The North Carolina rule: seven days
North Carolina's Chapter 22C sets a clear deadline. When a contractor or an upper-tier subcontractor receives a payment that covers your work, they have to pass your portion on within seven days. It's not "when they get around to it" or "at the next pay run", it's a hard seven-day window written into the law.
What starts the clock
The seven days begin when the party above you actually gets paid for your work, not when you send your invoice and not when the job finishes. So the question that matters if you're chasing money is simple: has the GC been paid yet? Once they have, your clock is ticking.
The interest that kicks in
If they blow the deadline, the unpaid amount starts earning interest at 1% a month, which works out to 12% a year, from the eighth day onward. That interest is yours, and it keeps building until you're paid. It's also a useful thing to mention, politely, when you follow up: a GC who knows the meter is running tends to move faster.
Which jobs this covers
The rule applies to commercial construction. It doesn't cover residential work of 12 or fewer units, so on a house or a small residential job the timing comes down to your contract instead. On most commercial subcontract work, the seven-day rule is in play.
Your payment doesn't hinge on the owner
Worth knowing alongside the timing: in North Carolina your right to be paid doesn't depend on the owner paying the GC. A pay-if-paid clause can't be used to deny you payment on a commercial NC job. If you want the detail on that, see our guide on whether pay-if-paid is legal in North Carolina.
What to do if you're not paid on time
Keep a clean record of your invoice dates and, where you can, note when the GC was paid. If seven days pass, follow up in writing, reference the seven-day rule and the 1% monthly interest, and keep it factual rather than heated. If the money's material and the follow-ups go nowhere, a licensed North Carolina construction attorney can send a firmer letter or advise on next steps, including your lien rights.
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