. Know what late or held money earns. Money payable under the private sections accrues interest from the time it becomes due, at whichever is higher: the contract rate, or the prime rate at the largest bank in Nevada plus 4 percent (NRS 624.630) [1]. Public retainage earns interest while it is held: at the end of each quarter, the public body pays interest on any amount withheld at the highest 90-day certificate-of-deposit rate quoted by at least three insured Nevada institutions on the first day of that quarter [2]. NRS 338.530 adds interest on amounts withheld improperly [2].

Both chapters are linked under Sources; the agreement itself settles whether a private owner may withhold retention in the first place.

What changed recently

NRS 624.609, the private retention cap, was added in 2001 (p. 1619) and amended in 2005 (p. 1722) and 2015 (p. 2623) [1]. The public release section, NRS 338.520, was added to NRS in 1999 (p. 1984) [2].

Related

Run the numbers for Nevada

How retainage is held on each payment and when it comes back: Retainage in construction. Bill it on the pay application template, which carries retainage on work and on stored materials.

Retainage laws: other states

Sources

  1. NRS Chapter 624 (Contractors), Nevada Legislature official chapter page, rev. 4/15/2026 (archived copy, captured 2026-09-18)
  2. NRS Chapter 338 (Public Works), Nevada Legislature official chapter page, rev. 4/15/2026 (archived copy, captured 2026-09-18)

Changelog

  1. : 1 more jurisdiction verified and published, 47 of 51 in all.
  2. : 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.
  3. : 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.
  4. : 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.
  5. : 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.
  6. : 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.
  7. : 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.
  8. : 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).
  9. : 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.
  10. : 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.
  11. : 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.
  12. : 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.
  13. : 10 more jurisdictions verified and published, 46 of 51 in all.
  14. : Page published.
  15. : Dataset first published with 36 of 51 jurisdictions verified.