That all depends on what the dues are.

If you have to ask, then you haven’t paid ‘em.

It’s a false concept. Nobody is keeping a celestial scorecard. Life happens and you deal with it one way or another but there are no earned dividends.

@janbb Good Answer!!!

One does not know until someone says so, recognizes one for hard work, effort, and significant time put in, usually to become a master at a craft or skill.

I posit that no one can declare themselves to have “paid their dues”; to do so means they have done little more than worked to nurture a resentment and become angry that they have not been recognized for something that does not deserve recognition.

You have paid your dues when you don’t need to ask this question.