Home › Tools › Final paycheck by state
Direct answer: Federal law doesn't require an immediate final paycheck; state law sets the deadline. California pays immediately when you're fired, Texas within 6 days, and Tennessee by the later of your next regular payday or 21 days. We found no separate state deadline in 5 states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio).
By the numbers: Final-pay deadlines for 50 states + DC read from state statutes and labor departments Oct. 18, 2026: payment due immediately (or as soon as figured) after firing in 8 states; 5 with no state rule found. Source: VaultRubric from state statutes
“Employers are not required by federal law to give former employees their final paycheck immediately. Some states, however, may require immediate payment.” — U.S. Department of Labor, Last Paycheck
Updated 2026-10-18
No later than the next regular payday after you leave or 21 days after, whichever is later, whether you quit or were fired (Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-2-103(g); Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development).
No. The U.S. Labor Department says employers are not required by federal law to give former employees their final paycheck immediately; some states require it. If the regular payday has passed, contact the Wage and Hour Division or your state labor department.
If you're fired, immediately at the time of termination. If you quit with at least 72 hours' notice, at the time you quit; without notice, within 72 hours (Labor Code §§ 201, 202). Accrued vacation is included.
If you're discharged, by the sixth day after discharge. If you quit, by the next regularly scheduled payday (Texas Labor Code § 61.014).
California, Colorado, Hawaii (or the next working day), Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana (unless a written policy allows up to 15 days), Nevada, and Michigan (as soon as the amount can be determined). Others set a short window, such as Utah 24 hours or Connecticut, D.C. and Oregon by the next business day.
Ask payroll in writing, then file a wage claim with your state labor department or the U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division (1-866-487-9243). Many states add penalty wages for late final pay.
Final-pay deadlines read from each state's statute or labor department page (50 states + DC) and the U.S. Labor Department Last Paycheck page; checked Oct. 18, 2026.
As of Oct. 18, 2026 · read from state statutes and labor departments · 50 states + DC
Federal law doesn't require an immediate final paycheck — state law sets the deadline. Fired in California: immediately. Texas: within 6 days if fired. Tennessee: the later of your next regular payday or 21 days, quit or fired. No separate state rule found in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi or Ohio.
The math:
Sources: DOL last paycheck · State statutes (every row)
A best fit for the situation described, not financial advice or a buy/sell recommendation. Partner links never change a pick.
Pick your state, how the job ended and your last day. Add your next regular payday for an exact date.
Each rule was read on Oct. 18, 2026 from the state's own statute text or labor department page (linked in each row). Where we found no state final-pay deadline (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio), we say so instead of guessing: the federal baseline is the regular payday. New Mexico's text came from a statute mirror because the official site did not load for us. Puerto Rico and the territories are not covered.
| State | If fired | If you quit | Law | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No state final-paycheck deadline found | No state final-paycheck deadline found | No Alabama wage-payment statute found | — |
| Alaska | Within 3 working days after the termination | Next regular payday that is at least 3 days after the employer got your notice | AS 23.05.140(b) | statute |
| Arizona | Within 7 working days or the end of the next regular pay period, whichever is sooner | No later than the regular payday for the pay period in which you left | A.R.S. § 23-353 · If the next pay period ends before the 7 working days, that earlier date applies. | statute |
| Arkansas | By the next regular payday | No separate Arkansas quit rule found (the statute covers discharge) | Ark. Code § 11-4-405; Arkansas Dept. of Labor and Licensing FAQ · Unpaid 7 days after that payday: the employer can owe double wages (state FAQ). | state labor dept. |
| California | Immediately, at the time of termination | At quitting if you gave 72+ hours' notice; otherwise within 72 hours | Cal. Labor Code §§ 201, 202 · Accrued vacation is included in final pay. | state labor dept. state labor dept. |
| Colorado | Immediately (within 6 or 24 hours after payroll's next workday if payroll is closed or off-site) | Next regular payday | C.R.S. § 8-4-109 | state labor dept. |
| Connecticut | By the next business day after the discharge | Next regular payday | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71c | statute statute |
| Delaware | The later of the next regular payday or 3 business days after your last day | The later of the next regular payday or 3 business days after your last day | 19 Del. C. § 1103 | statute statute |
| District of Columbia | By the working day after the discharge | The earlier of the next regular payday or 7 days after quitting | D.C. Code § 32-1303 · Employees handling the employer's money: up to 4 days to audit accounts. | statute statute |
| Florida | No state final-paycheck deadline found | No state final-paycheck deadline found | No Florida wage-payment statute found | — |
| Georgia | No state final-paycheck deadline found | No state final-paycheck deadline found | No Georgia final-pay statute found | — |
| Hawaii | At the time of discharge (or the next working day if immediate payment isn't possible) | Next regular payday; at quitting if you gave one pay period's notice | HRS § 388-3 | statute statute |
| Idaho | The earlier of the next regular payday or 10 days (weekends and holidays excluded) | The earlier of the next regular payday or 10 days (weekends and holidays excluded) | Idaho Code § 45-606 · Ask in writing and it's due within 48 hours (weekends and holidays excluded). | statute |
| Illinois | At separation if possible, no later than the next regularly scheduled payday | At separation if possible, no later than the next regularly scheduled payday | 820 ILCS 115/5 · Earned vacation must be paid out. | statute |
| Indiana | The regular payday for the pay period in which you were separated | Next usual and regular payday | IC 22-2-9-2; IC 22-2-5-1(b) | statute statute |
| Iowa | Next regular payday | Next regular payday | Iowa Code § 91A.4 | statute |
| Kansas | Next regular payday | Next regular payday | K.S.A. 44-315 | statute |
| Kentucky | The later of the next normal pay period or 14 days | The later of the next normal pay period or 14 days | KRS 337.055 | statute |
| Louisiana | The earlier of the next regular payday or 15 days | The earlier of the next regular payday or 15 days | La. R.S. 23:631 | statute |
| Maine | Next established payday | Next established payday | 26 M.R.S. § 626 · Unused paid vacation accrued from Jan. 1, 2023 must be paid out (employers with 11+ employees). | statute |
| Maryland | The payday you would have been paid if still employed | The payday you would have been paid if still employed | Md. Lab. & Empl. § 3-505 | state labor dept. |
| Massachusetts | In full on the day of discharge | Next regular payday (or the following Saturday if there is none) | M.G.L. c. 149, § 148 | statute statute |
| Michigan | Immediately, as soon as the amount can with due diligence be determined | As soon as the amount can with due diligence be determined | MCL 408.475 | statute |
| Minnesota | Due on demand; late if not paid within 24 hours after you demand it | First regular payday after your last day; if that's under 5 days away, the second payday, but no more than 20 days | Minn. Stat. §§ 181.13, 181.14 | statute statute |
| Mississippi | No state final-paycheck deadline found | No state final-paycheck deadline found | No Mississippi final-pay statute found | — |
| Missouri | Due on the day of discharge | No separate Missouri quit rule found (the statute covers discharge) | RSMo § 290.110 · Penalty wages can run if pay doesn't arrive within 7 days of your written request. | statute |
| Montana | Immediately if fired for cause or laid off, unless a written policy allows the earlier of next payday or 15 days | The earlier of the next regular payday or 15 days | MCA 39-3-205 | statute statute |
| Nebraska | The earlier of the next regular payday or two weeks | The earlier of the next regular payday or two weeks | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-1230(4) | statute |
| Nevada | Immediately | The earlier of the regular payday or 7 days after quitting | NRS 608.020, 608.030 | statute statute |
| New Hampshire | Within 72 hours | Next regular payday; within 72 hours if you gave one pay period's notice | RSA 275:44 · Laid off: by the next regular payday. | statute statute |
| New Jersey | The regular payday for the pay period in which you left | The regular payday for the pay period in which you left | N.J.S.A. 34:11-4.3 | state labor dept. |
| New Mexico | Within 5 days (fixed wages, on demand; 10 days for task, piece or commission pay) | Next regular payday | NMSA §§ 50-4-4, 50-4-5 · Official nmonesource.com text did not load from our server; read from a statute mirror. | statute statute |
| New York | The regular payday for the pay period in which you left | The regular payday for the pay period in which you left | N.Y. Labor Law § 191(3) | statute |
| North Carolina | Next regular payday | Next regular payday | N.C.G.S. § 95-25.7 · Bonuses and commissions: the first regular payday after the amount can be calculated. | statute |
| North Dakota | The regular payday for the period worked (fired: sent by certified mail) | The regular payday for the period worked | N.D.C.C. § 34-14-03 | statute |
| Ohio | No separate final-paycheck deadline found (regular semimonthly pay rules apply) | No separate final-paycheck deadline found (regular semimonthly pay rules apply) | ORC 4113.15 (no termination clause) | statute |
| Oklahoma | Next regular designated payday | Next regular designated payday | 40 O.S. § 165.3 | statute |
| Oregon | By the end of the first business day after the discharge | Immediately with 48+ hours' notice (weekends/holidays excluded); otherwise the earlier of 5 business days or the next payday | ORS 652.140 | statute statute |
| Pennsylvania | Next regular payday | Next regular payday | 43 P.S. § 260.5 | state labor dept. |
| Rhode Island | Next regular payday | Next regular payday | R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-14-4 · Business closing, merging or moving out of state: within 24 hours. | statute |
| South Carolina | Within 48 hours or by the next regular payday (no more than 30 days) | Within 48 hours or by the next regular payday (no more than 30 days) | S.C. Code § 41-10-50 | statute |
| South Dakota | Next regular payday (or when you return the employer's property, if later) | Next regular payday (or when you return the employer's property, if later) | SDCL 60-11-10, 60-11-11 | statute |
| Tennessee | The later of the next regular payday or 21 days | The later of the next regular payday or 21 days | Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-2-103(g) · Final wages include vacation pay owed under company policy. | state labor dept. |
| Texas | By the 6th day after discharge | Next regularly scheduled payday | Tex. Lab. Code § 61.014 | statute statute |
| Utah | Within 24 hours of separation | Next regular payday | Utah Code § 34-28-5 | statute statute |
| Vermont | Within 72 hours of discharge | Next regular payday (or the following Friday if there is none) | 21 V.S.A. § 342(b) | statute statute |
| Virginia | The payday you would have been paid if still employed | The payday you would have been paid if still employed | Va. Code § 40.1-29 | statute |
| Washington | At the end of the established pay period | At the end of the established pay period | RCW 49.48.010 | statute |
| West Virginia | Next regular payday | Next regular payday | W. Va. Code § 21-5-4(b) | statute |
| Wisconsin | The regular payday (within the monthly 31-day rule) | The regular payday (within the monthly 31-day rule) | Wis. Stat. § 109.03(2) | statute |
| Wyoming | Next regular payday | Next regular payday | W.S. 27-4-104(a); Wyoming DWS FAQ | state labor dept. |
How we built this: the U.S. Labor Department publishes no state-by-state final-paycheck table, so we read each state's statute (legislature website) or labor department page on Oct. 18, 2026, saved a copy with a checksum, and our build checks that each rule's quoted words appear in that saved text. Some popular summaries don't match the current official text (Delaware's statute says the later of payday or 3 business days; Wyoming's labor department says the next regular payday; Maine's statute says the next established payday). The date check runs in your browser using the same rules as our server-side test.
Facts, not legal advice. Union contracts, public employers, commissions and bonuses, seasonal and farm work, and local laws can change the answer. Confirm with your state labor department.
No later than the next regular payday after you leave or 21 days after, whichever is later, whether you quit or were fired (Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-2-103(g); Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development).
No. The U.S. Labor Department says employers are not required by federal law to give former employees their final paycheck immediately; some states require it. If the regular payday has passed, contact the Wage and Hour Division or your state labor department.
If you're fired, immediately at the time of termination. If you quit with at least 72 hours' notice, at the time you quit; without notice, within 72 hours (Labor Code §§ 201, 202). Accrued vacation is included.
If you're discharged, by the sixth day after discharge. If you quit, by the next regularly scheduled payday (Texas Labor Code § 61.014).
California, Colorado, Hawaii (or the next working day), Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana (unless a written policy allows up to 15 days), Nevada, and Michigan (as soon as the amount can be determined). Others set a short window, such as Utah 24 hours or Connecticut, D.C. and Oregon by the next business day.
Ask payroll in writing, then file a wage claim with your state labor department or the U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division (1-866-487-9243). Many states add penalty wages for late final pay.
Estimates, not financial advice. Taxes, insurance, PMI and fees vary by lender, county and city; confirm with your lender, dealer and state agency before acting.
Was this calculator helpful?
We save only this page, your answer and the time. Nothing you typed.
We email you when top savings rates or our picks change. Email only. We send one email first so you can confirm; every email has a one-click unsubscribe.
Free tools need no account, SSN, or address. Most calculators run in your browser; a few send the numbers you enter to our server to do the math.