Prompt-Payment Deadlines in Alberta
Under the Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act, RSA 2000, c. P-26.4
In Alberta, the prompt-payment clock runs under the Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act (RSA 2000, c. P-26.4), in force since August 29, 2022. Once a proper invoice is received, an owner must either pay it within 28 days (AB PPCLA s. 32.2(1)) or deliver a notice of non-payment within 14 days (AB PPCLA s. 32.2(2)).
Payment then has to cascade down the pyramid: 7 days to pass payment to your subcontractors once you are paid (AB PPCLA s. 32.3(1)), and a backstop of 35 days at the first tier and 42 days further down the chain to pay them even if the owner has not paid you (AB PPCLA s. 32.3(4)).
Alberta payment deadlines deadlines
The statutory clocks for this topic in Alberta, with section citations.
| Clock | Value | Statute |
|---|---|---|
Owner payment due Days from a proper invoice until the owner must pay or deliver a notice of non-payment. AB PPCLA Section 32.2 | 28 days | AB PPCLA Section 32.2 |
Pay your subcontractors After being paid, days to pass payment down to subcontractors. AB PPCLA Section 32.3 | 7 days | AB PPCLA Section 32.3 |
Pay subs even if unpaid If the owner has not paid, subs must still be paid by this day when you are the contractor billing the owner, or 42 days when you are a subcontractor paying your own subcontractor, or the matter referred to adjudication. AB PPCLA Section 32.3 | 35 days | AB PPCLA Section 32.3 |
The Alberta payment clock
Alberta gives the owner 28 days from a proper invoice to pay. The only way to hold back payment is to deliver a notice of non-payment inside the shorter 14-day dispute window. Miss that window and the invoiced amount generally becomes payable in full, with interest.
Because every one of these clocks is measured from the date the proper invoice is received, Alberta contractors should record and preserve that date. Tiercord timestamps it and chains it to a tamper-evident audit trail.
Paying your subcontractors in AB
If the owner has not paid, you must still pay your subcontractors out of your own funds, or deliver your own notice of non-payment together with an undertaking to refer the dispute to adjudication. The deadline depends on where you sit in the pyramid: 35 days if you are the contractor billing the owner, 42 days if you are a subcontractor paying your own subcontractor (AB PPCLA s. 32.3(4)).
Both counts run from the same fixed event, the date the proper invoice was given to the owner, not from the date you were invoiced. A 42-day deadline at the second tier is therefore already 7 days into the chain by the time it reaches you.
A single missed clock at the top of a Alberta project ripples through every tier below it, which is why Tiercord computes each downstream date automatically the moment an inbound payment is recorded.
Alberta has no deemed-proper-invoice rule
Unlike Ontario, Alberta's PPCLA has no provision that deems an invoice proper if the payer stays silent, so the 28-day clock only starts once a genuinely complete proper invoice is delivered. Alberta also fixes a 31-day invoicing cadence (AB PPCLA s. 32.1(6)) for many contracts, which keeps the payment clock turning over predictably.
Payment deadlines in Alberta: FAQ
How long does an owner have to pay in Alberta?
28 days from receipt of a proper invoice (AB PPCLA s. 32.2(1)), unless the owner delivers a notice of non-payment within the 14-day dispute window.
Do I still have to pay my subcontractors in Alberta if the owner has not paid me?
Yes. Alberta requires payment to cascade down on a backstop of 35 days at the first tier and 42 days further down the chain (AB PPCLA s. 32.3(4)), unless you deliver a notice of non-payment down the chain and undertake to refer the dispute to adjudication.
See the full Alberta guide
Every deadline, notice and adjudication rule in one place.