# Washington — Construction retainage limits by US state — maximum withholding percentages, release deadlines, escrow requirements, and public vs private distinctions with statutory citations

For Washington, public project retainage cap (%) is 5%; private project retainage cap (%) is no statutory cap; release deadline is 60 days after completion of all contract work; escrow required is optional; milestone reduction is contractor may request retainage be reduced to 100% of the value of work remaining, recorded from its source on 2026-08-17.

- **State:** Washington
- **Public project retainage cap (%):** 5%
- **Private project retainage cap (%):** no statutory cap
- **Release deadline:** 60 days after completion of all contract work
- **Escrow required:** optional
- **Milestone reduction:** contractor may request retainage be reduced to 100% of the value of work remaining
- **Statutory citation:** RCW 60.28.011 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> public improvement contracts must provide, and public bodies must reserve, a contract retainage not to exceed five percent of the moneys earned by the contractor as a trust fund for the protection and payment of: (i) The claims of any person arising under the contract

## Source

- https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=60.28.011

Last verified: 2026-08-17. Review by: 2027-08-17.
Part of [Construction retainage limits by US state — maximum withholding percentages, release deadlines, escrow requirements, and public vs private distinctions with statutory citations](https://referencesource.org/construction-retainage-limits-by-state/).