Final payment

Established

Also: Final certificate, Final certificate for payment, Close-out, Project closeout

The last payment under a construction contract, certified once the work is complete, deficiencies are corrected, close-out documents are delivered and lien periods have expired.

Explanation

Under the OAA/OGCA Take-Over Procedures, the payment certifier issues the final certificate after deficiencies are corrected, following the statement of completion and release of the finishing holdback; payment then follows on the contract's terms. Final payment is commonly conditional on close-out submittals (as-built drawings, O&M manuals, warranties, spare parts, training records), a Statutory declaration and evidence that no liens are preserved. Acceptance of final payment may also trigger contractual waivers of claims, so contracts should be read carefully.

Practical example

Six weeks after completion, with all deficiencies closed and close-out documents accepted, the consultant issues the final certificate for the remaining contract balance.

Why it matters

Final payment is the owner's last leverage to obtain close-out deliverables; for contractors, delayed final payment ties up margin.

Standards and references

  1. OAA/OGCA Take-Over Procedures (Document No. 100). Ontario Association of Architects and Ontario General Contractors Association, 2019.Widely accepted professional interpretation
    Supports: Final certificate after correction of deficiencies, following completion and finishing holdback; payment timing · Status: Written under the former Construction Lien Act (reissued January 2019); check figures against the current Construction Act.

VDC Stack.io writes its own explanations and does not reproduce copyrighted standards text. Consult the cited standard for normative wording.

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VDC Stack.io. (2026). Final payment. In VDC Stack.io Knowledge Dictionary. Retrieved from https://vdcstack.io/dictionary/final-payment/