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

For Wisconsin, public project retainage cap (%) is 5% until 50% complete; 0% after 50% complete (unless unsatisfactory progress); private project retainage cap (%) is no statutory cap in this section; release deadline is upon substantial completion; escrow required is no; milestone reduction is at 50% completion, no further retainage withheld (full payments resume), recorded from its source on 2026-08-17.

- **State:** Wisconsin
- **Public project retainage cap (%):** 5% until 50% complete; 0% after 50% complete (unless unsatisfactory progress) _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Private project retainage cap (%):** no statutory cap in this section
- **Release deadline:** upon substantial completion
- **Escrow required:** no _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Milestone reduction:** at 50% completion, no further retainage withheld (full payments resume) _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Statutory citation:** Wis. Stat. § 66.0901(9)(b) _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> The retainage shall be an amount equal to not more than 5 percent of the estimate until 50 percent of the work has been completed. At 50 percent completion, further partial payments shall be made in full to the contractor and no additional amounts may be retained unless the architect or engineer certifies that the job is not proceeding satisfactorily, but amounts previously retained shall not be paid to the contractor.

## Source

- https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/66.0901

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/).