Final Paycheck Laws by State 2026 — When Is It Due?
When does a last paycheck have to arrive? Pick your state and whether you were let go or resigned to see that state’s own deadline, whether accrued vacation must be paid out, and the statute it comes from — an estimate of timing, with the source linked.
Works offline — your inputs never leave this device. How that works
Many states set different deadlines depending on who ended the employment, and several shorten the deadline when an employee gives notice before quitting.
Verified 2026-07-31 against State final-paycheck statutes (per-row citations) (effective 2026-01-01)
Estimate only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Only DOL-WHD can determine your actual amounts.
Official source: U.S. Department of Labor — state labor offices ↗
🎓 Understand this tool
What it is
A state-by-state lookup of when a departing employee’s last paycheck is legally due, split by whether the employer ended the job or the employee resigned, with the payout rule for accrued vacation where the state has one.
How it works
Each row was transcribed from that state’s own statute or labor-department page — 47 of the 51 jurisdictions resolved, with the citation and source URL carried beside every answer. Four states whose current rule could not be confirmed from an official source show that plainly instead of a figure, because a wrong deadline is worse than a missing one.
Getting the most from it
- Choose your state, then how the job ended — the two often carry different deadlines.
- Read the deadline together with the statute citation beneath it.
- Check the accrued-time-off line, which appears only where the state requires a payout.
- Open the linked source if you need the exact statutory wording.
Reading your result
The deadline governs when wages must be paid, not what counts as wages. Commissions, bonuses, and expense reimbursements frequently follow separate timelines, and a payday that falls on a weekend or holiday can shift the date.
What it can't tell you
It reports the general rule for private employers. Public employees, collective bargaining agreements, and specific industries can be governed differently, and some states add penalties this lookup does not compute. It is not legal advice — the state labor department takes wage claims, and an employment attorney can assess a specific dispute.
Frequently asked questions
It depends entirely on the state: some require payment immediately at termination, others within a set number of days, and many simply require the next regular payday. This lookup shows the rule your state publishes, with a link to the statute or agency page it was transcribed from.
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