GC Laws — Indiana contractor-law checklist preview (free)
Sources reviewed 2026-09-30. Public summaries remain free on gclaws.com.

[ ] Licensing
      - Indiana PLA administers apprentice, journeyman plumber, plumbing-contractor and plumbing-contractor-corporation categories. The required credential depends on the work and business form.
      - The agency requires Board approval of eligibility before the applicable licensing examination; licensing and renewal instructions differ by category. A plumbing-contractor corporation has its own licensing application.

[ ] Mechanic's liens
      - File the sworn statement and notice of intention to hold a lien in duplicate with the county recorder within 90 days after the covered labor or furnishing, except that work on a Class 2 structure or an auxiliary improvement on the same real estate has a 60-day period.
      - The statement must identify the amount, claimant, owner and the property as required by §32-28-3-3(c). Separate prerequisites apply to some residential claimants; filing a statement is not a substitute for those notices.
      - An owner or other interested person may use the statutory written demand to require suit within 30 days after receipt; failure to sue in that period voids the lien, as explained in the State Board of Accounts’ mechanics-lien guidance.

[ ] Retainage
      - The 2025 amendments to IC 5-16-5.5-3.5 and IC 36-1-12-14 lowered the maximum option retained until 50% completion from 10% to 6%, and lowered the alternative maximum retained until substantial completion from 5% to 3%. The amendments removed the minimum retention amounts.
      - These are the statutory alternatives described by the State Board of Accounts; they are not a private-contract cap.

[ ] Prompt payment
      - For covered proper claims, payment is timely if made by the contractual due date or within 35 days after receipt of the goods/services or proper claim, whichever is later. Section 5-17-5-1 separately permits qualifying local-board payments within 35 days after the first board meeting held at least ten days after receipt.
      - Late amounts bear 1% monthly interest under the chapter. Exceptions include interagency payments, employee reimbursements, timely identified good-faith disputes and specified older or federally funded obligations; qualifying INDOT partial payments of $500 or less also have an exception.

[ ] Prevailing wage
      - Indiana DOL reports that HEA 1019 repealed the state’s Common Construction Wage law in 2015. The report concerns that state program; it does not establish that a project lacks any separate federal or contractual wage obligation.

[ ] Davis-Bacon (federal)
      - Under 40 U.S.C. section 3142, covered contracts require payment to laborers and mechanics employed directly on the site of the work at least weekly, at rates no lower than the applicable prevailing wage determination. The required compensation includes the basic hourly rate and required fringe benefits, which may be provided through qualifying benefits or cash as the statute permits.
      - Qualifying apprentices may receive a lower registered-program rate only when the applicable registration and program conditions are met. The Department of Labor’s apprenticeship rules govern those exceptions.
      - The Department of Labor determines the prevailing rates for the work classifications and locality. Contractors and subcontractors must use the wage determination applicable to their covered contract.
      - Federal assistance alone does not establish coverage: many, but not all, construction-assistance statutes include Davis-Bacon requirements. Identify the funding program and its governing Related Act.
      - SAM.gov publishes Davis-Bacon wage determinations. Search by the wage-determination number or the Davis-Bacon public-buildings-or-works category, and match the decision to the contract, locality, and work classification.

This preview lists the topics and rules covered in the full state pack. The paid pack adds the complete source URLs, citations, review dates, and the three editable tools.
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