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Prompt pay laws, all 50 states
How long an insurer has to pay a clean claim in each state, with a link to the statute for every one. Gathered one state at a time and cited so you can check any row rather than take our word for it.
Almost every state sets a maximum number of days an insurer has to pay or deny a clean claim, and most attach interest to a late one. The numbers are not interchangeable: some states split electronic and paper submissions, a few attach penalties calculated off billed charges rather than the contracted rate, and at least one changed its deadline recently. Ageing an accounts receivable report against a single thirty-day rule of thumb therefore mislabels which payers are actually late.
This is a research summary, not legal advice. Each row links to the page the figure was read on. Statutes are amended; check the source before relying on a number in a dispute.
| State | Deadline to pay a clean claim | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 30 calendar days for a clean electronic claim; 45 calendar days for a clean written claim (Ala. Code 27-1-17(a)). If the payer requests additional information, the claim must be adjudicated within 21 calendar days of receiving it. | View |
| Alaska | 30 calendar days after receipt of a clean claim. No electronic vs paper split. If the insurer requests information within that window, it must pay within 15 calendar days of receiving the information or within 30 days of the claim. | View |
| Arizona | 30 days to adjudicate a clean claim, then a further 30 days after adjudication to pay the approved portion — so up to ~60 days end to end. No electronic-versus-paper distinction in the statute. | View |
| Arkansas | 30 days for clean claims submitted electronically, 45 days for claims submitted by other means. The deadline is in the Arkansas Insurance Department rule (23 CAR § 15-110, Rule 43), not the statute — Ark. Code § 23-66-215 only sets the 12% per annum late-payment penalty and delegates the timeframe to the Commissioner. | View |
| California | 30 calendar days for a complete claim, with no separate deadline for electronic and paper. Health and Safety Code 1371 was re-enacted by Stats. 2024, Ch. 763 and this replaced the older 30-working-day rule. | View |
| Colorado | 30 calendar days for clean claims submitted electronically; 45 calendar days for clean claims submitted by any other means (C.R.S. 10-16-106.5(4)(a)) | View |
| Connecticut | 20 days for claims submitted electronically; 60 days for paper claims | View |
| Delaware | 30 days after receipt of a clean claim for the carrier to pay in full, pay in part with written explanation, deny in writing, or request additional documentation; then 15 days to act after the requested information arrives. No electronic/paper split. | View |
| Florida | 20 days for an electronically submitted claim; 40 days for a non-electronic (paper) claim. Florida Statutes 627.6131 (health insurers). Electronic claims must also be acknowledged within 24 hours of the next business day; paper claims within 15 days. | View |
| Georgia | 15 working days for electronic claims; 30 calendar days for paper claims. Interest of 12 percent per annum applies to late payment. | View |
| Hawaii | 15 calendar days for electronically filed clean claims; 30 calendar days for claims filed in writing (fastest electronic deadline of any state reviewed here) | View |
| Idaho | 30 days for electronic claims; 45 days for paper claims — but the deadline only attaches if the provider filed within 30 days (electronic) or 45 days (paper) of the date of service | View |
| Illinois | 30 days after receipt of due written proof of loss. The statute sets no separate electronic vs. paper deadline. Late payment accrues 9% per year interest from the 30th day. | View |
| Indiana | 30 days for clean claims filed electronically; 45 days for claims filed on paper (IC 27-8-5.7-6) | View |
| Iowa | 30 days for clean claims — no electronic vs. paper distinction (the statute, Iowa Code 507B.4A, sets no number itself; the 30-day deadline lives in the implementing rule, Iowa Admin. Code 191—15.32(2)(a)). Interest of 10% per annum accrues from the 31st day. | View |
| Kansas | 30 days for clean claims — no electronic vs. paper distinction (K.S.A. 40-2442). Where the insurer requests additional information, it has 15 days after receiving it. Late payment carries 1% per month interest. | View |
| Kentucky | 30 calendar days for a clean claim, paper or electronic alike (no electronic/paper split); 60 days for organ transplant claims | View |
| Louisiana | 25 days for an electronic clean claim (La. R.S. 22:1833(B)(1)). For paper: 45 days if the contracted provider billed within 45 days of the date of service, but 60 days if billed later than that or if the claim is a resubmission (La. R.S. 22:1832(A)(1)-(2)); 45 days for non-contracted providers and member-submitted paper claims (22:1832(A)(3)). | View |
| Maine | 30 days. Maine's statute makes no distinction between electronic and paper claims; a claim neither disputed nor paid within 30 days is overdue and bears interest at 1.5% per month. | View |
| Maryland | 30 days after receipt of the claim (Md. Code, Insurance § 15-1005(c)). The statute sets no separate electronic vs. paper deadline. Unpaid clean claims accrue escalating monthly interest — 1.5% for days 31-60, 2% for days 61-120, 2.5% thereafter — paid automatically without the provider having to ask. | View |
| Massachusetts | 45 days from receipt of completed reimbursement forms to pay, deny in writing, or request additional information; interest of 1.5% per month (max 18%/yr) accrues after that. | View |
| Michigan | 45 days to pay a clean claim. The plan must tell the provider within 30 days of receipt every known reason the claim is not clean. Unpaid clean claims accrue 12% simple interest per annum. | View |
| Minnesota | 30 calendar days for clean claims. Minn. Stat. 62Q.75 makes no distinction between electronic and paper submission — one deadline covers both. | View |
| Mississippi | 25 days for clean claims submitted electronically, 35 days for clean claims submitted in paper format (Miss. Code § 83-9-5(1)(h)1). | View |
| Missouri | 30 processing days from receipt to send a status notice and, if the claim is clean, pay or deny it; 10 processing days after receipt of additional information; 5 processing days after a final information request (RSMo 376.383) | View |
| Montana | 30 days to pay or deny after receipt of proof of loss; 60 days if the insurer makes a reasonable request for additional information or documents. No separate electronic/paper timeline. | View |
| Nebraska | 30 calendar days for electronic clean claims; 45 calendar days for non-electronic clean claims | View |
| Nevada | 21 days for electronic clean claims, 30 days for non-electronic — effective January 1, 2026 under AB52 (83rd Session, 2025), which shortened the prior uniform 30-day rule. Approved claims must be paid within that same window. | View |
| New Hampshire | 15 calendar days for a clean electronic claim; 30 calendar days for a clean non-electronic (paper) claim. If the insurer denies or pends, it has 15 days (electronic) / 30 days (paper) to notify; after receiving requested additional info it must adjudicate within 45 calendar days, and if the notice is not given the claim is deemed clean. | View |
| New Jersey | 30 calendar days for electronic clean claims; 40 calendar days for paper (non-electronic) clean claims. Interest accrues from day 31 / day 41. | View |
| New Mexico | 30 days for electronic clean claims; 45 days for manually (paper) submitted clean claims | View |
| New York | 30 days for a claim transmitted electronically (internet or e-mail); 45 days for a claim submitted by other means such as paper or facsimile. New York Insurance Law 3224-a(a). The duty does not apply where the insurer's obligation is not reasonably clear or where there is a reasonable, documented basis to believe the claim was fraudulent. | View |
| North Carolina | 30 calendar days after receipt of a claim, for both electronic and paper. The receipt date differs by channel: electronic claims are deemed received the day transmitted, mailed claims the fifth business day after mailing. | View |
| North Dakota | 15 business days to pay, deny, or make an initial request for additional information; then another 15 business days after the requested information is received. The statute sets no separate electronic vs paper deadline. | View |
| Ohio | 30 days to pay or deny a claim submitted on the standard claim form; 45 days if the payer determines reasonable supporting documentation is needed. No electronic vs. paper split in the statute. | View |
| Oklahoma | 30 calendar days for electronic clean claims; 45 calendar days for paper clean claims | View |
| Oregon | 30 days to pay or deny a clean claim; statute draws no electronic vs paper distinction | View |
| Pennsylvania | 45 days from receipt of a clean claim, with no electronic-vs-paper distinction — the same 45 days applies either way. Act 68 / 40 P.S. 991.2166, implemented at 31 Pa. Code 154.18. Interest is added to late clean claims and must itself be paid within 30 days of the claim payment. | View |
| Rhode Island | 30 calendar days for a complete (clean) electronic claim; 40 calendar days for a complete written claim. | View |
| South Carolina | 20 business days for clean claims submitted electronically; 40 business days for clean claims submitted on paper (S.C. Code 38-59-230). Note these are business days, not calendar days — unusual. | View |
| South Dakota | 30 calendar days for clean claims submitted electronically; 45 calendar days otherwise (paper). If additional info is needed, the carrier must ask within 30 days and the provider must respond within 30 days. | View |
| Tennessee | 21 calendar days for electronically submitted claims; 30 calendar days for paper claims (Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-109) — within that window the health insurance entity must pay a clean claim or tell the provider in writing why it is not clean | View |
| Texas | 30 days for an electronically submitted clean claim, and 45 days for a paper one, under Texas Insurance Code 843.338. | View |
| Utah | 30 days from receipt of a written claim to pay or deny (45 days for income replacement benefit claims); the statute sets no separate electronic deadline | View |
| Vermont | 30 days from receipt of a claim to pay, contest, or deny; a further 30 days after receiving the additional information requested. Same deadline for electronic and paper claims. | View |
| Virginia | 40 days from receipt of the claim (no separate electronic/paper deadline in the statute). | View |
| Washington | 30 days — but expressed as a monthly-volume standard, not a per-claim deadline: 95% of the monthly volume of clean claims within 30 days, and 95% of the monthly volume of all claims paid or denied within 60 days (WAC 284-170-431(2)(a)). | View |
| West Virginia | 30 days for electronic clean claims; 40 days for manually submitted clean claims | View |
| Wisconsin | 30 days after the insurer is furnished written notice of the loss and its amount (Wis. Stat. § 628.46(1)). This is a general insurance prompt-pay provision — the section does not set separate electronic vs. paper clean-claim deadlines; a parallel 30-day rule at § 628.46(2m) runs from receipt of the chiropractor's clinical documentation. | View |
| Wyoming | 45 days after receipt of the proofs of loss and supporting evidence. No electronic vs paper distinction in the statute. Exception: accident and health claims where validity or amount is questioned and referred to the Wyoming state medical peer review committee. | View |
Questions
Does every state have one?
Very nearly, and the common exception is wrong. A widely repeated line says every state except South Carolina has a prompt pay rule. South Carolina does have one: S.C. Code 38-59-230 gives an insurer twenty business days to pay a clean electronic claim and forty for paper. Note business days rather than calendar days, which is unusual and makes the real deadline longer than it first looks.
What is a prompt pay law?
A state statute setting the maximum number of days an insurer has to pay or formally deny a clean claim. Most also attach interest or a penalty to a late payment. They vary widely: some states set one deadline, others split electronic and paper submissions, and a few calculate penalties off billed charges rather than the contracted rate.
What counts as a clean claim?
Broadly, a claim with nothing missing that the payer needs in order to adjudicate it. The definition is set per state and per contract, and it matters enormously: the clock in every one of these statutes starts on receipt of a CLEAN claim, so a payer that says information is missing has usually stopped the clock rather than broken the rule.
Does this apply to Medicare and Medicaid?
Not usually. State prompt-pay statutes generally govern commercial insurers and managed care organizations licensed in that state. Medicare has its own federal timeframes, and state Medicaid programmes have their own rules which are often set separately from the commercial statute.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is a research summary with the source for each entry so you can read the statute yourself. Statutes are amended, and at least one state on this list changed its deadline recently. Check the citation before you rely on a number in a dispute, and take advice for anything contested.
How do I actually use this?
Two ways. Before a call, so the question stops being "when might this be paid" and becomes "this passed your statutory window on a specific date". And in aggregate, by ageing your accounts receivable against each payer's statutory deadline rather than a single 30-day rule of thumb, which shows you which payers are genuinely late rather than merely slow.
Use this table however you like
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Found an entry that is out of date? Tell us at ops@softhomeglobal.com and we will check the statute and correct it, with the correction noted.
Sources
- Each state’s own statute or insurance department rule — Linked beside every state in the table above — the citation is the authority
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners — state insurance departments — Where to confirm a state rule directly
- CMS — Medicare claims processing — Medicare runs on its own rules, not the state statute
Sources checked September 2026.
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Next step
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