What Is a Pay Application? The AIA G702 and G703, Line by Line

By Erik Tishenko, Modern Northwest · Published November 4, 2026

A pay application is a contractor's request for a progress payment, usually sent monthly. The payment rules come from the contract's general conditions. It shows how much of each line of work is done, adds approved change orders, subtracts retainage and what was already paid, and arrives at the amount due now. On AIA contracts it is two forms: the G703 continuation sheet, which lists every line of the schedule of values, and the G702 Application and Certificate for Payment, the one-page cover that totals it and is certified by the architect.

The summary lines on the AIA G702-1992 form. The G703 supplies the line-by-line numbers behind them.

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How a pay application is built

It starts with the schedule of values, the list that splits the contract price into lines of work. Each period, the contractor fills in the G703 for every line: the value, what was billed before, what was done this period, any stored materials, the total and percent complete, the balance to finish and the retainage. The G702 takes those totals, adds any approved change orders to the contract sum, subtracts retainage and previous payments, and shows the current payment due.

Under the standard AIA general conditions, the schedule of values, unless the architect objects to it, is the basis for reviewing every payment application. That is why a clear, detailed schedule of values at the start makes every pay application easier to review and quicker to pay.

Who certifies it

The G702 works as both the contractor's request and the architect's certification. The contractor signs it; the architect reviews it against what they see on site and the data in the application, then certifies the amount due. The owner pays the certified amount on the schedule the contract sets. On a job without an architect, the owner or the owner's representative does that review.

What an owner should check

• Progress matches the site. A line billed at 60 percent should look about 60 percent done. Walk the job before you approve.
• The contract sum is current. Only approved change orders belong in the net change line.
• Retainage is applied as the contract says. In Oregon and Washington, private-job retainage is capped at five percent of the work completed.
• Stored materials are real. If materials not yet installed are billed, ask where they are and how they are insured.
• Lien waivers come with it. Conditional waivers for this payment and unconditional ones for the last. Our lien waiver guide covers the Oregon and Washington rules.
• The math carries forward. "Previous certificates" should match what you actually approved last time.

At the end of the job

Around substantial completion, the retainage line is often reduced, and the final pay application releases what is left once the punch list is closed and the closeout paperwork, including final lien waivers, is in. The balance to finish then goes to zero. Related terms are in our commercial construction glossary.

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

A pay application turns progress on site into a payment: the G703 lists the work line by line, the G702 totals it and certifies what is due. Check progress against the site, keep the contract sum current, apply retainage as the contract says, and collect lien waivers with every payment.

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