A payment claim is the first formal step in recovering money owed to you under a construction contract through CIPAA. Get it right and you set yourself up for a strong adjudication. Get it wrong, and you can hand the other side an easy way to challenge your claim before it even begins. This guide walks through what a payment claim is, what it needs to contain, and how to avoid the common pitfalls.

What a payment claim is

A payment claim is a written demand served by an unpaid party on the party who owes them money under the construction contract. It is the trigger that starts the CIPAA process. Without a valid payment claim, you cannot move on to adjudication, so it pays to take this step seriously.

The claim tells the other side, in clear terms, that a payment is due, how much is due, and why. It also opens a window in which the other party must respond.

What to include in your claim

A proper payment claim should clearly state the amount claimed and the work, services, or supply it relates to. It should identify the contract under which the claim arises and specify the due date for payment. It is also good practice to attach or refer to supporting documents, such as progress claims, certificates, or measurements, that back up the figure.

Clarity is everything. The party receiving the claim should be able to understand exactly what you are claiming and on what basis. Vague or incomplete claims invite disputes about validity and can give the other side grounds to argue the claim was never properly made.

How to serve the claim

Service matters as much as content. The payment claim must reach the right party in the manner the contract or the law allows. Acceptable methods generally include personal delivery and sending to the recipient’s usual or last known place of business.

Keep proof of service. If a dispute later arises about whether and when the claim was served, you will want clear evidence, such as a delivery record or acknowledgement, to rely on. Disputes over service can derail an otherwise solid claim.

What happens after you serve it

Once you serve a valid payment claim, the other party has a limited period to respond with a payment response. In that response they can admit the amount, dispute it in whole or in part, or set out reasons for withholding payment.

If they fail to respond at all, that silence can work in your favour at adjudication. If they dispute the claim, you can move forward by serving a notice and referring the matter to adjudication. Either way, the clock starts running from the moment your claim is properly served, which is why timing and accuracy are so important.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most frequent errors are claiming an unclear or unsupported amount, serving the claim on the wrong entity, missing contractual deadlines, and failing to keep records of service. Another common trap is treating the payment claim as a casual reminder rather than the formal legal step it actually is. Because the strength of your eventual adjudication often rests on the quality of this first document, it is worth getting professional input before you serve it, especially on a substantial claim.