Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Interim payment definition

What does Interim payment mean? An interim payment is a court order requiring a defendant (or defender in Scotland) to pay a sum on account before final judgment. It does not cover legal costs. In England and Wales, the procedure is defined in CPR Part 25: the court may order an interim payment on account of any damages, debt or other sum (excluding costs) which it may hold the defendant liable to pay. The amount must be a reasonable proportion of the likely final award and is credited against the judgment; any overpayment can be repaid or secured. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland recognise similar remedies through...

Interim payment regimes in UK construction contracts under the HGCRA 1996: mechanisms, notices, JCT/NEC approaches and key case law

Published by a LexisNexis Construction expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note sets out a concise overview of Interim payments, describing what they are, when the entitlement to be paid (most often through monthly instalments or stage/milestone sums) arises, and the contractual routes for securing interim payment. It further considers the need to ensure that any interim payment machinery complies with the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (HGCRA 1996), and explores how the payment regime is addressed in standard forms such as JCT and NEC contracts. See also Practice Note: .

For a list of leading cases on the HGCRA 1996 payment provisions, see Practice Note: HGCRA 1996 payment provisions—key cases. In relation to the JCT and NEC suites, see also Practice Notes: JCT contracts—price and payment and NEC contracts—price and payment.

What is an interim payment?

Construction projects can involve many millions of pounds, with programme periods extending over many months and years. Very few contractors could carry out undertakings of this scale if they had to await payment until all works were completed. As a general principle, where a construction contract requires delivery of a specific item, it is usually accepted that only full performance will satisfy and discharge the contractor’s obligations...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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