Who this applies to
The retainage provisions of Title 16, chapter 6 apply only to contracts with a public entity for a public work [1], and that is the only setting this page covers. For a private job, the answer lies in the contract and with a lawyer who has read it.
Within public work, the rule runs between the public entity and the general contractor it pays. It gives way where federal or other outside funding imposes retention or payment requirements that are inconsistent with it (W.S. 16-6-706) [1].
What the rule says
In all contracts with a public entity for a public work, the entity may retain no more than 5% [1] of the calculated value of any work completed. The retained payment is kept in an account in the contractor's name, and that account is assigned to the public entity.
The percentage does not step down on its own, but early release is possible. If the entity finds that satisfactory progress is being made in all phases of the work, it may, on the contractor's written request, authorize payment from the withheld percentage, after deciding that satisfactory and substantial reasons exist and obtaining written approval from any surety.
Normal release follows a published timetable:
- The public entity issues a certificate of substantial completion.
- Notice is published once a week for two consecutive weeks [1] and posted.
- On the 41st day [1] after the notice was first published and posted, the entity pays the general contractor the retained payment together with any other amount due under the contract.
- Money for any portion that is incomplete, or not done in accordance with the contract and its documents, can be held back; it is paid at final completion.
How to comply
- Compare the contract's retainage clause with 5% [1] of the calculated value of completed work, and look at the account arrangement: in the contractor's name, assigned to the entity.
- Count from the first publication and posting of the notice, not from the certificate date. Day 41 [1] is the payment date.
- On contracts over $50,000 [1], the general contractor can ask for an interest-bearing deposit agreement with a depository it designates, and the public entity must enter one; all interest and income on the deposited obligations are collected and paid to the contractor.
- The article sets no penalty for late release.
Two related sections fill in the picture: § 16-6-703 deals with completion of the work by the public entity and how the retained payment is applied, and § 16-6-117 covers claims against the general contractor's surety bond [1]. The statute text and the contract are the final reference for a given project.
Related
- Retainage calculator: estimate the balance a percentage holdback leaves in the account.
- Retainage laws by state: Wyoming's notice-based release compared with other states' deadlines.