Guides
Ontario Prompt Payment Rules for Electrical Contractors, Explained
Ontario prompt payment electrical contractor rules run on 14, 28 and 35 day clocks. Here is how each phase moves, what blocks it, and when holdback releases.
What to take away
- The owner must pay a proper invoice within 28 days of receiving it, unless it gives a notice of non-payment within 14 days. A contractor then pays its subcontractors within 7 days of being paid; if the owner does not pay, the contractor still owes them no later than 35 days after giving the proper invoice to the owner, unless it gives its own notice of non-payment.
- Adjudication runs on the Act's own clocksthe Authority appoints an adjudicator within 7 days of a request, documents go to the adjudicator within 5 days of the appointment, the determination comes within 30 days of the documents, and the amount is payable within 15 days of the determination.
- Holdback is 10 per cent of the contract price and is released after the publication period ends, typically 60 days after substantial performance is published.
- The clock stops when an invoice is not a proper invoice. Missing statutory declaration, wrong address or missing WSIB clearance can reset the whole cycle, if the owner flags the gap in writing within seven days.
The short version
Ontario's prompt payment and adjudication regime sits in the Construction Act and is filled in by its regulations; since January 1, 2026 the adjudication rules are in Ontario Regulation 264/25. It applies to most construction contracts in the province, including electrical subcontracts, and it sets fixed day counts rather than leaving payment to negotiation.
For an electrical contractor, the practical effect is that you are not waiting on goodwill. You are waiting on a clock. The work is to make sure the clock starts on the day you think it does.
The timelines below run in calendar days unless a contract says otherwise. Weekends and holidays count.
Phase by phase
| Phase | Duration | What ends it |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice delivery to payer | Day 0 | Payer receives a proper invoice |
| Owner or GC review and payment | 28 days | Payment lands in your account |
| Subcontractor payment after GC is paid | 7 days | Payment to the sub |
| Notice of adjudication | 10 days from non-payment | Adjudication begins |
| Adjudicator appointment | 5 days after notice | Adjudicator named |
| Adjudicator decision | 30 days from appointment | Written determination |
| Payment of adjudicated amount | 10 days from decision | Funds released |
| Holdback release | 60 days after publication of substantial performance | Holdback paid |
Read the top three rows together and you get the number that matters most to a subcontractor: 35 days from the proper invoice to your money, if the general contractor is paid on time.
The adjudication rows are a planning buffer, not the statute. Under the Act as it now reads, the Authority appoints within seven days of a request, the 30 days run from the adjudicator receiving the documents, and an adjudicated amount is payable no later than 15 days after the determination is communicated, not 10.
Payment clock phases
- Day 0Proper invoice delivered
- 28 daysOwner or GC pays
- 7 daysGC pays subcontractor
- 10 daysNotice of adjudication
- 5 daysAdjudicator appointed
- 30 daysAdjudicator decision
- 60 daysHoldback released
What has to finish before what
Payment cannot start until the payer has a proper invoice. That is the first blocker, and it is the one electricians lose most often. Under the Construction Act a proper invoice is a written bill that contains the listed information and meets any other requirements the contract specifies. The list includes:
- the contractor's name and address
- the date of the invoice and the period, milestone or other contractual payment entitlement it relates to
- a description, including quantity where appropriate, of the services or materials supplied
- the amount payable and the payment terms
- the name, title, mailing address and telephone number of the person to whom payment is to be sent
An invoice that misses a requirement is deemed to be a proper invoice unless, no later than seven days after receiving it, the owner tells the contractor in writing what is deficient and what is required to fix it. A contract cannot make giving a proper invoice conditional on prior certification by a payment certifier or on the owner's prior approval.
What must finish first
- Proper invoice received starts payment clock
- Payment late opens 10 day adjudication notice
- Substantial performance published starts 60 day holdback
- Lien runs on separate deadlines
The next blocker is the notice of non-payment. An owner who disputes a proper invoice can hold back all or part of it only by giving the contractor a notice of non-payment, in the prescribed form, no later than 14 days after receiving the invoice, with the amount not being paid and all of the reasons. Whatever the notice does not cover stays due on day 28.
Adjudication starts when the party with the claim gives a notice of adjudication. Under Ontario Regulation 264/25, that party must send a copy of the notice in electronic format to the Authority on the same day.
Holdback release cannot happen before the publication period expires. Substantial performance has to be published in the prescribed manner, and the 60 day window runs from that publication, not from the day you finished rough-in.
A lien is a separate track with its own deadlines under the same Act. The Cornell overview of mechanic's liens explains the general structure, though Ontario's own rules govern here.
Where schedules slip
One named worst case: the invoice that was never proper. A Mississauga electrical contractor sends a March invoice to the owner without the statutory declaration the contract required. The owner flags the gap in writing within seven days, the contractor misses the letter, and the 28 day clock never starts.
Four months of carrying payroll and material on a job worth several hundred thousand dollars, waiting on an invoice that was never re-issued.
The second slip is the adjudicator appointment. The parties can agree on a registry adjudicator or ask the Authority to appoint one. If the adjudicator they agreed on does not consent within four days after the notice, the party who gave it must ask the Authority, and the Authority has seven days to appoint. That adds days nobody planned for.
The Authority is the Authorized Nominating Authority, an entity the Minister designates under the Act. In Ontario that role is held by Ontario Dispute Adjudication for Construction Contracts (ODACC), which keeps the adjudicator registry.
The third is holdback on a phased job. If substantial performance is published late because the general contractor delays the paperwork, the 60 day release shifts with it. Your cash sits in someone else's filing schedule.
The regulation fixes the days. It does not fix the paperwork that starts them.
Seasonal and weather constraints
Ontario electrical work slows in January and February on exterior and unheated sites, which shifts completion dates and therefore substantial performance dates. A holdback release that would have landed in November can move to the following spring.
Freeze-up also affects the adjudication calendar in a practical way. Adjudicators are busy in the fourth quarter as contractors try to close books, and the 30 day decision window can stretch: with the parties' written consent, the adjudicator can extend it by no more than 14 days. Build the buffer into your own cash forecast rather than assuming the statutory maximum is the real maximum.
If your work crosses provincial lines, the comparison in Alberta compared with Ontario is worth reading before you assume the same clock applies.
Example
An Ottawa electrical contractor invoices $48,000 for a tenant fit-up on 3 April. The invoice is proper and delivered that day. The general contractor is paid by the owner on 25 April and pays the sub on 29 April, inside the 7 day window. Total wait: 26 days.
Same job, but the general contractor's invoice to the owner is missing the WSIB clearance certificate the contract requires, and the owner says so in writing within seven days. A corrected invoice goes in on 2 May. The 28 day clock now starts on 2 May, and payment lands near 30 May. The correction cost 27 days of float.
Common questions
Does prompt payment apply to electrical subcontracts?
What is the holdback percentage in Ontario?
Can I skip adjudication and go straight to court?
Where do I check the statute itself?
A final note on records: the contractors who collect on time are the ones whose invoicing routine is boring and repeatable. The quote examples with pricing show how terms get set before the work starts, and the GST/HST and holdback guide covers the tax side of the same cash cycle.
