Home › Guides

How to issue a payment notice under a JCT contract

Guide · checked 2 November 2026

A payment notice tells the payee how much the payer considers due at each payment stage and how that figure was worked out. For most construction contracts in England, Wales and Scotland the rules come from Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (the "Construction Act"), as amended by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 for contracts entered into on or after 1 October 2011 in England and Wales. JCT contracts contain their own payment provisions, which must comply with the Act. This guide sets out the statutory rules; always check the periods and procedures in your own contract.

What the Act requires

Section 110A of the Act requires a construction contract to provide for the payer, or a specified person, to give a notice not later than five days after the payment due date. The notice must specify the sum the payer considers to be or to have been due at the payment due date, and the basis on which that sum is calculated. The sum stated may be zero.

The contract may instead provide for the payee to give the notice (a "payee's notice"), usually through its application for payment. In that case the application itself sets the sum.

If the contract does not comply with section 110A, the payment provisions of the Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998 apply in its place.

Who gives the notice under a JCT contract

JCT contracts name the person who gives payment notices, often the architect or contract administrator through the interim certificate, or the employer under Design and Build forms. Check the payment section of your own contract to see who gives the notice, by when, and whether a contractor's application can stand as the notice if none is given. We do not reproduce JCT wording.

Step by step

  1. Work out the payment due date. This comes from the contract. Interim payments are usually due a set number of days after a valuation date or after receipt of an application.
  2. Value the work. Prepare the valuation: work done, materials on and off site, variations, retention and amounts previously paid. A monthly valuation workbook keeps these figures in one place.
  3. Write the notice. State the sum considered due at the payment due date and the basis of calculation. A summary showing gross valuation, retention and previous payments is a common way to show the basis.
  4. Give the notice in time. Section 110A sets the outer limit at five days after the payment due date. Your contract may set the same or a shorter period.
  5. Serve it properly. Follow the contract's provisions on how notices are given (for example by hand, post or an agreed email address) and keep proof of when it was given.

What happens if no payment notice is given

Under section 110B, where the payer fails to give a payment notice and the contract provides for a payee's notice, the payee's application becomes the notified sum. Where the contract does not provide for a payee's notice, the payee may give a default payment notice at any time after the date by which the payer's notice should have been given. In that case the final date for payment is postponed by the number of days between the date the notice was required and the date the default notice is given.

Under section 111, the payer must pay the notified sum on or before the final date for payment unless it gives a valid pay less notice. See our guide to pay less notice deadlines and content.

Common points to check

Sources

Templates for this task

Check before use – not legal advice. This guide states the law and official guidance as facts, in our own words, as checked on 2 November 2026. It does not replace professional advice on a specific matter. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.