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Retainage · Wisconsin

Wisconsin retainage law: 5% until 50% done on local public work (2026)

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

Under Wis. Stat. § 66.0901(9)(b), retainage on a local public contract may be no more than 5% of the estimate until 50% of the work is complete. After that, partial payments are made in full and nothing more is held unless the architect or engineer certifies the job is not proceeding satisfactorily; total retainage is then capped at 10% of the value of work completed. Retainage may be paid on substantial completion.

Private work

Wisconsin · Private workVerified 2026-09-22
Retainage cap
Not in our verified record
Deadline
Not in our verified record
Statute
Not in our verified record

Public work

Wisconsin · Public workVerified 2026-09-22
Retainage cap
5%
Wis. Stat. § 66.0901(9)(b) limits retainage to an amount equal to not more than 5 percent of the estimate until 50 percent of the work has been completed. At 50 percent completion further partial payments are made in full and no additional amounts may be retained unless the architect or engineer certifies that the job is not proceeding satisfactorily, in which case the total retainage may not be more than 10 percent of the value of the work completed.
Deadline
Retainage may be paid on substantial completion; the section sets no day-count deadline.
Statute
Wis. Stat. § 66.0901(9)(b).
What the statute says
The retainage shall be an amount equal to not more than 5 percent of the estimate until 50 percent of the work has been completed. At 50 percent completion, further partial payments shall be made in full to the contractor and no additional amounts may be retained unless the architect or engineer certifies that the job is not proceeding satisfactorily
Wis. Stat. § 66.0901(9)(b). · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2025-11-19

Who this applies to

This page covers a single rule: the retainage limit in Wis. Stat. § 66.0901(9)(b), part of the statute on public contracts [2]. It applies on local public construction contracts. The section deals with the partial payments made to the contractor while the work is under way, and with how much of each payment may be kept back.

Private construction sits outside what this page covers. On a private job, the contract states the retainage terms, and a lawyer is the person to say whether anything beyond the contract applies. The same holds for retainage a contractor keeps from its subcontractors: the section's wording is about partial payments to the contractor, so the subcontract and a lawyer answer those questions.

What the rule says

The public rule divides the job at its halfway point.

First phase. Until 50% [2] of the work has been completed, retainage may be an amount equal to no more than 5% [2] of the estimate.

Second phase. From 50% [2] completion onward, further partial payments go to the contractor in full, and no additional amounts may be retained. The exception is a certification by the architect or engineer that the job is not proceeding satisfactorily. With that certification, retainage can resume, but the total held may not be more than 10% [2] of the value of the work completed.

The two figures are measured against different bases. The 5% [2] applies to the estimate, while the 10% [2] ceiling applies to the value of the work completed.

At the end of the job, retainage may be paid on substantial completion. The section does not attach a number of days to that payment.

How to comply

Related

Run the numbers for Wisconsin

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. Wisconsin DOT AASHTOWare Project Knowledge Base, 'Retainage' (agency practice, not statutory text) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
  2. Wis. Stat. § 66.0901(9) (public contracts; retainage), Wisconsin Legislature (archived copy, captured 2025-11-19)
  3. Wis. Stat. ch. 779, official chapter PDF (§ 779.135, void contract provisions), Wisconsin Legislature (archived copy, captured 2026-07-13)

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.