Blog · October 24, 2026

How to fill out a drywall pay application in Texas

To fill out a drywall pay application, put your subcontract on a schedule of values (one line per piece of the work), enter what was completed and stored this period, subtract retainage and what you have already been paid, and send it by the GC's cutoff date with a conditional lien waiver for that amount. On private Texas jobs, the GC has to pass your share along within 7 days after the owner pays them (Property Code § 28.002), so a clean pay app that lands on time is the shortest road to your check.

Not legal advice. Check with an attorney. This is a general guide for office staff on private Texas jobs. Your subcontract controls a lot of this (retainage percent, cutoff dates, pay-when-paid terms), and public jobs follow different rules. Read the statutes linked below and check specific jobs with a Texas construction attorney.

Most GCs want something in the style of AIA's G702 (summary page) and G703 (continuation sheet, which is the schedule of values). Some use their own form or a portal, but the math is the same.

1. Learn the GC's pay app calendar first

Before the first billing, ask the GC's PM or accounting office and write the answers in your job notes:

Missing a cutoff by one day can push your billing into the next cycle. A calendar reminder fixes that.

2. Build the schedule of values once

The schedule of values (SOV) breaks your subcontract into lines that add up to the contract amount. Agree on it with the GC at the start of the job and keep the same lines every month. A simple drywall SOV might look like this:

Splitting materials from labor makes it easier for the super to agree with your percentages; one line called "Drywall" invites arguments. The G703 instructions explain the standard columns (previous work, this period, stored materials, total to date, percent, balance and retainage).

3. Bill what is actually done this period

For each line, enter the value of work put in place since the last pay app. Base the percentage on something you can show (floors hung, square footage, finish coats done) and get photos from the foreman before the cutoff. Billing ahead of the work is the fastest way to get a pay app cut.

4. Stored materials: only if the contract allows it

Board delivered to the site but not yet hung can sometimes be billed as stored materials. Check your subcontract first. Texas's prompt pay law refers to "suitably stored or specially fabricated materials" as provided under the contract (§ 28.002), so the contract decides. If it is allowed, attach the delivery ticket or supplier invoice, photos and where the board is stored. Once it is hung, move that value out of stored materials and into work completed, as the G703 instructions describe.

5. Add approved change orders as their own lines

Put each approved change order on its own line (CO #1, CO #2) instead of folding it into the original lines. Only bill change orders approved in writing. If your change orders tend to sit unsigned, see how to write a drywall change order the GC will actually sign.

6. Take out retainage and track it per job

Retainage is the part of each payment held back until the end. Your subcontract sets the percent the GC holds from you. Separately, Texas law requires the owner to reserve 10 percent of the contract price, or of the value of work done, during the job and for 30 days after the original contract is completed (§ 53.101). Use the number in your own subcontract.

Keep a running retainage balance for every job. When your work is done, your retainage has its own Texas notice clock. Unless you already covered it in a regular notice of claim, the notice of claim for unpaid retainage goes to the owner and the original contractor by the earlier of 30 days after your contract is completed, terminated or abandoned, or 30 days after the original contract is terminated or abandoned (§ 53.057). Our Texas lien deadlines post covers the other dates.

7. A worked example

Made-up numbers for a $84,000 drywall subcontract with one approved $3,200 change order and 10 percent retainage in the subcontract:

Original subcontract ............... $84,000
Approved change orders (CO #1) ...... $ 3,200
Contract sum to date ................ $87,200

Work completed, previous pay apps ... $30,000
Work completed, this period ......... $21,500
Materials presently stored .......... $ 6,000
Total completed and stored .......... $57,500  (66% of $87,200)

Retainage (10% of $57,500) .......... $ 5,750
Total earned less retainage ......... $51,750
Less previous payments requested .... $27,000  ($30,000 less 10%)
CURRENT PAYMENT DUE ................. $24,750
Balance to finish, plus retainage ... $35,450

Check the math the way the GC's accountant will: the current payment due should equal this period's work plus stored materials, minus 10 percent ($27,500 − $2,750 = $24,750).

8. Attach the right lien waiver

Texas has four statutory waiver forms in § 53.284: conditional and unconditional, each for a progress payment or the final payment. A waiver that does not substantially follow the right form is unenforceable (§ 53.281). In practice:

You may also be asked for a bills-paid affidavit; Texas lets the requesting party make it a condition of payment (§ 53.085). If you owe a supplier or crew, the affidavit has to say so.

9. After you submit, watch the dates

On private jobs, Chapter 28 sets the default timeline: the owner pays the GC within 35 days after receiving a written payment request, and the GC pays you within 7 days after the owner pays (§ 28.002). Unpaid amounts bear interest of 1.5 percent a month (§ 28.004). In a good faith dispute, the payer may withhold only up to 110 percent of the disputed difference on 1-4 family homes, or 100 percent on other jobs (§ 28.003). The right to suspend work for nonpayment (§ 28.009) does not apply to 1-4 family homes; talk to an attorney before you stop work.

Log the date and method you sent each pay app, follow up once the GC's normal pay date passes, and remember your lien notice deadlines keep running.

TapeAndFloat is an office assistant for drywall subs and small GCs. During the free pilot it reminds you of each GC's pay app cutoff, tracks retainage per job and flags pay apps that are past due. If that would help your office, take a look at the Austin pilot.

Official sources

Not legal advice. General summary as of October 24, 2026. Check specific jobs with a Texas construction attorney.

Frequently asked questions

When does the GC have to pay my drywall pay app in Texas?

On private jobs, the owner pays the GC within 35 days after a written payment request, and the GC pays you within 7 days after receiving that payment (Property Code Sec. 28.002). Not legal advice.

Does Texas law require 10% retainage?

Section 53.101 requires the owner to reserve 10 percent of the contract price, or of the value of work done, during the job and for 30 days after the original contract is completed. The percent the GC holds from you is set by your subcontract (see also Sec. 53.025).

Which lien waiver do I send with a pay app?

Usually the Conditional Waiver and Release on Progress Payment, Sec. 53.284(b). Sign an unconditional one only after the money clears (Sec. 53.283).

Can I bill for drywall board stored on site?

Only if your contract allows it. Chapter 28 refers to suitably stored or specially fabricated materials as provided under the contract. Attach the delivery ticket and photos.