Simple Pay ApplicationRetainage Release on a Pay App, Full and Partial
A retainage release pays out retainage that the GC or owner has been holding. The amount is entered on a pay app, it is added to that pay app’s payment due, and it comes off the retainage held. On the drywall job below the release is a pay app of its own: $12,000.00 due, $108,000.00 paid before, and $0.00 left to finish.
A release can be all of the retainage or a part of it. This page follows both with figures from our test set, shows the check that stops a release larger than the retainage held, and sets out the final waiver that goes with the last payment.
A full release: four pay apps on one drywall job
A drywall sub has a $120,000 contract at 10% retainage. Its first three pay apps bill all the work, and the fourth bills none. The table shows what each one asked for and what was held after it.
| Pay app | Period to | Payment due | Retainage held | Balance to finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 31, 2026 | 23,085.00 | 2,565.00 | 96,915.00 |
| 2 | February 28, 2026 | 45,315.00 | 7,600.00 | 51,600.00 |
| 3 | March 31, 2026 | 39,600.00 | 12,000.00 | 12,000.00 |
| 4 | April 30, 2026 | 12,000.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Paid in all | 120,000.00 |
After the third pay app every line is billed, yet the sub has been paid only $108,000.00 and the last $12,000.00 sits in the balance to finish. The fourth pay app has no work in it. Its payment due is the release, and the four payments add to the contract sum: $23,085.00, $45,315.00, $39,600.00 and $12,000.00 make $120,000.00.
Here is the summary page of the fourth pay app.
| 3Contract sum to date | $120,000.00 |
| 4Total completed and stored to date | $120,000.00 |
| Retainage on the lines | $12,000.00 |
| Less retainage released to date | $12,000.00 |
| 5Retainage held | $0.00 |
| 6Total earned less retainage | $120,000.00 |
| 7Less previous applications | $108,000.00 |
| 8Current payment due | $12,000.00 |
| 9Balance to finish, including retainage | $0.00 |
The continuation sheet of that pay app still shows the retainage each line was held at, $12,000.00 over the five lines. The release is taken off on the summary, which is why line 5 reads $0.00 and line 6 is the whole $120,000.00. Line 7 carries the $108,000.00 from the third pay app, and line 8 is what is left between the two.
A partial release: $850 out of $2,159.32
A flooring sub has a $68,000 contract at 5% retainage. At its second pay app, for the period to July 31, 2026, the GC agrees to release $850.00 and the sub keeps billing work in the same pay app. The release is a separate entry, so the new work and the release are worked out side by side.
| 3Contract sum to date | $68,000.00 |
| 4Total completed and stored to date | $43,186.44 |
| Retainage on the lines | $2,159.32 |
| Less retainage released to date | $850.00 |
| 5Retainage held | $1,309.32 |
| 6Total earned less retainage | $41,877.12 |
| 7Less previous applications | $32,228.43 |
| 8Current payment due | $9,648.69 |
| 9Balance to finish, including retainage | $26,122.88 |
The $9,648.69 is made of two things, and the app does not blend them. The work billed this period is $9,261.77. Against that, the retainage held grew: the first pay app held $1,696.24 (earlier work of $33,924.67 less the $32,228.43 it carried), and the lines now hold $2,159.32, a rise of $463.08. The release then gives back $850.00.
| Work billed this period, after the carpet correction | $9,261.77 |
| Less the rise in retainage held ($2,159.32 less $1,696.24) | $463.08 |
| Payment due before the release | $8,798.69 |
| Plus retainage released | $850.00 |
| Current payment due | $9,648.69 |
Of the $2,159.32 the lines hold, $1,309.32 stays held after this pay app. Line 9 is $26,122.88: the $24,813.56 of work still to bill plus that $1,309.32. The same pay app also bills the tile by percent and corrects the carpet downward, which the retainage guide follows; neither touches the release.
The check that stops a release that is too big
The release is compared with the retainage held on the lines, counting anything released on earlier pay apps. If the total released would be more than what is held, the app stops the pay app and shows both figures. A negative release is stopped too.
| Entered on the pay app | What the app does |
|---|---|
| $12,000.00 on the drywall job’s fourth pay app | Accepts it: the $12,000.00 held is all there is to release |
| $3,000.00 on the drywall job’s first pay app, where $2,565.00 is held | Stops the pay app and shows the $3,000.00 against the $2,565.00 held |
| A second release on the flooring job after the $850.00 | Counts the $850.00 already released, so the next release can be no more than $1,309.32 unless more work is billed |
| A release of less than zero | Stops the pay app: the release cannot be negative |
The check works from the retainage on the lines, so a release on a pay app that bills new work can draw on the retainage that new work has just added. The Retainage screen of a project shows what is held on work, what is held on stored materials, what has been released, and what is held now, as of the last finished pay app.
Billing a release in the app
- Start the pay app for the period. For a final release there may be no work to enter.
- Type the amount in the retainage released field. The field says it is never more than the retainage held.
- Read line 5, line 8 and line 9 on the summary. Line 5 falls and line 8 rises by the release.
- Finish the pay app. It is frozen from then on, and a revision makes a new version.
- Make the waiver from the finished pay app.
The final waiver that goes with the release
A lien waiver is made from a finished pay app, with the amount, the through date and the names filled in. For a release, that is the pay app that pays it. On the drywall job it is the fourth, so the waiver is made for that pay app’s $12,000.00. The three before it carry their own amounts: $23,085.00, $45,315.00 and $39,600.00.
The progress waivers are where retainage gets mentioned, because the forms leave it out of what they release. The lines below are the States’ own words and our general form’s.
| Form | Its words on retainage |
|---|---|
| Arizona progress forms | does not cover any retention |
| California progress forms | (1) Retentions. |
| Massachusetts partial waiver and subordination | except for retainage |
| Nevada progress forms | does not cover any retention withheld |
| Texas progress forms | except for unpaid retention |
| Utah conditional progress form | does not apply to any retention withheld |
| Wyoming single form | monies withheld as retainage |
| Our general progress forms | retainage that has not been paid |
California’s list opens with retentions among the things its progress forms do not affect. Massachusetts prints a Less Retainage line on its form, and Wyoming’s reserves rights to the retainage in a stated amount. On the drywall job, the waiver made from the third pay app is for $39,600.00 while $12,000.00 is still held, and the one made from the fourth is for the $12,000.00 release.
The conditional final waiver takes effect when the payment is received; the unconditional final waiver is signed once the payment has been received. Which of the two the GC asks for is set by the contract and the GC, and the conditional vs unconditional guide sets the two side by side. Monthly, the conditional progress waiver and its unconditional twin come from the pay apps that bill work.
Retainage release questions
Is a retainage release a pay app of its own?
Not always. On the drywall job the fourth pay app bills no work and exists to release the $12,000.00. On the flooring job the $850.00 release is entered on a pay app that also bills work.
How much retainage can be released at once?
No more than the retainage held, counting anything released on earlier pay apps. If the total would be more, the app stops the pay app and shows both figures.
What happens to the balance to finish when retainage is released?
It falls by the amount released. On the drywall job it goes from $12,000.00 after the third pay app to $0.00 after the fourth.
Can retainage be released in parts?
Yes. In the flooring example $850.00 is released and $1,309.32 stays held. A later release can be no more than what is still held.
Which lien waiver goes with a release?
The waiver is made from the finished pay app that pays the release, with that pay app’s amount filled in. A conditional or an unconditional final waiver can be made; the contract and the GC set which is asked for.
Who decides when retainage is released?
The contract. The app bills the amount entered on the pay app, up to what is held, and does not set the date.
Can a finished pay app with a release be changed?
A finished pay app is frozen. A revision makes a new version of it, and the original stays as it was.
Sources: FAR 52.232-5, Payments under Fixed-Price Construction Contracts.
Related guides
Retainage during the job, with a rate change, is in the retainage guide. The summary lines used above are explained in what a pay application is, and each line’s retainage sits on the continuation sheet. The hub for every waiver is lien waiver.