---
title: "Build a payment and retention register for a federal agency construction contract"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/build-the-project-trust-and-retention-money-compliance-register-for-the/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A11-X20260927-5-US"
practice_area: "Construction & Infrastructure"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Build a payment and retention register for a federal agency construction contract

> From the subcontract and the payment records, list each progress payment, the percentage the subcontract says may be retained, the amount withheld, and the date the agency payment and the subcontract payment are shown.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/build-the-project-trust-and-retention-money-compliance-register-for-the/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Construction & Infrastructure](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the subcontract and the payment records, list each progress payment, the percentage the subcontract says may be retained, the amount withheld, and the date the agency payment and the subcontract payment are shown. Do not certify that the statute is satisfied. |
| What the lawyer must review | 31 U.S.C. § 3905(b) requires each construction contract awarded by an agency to include a clause obligating the prime contractor to pay a subcontractor for satisfactory performance within 7 days out of such amounts as are paid to the prime by the agency, and an interest-penalty clause for payments not made in accordance with that clause. The same section permits the prime or a subcontractor to retain, without cause, a specified percentage of each progress payment otherwise due for satisfactory performance, without incurring a late-payment interest penalty, on terms the parties to the subcontract agree, giving such recognition as they deem appropriate to the ability of a subcontractor to furnish a performance bond and a payment bond. A payment dispute between contractor and subcontractor under those clauses is not a dispute to which the United States is a party. The lawyer decides whether this contract is an agency construction contract. Formal Opinion 512: the figures are checked against the ledger. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Build the project trust and retention money compliance register for the project](https://ailawframework.com/practice/construction-and-infrastructure/build-the-project-trust-and-retention-money-compliance-register-for-the.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the subcontract and the payment records, list each progress payment, the percentage the subcontract says may be retained, the amount withheld, and the date the agency payment and the subcontract payment are shown. Do not certify that the statute is satisfied.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Do not use this register on a private or state project. State project-trust and retention statutes were not opened.
- 40 U.S.C. § 3131 is the bond requirement for a federal public building or work. Retention under § 3905 is not a bond.
- Whether performance was satisfactory is the lawyer’s judgment. The register records the dates and amounts in the file.

## Sources

- [31 U.S.C. § 3905, payment provisions relating to construction contracts](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/3905) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [40 U.S.C. § 3131, bonds of contractors of public buildings or works](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/40/3131) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Queensland project trust and retention trust register](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/construction-and-infrastructure/qld-project-trust-register.md) | Checklist | Yellow | Register for whether a Queensland contract needs a project trust account, and for the project trust and retention trust accounts once an account exists. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*