Guides

Certified payroll, explained from the regulations up.

Each guide is written from the Davis-Bacon regulations, the Department of Labor’s form instructions, and the statutes themselves, with the source linked at the bottom. Dates show when we last checked them.

• 5 minWhat certified payroll is, who has to file it, and whenCertified payroll is the weekly wage report every contractor and subcontractor files on a Davis-Bacon job. Here is what the regulation requires, who it goes to, and what you sign.
• 6 minHow to fill out Form WH-347, column by columnStep-by-step WH-347 instructions for the January 2025 form: the header, columns 1A through 9, overtime rows, fringe in 6B and 6C, and the page 2 statement.
• 5 minThe Statement of Compliance: what each box certifiesPage 2 of the WH-347 is a sworn statement. Here is what the 3 required certifications mean, who may sign, what counts as a signature, and the penalties for getting it wrong.
• 6 minOvertime on prevailing wage jobs: the 40-hour rule and the fringe trapWhich law requires overtime on a Davis-Bacon job, how the overtime rate is computed when fringe is paid in cash, and why 1.5 times the wrong number gets payrolls rejected.
• 6 minFringe benefits on a Davis-Bacon job: cash, plan, or bothThe wage determination lists a fringe rate next to the basic rate. You can pay it into benefit plans, pay it as cash, or split it. Here is how each choice is credited and how it shows on the WH-347.
• 6 minApprentices on Davis-Bacon jobs: who qualifies for the reduced rateOnly registered apprentices may be paid below the journeyworker rate, only within the program's ratio, and only with the program's fringe. What to report on the WH-347 and what happens when the paperwork is missing.
• 5 minPayroll deductions the Copeland Act allows on certified payrollColumn 8 of the WH-347 is checked against 29 CFR part 3. Here is the list of deductions you can take without asking, the ones that need Department of Labor approval, and the ones that are never allowed.
• 5 minCertified payroll records: what to keep and for how longKeep certified payroll records 3 years after the whole prime contract is done, not after your last week. The records required, including the 2023 additions.
• 6 minReading a Davis-Bacon wage determination, and what to do when your trade isn't on itWhere wage determinations come from, how to read the number, the rates, and the modifications, which version applies to your contract, and how a missing classification is added through a conformance.
• 5 minOne worker, two classifications in the same weekA worker who does two trades in one week goes on two WH-347 rows with the same entry number. How to pay the split, record it, and report it on the form.
• 3 minWeeks with no work on the project: what the rule requires and what agencies ask forThe federal clause requires a payroll for weeks in which covered work is performed. Many agencies and primes want a no-work payroll anyway. How to handle gaps, and how to number them.
• 4 minWhy certified payroll uses an identifying number, not a Social Security numberThe regulation prohibits full SSNs and home addresses on weekly certified payrolls. What to use instead, what the prime can still ask you for privately, and how state forms differ.
• 6 minState certified payroll requirements: how 10 state systems differ from the WH-347About half the states have their own prevailing wage laws with their own certified payroll systems. What California, New York, Washington, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota and Oregon ask for, how each differs from the federal form, and how to handle a job covered by both.
• 6 minThe 2023 Davis-Bacon rule: what changed for contractors filing certified payrollWhat the 2023 Davis-Bacon final rule changed: records kept longer, fringe annualization, demolition and flagger coverage, and 3 provisions vacated in 2026.
• 5 minCorrecting a certified payroll you already submittedFound a mistake on a WH-347 you already submitted? File a revised payroll under the same number, sign a new Statement of Compliance, show the back wages.
• 5 minThe 12 mistakes that get certified payrolls rejectedThe 12 WH-347 mistakes reviewers reject most, from overtime figured on the fringe to wrong classification names, each with the rule behind it and the fix.
• 4 minSite of the work: which hours are covered and which are notDavis-Bacon applies to laborers and mechanics employed on the site of the work. The regulation defines the site in 3 parts, and the definition decides whether your yard, your batch plant, your prefab shop, and your drive time go on the certified payroll.
• 4 minWhat the prime contractor is responsible for on a sub's certified payrollThe prime collects every sub's payroll, sends them all to the agency, and is liable for every sub's back wages. What the regulation requires of the prime, what it does not, and what that means for the sub handing over the payroll.
• 5 minDoes Davis-Bacon apply to my project? Thresholds, Related Acts, and the 4 types of constructionThe $2,000 threshold, the 70-odd statutes that extend prevailing wage to federally assisted work, the $100,000 overtime threshold, and how to read the bid documents to know which rules you are under.
• 6 minCertified payroll glossary: the terms on the form, in the regulation, and on the jobBasic hourly rate, fringe, conformance, CWHSSA, Copeland, RA, SF-1444, WD, and 40 other terms defined in a sentence or two each, with the guide that covers them.
• 5 minWhen certified payroll is due, and who gets itCertified payroll is weekly and due within 7 days after the regular pay date. Who receives it, where the prime's cutoff fits, and when payroll 1 is due.
• 5 minLate, missing or wrong certified payroll: withholding, damages and debarmentLate, missing or wrong certified payroll can mean suspended payments, withheld funds, back wages with interest, $33 a day overtime damages and debarment.
• 6 minPicking the right classification, and what to do when the trade is not listedMatch each worker to a wage determination classification by the work performed, and add a missing trade, such as HVAC, through an SF-1444 conformance.
• 5 minGross earned on this project vs. all work: WH-347 columns 7A and 7B7A is gross pay on this project; 7B is the week's gross on every job. How deductions and net follow 7B, and overtime when a worker splits the week.
• 5 minBack wages on a Davis-Bacon job: what to do when a worker was underpaidFound a worker underpaid on a Davis-Bacon job? Compute the shortfall, pay it with interest, file a revised payroll and keep proof. A worked example inside.
• 6 minWhat to expect in a Davis-Bacon audit or Wage and Hour investigationWho audits Davis-Bacon payroll, which records they ask for, how worker interviews work, what reviewers look for and how a small sub can prepare for it.
• 5 minSending certified payroll to the prime contractor: what to send, how to sign it, what to keepWhat a sub sends the prime each week: both pages of the WH-347, a valid signature, a plain cover email, file names that sort, and proof of what was sent.
• 6 minLCPtracker for subcontractors: getting your certified payroll in, by hand or by uploadHow a sub gets weekly certified payroll into LCPtracker: manual entry, payroll-system files, the Excel upload template, craft matching, and failed uploads.
• 5 minOwners, 1099 workers, truck owner-operators and lower-tier subs: who goes on certified payrollWhether a working owner, a worker paid on a 1099, a truck owner-operator or a lower-tier sub's crew goes on your certified payroll, and how each is shown.
• 5 minWhich wage determination modification applies, and when rates change in the middle of a jobWhich wage determination modification locks in at bid or award, when a newer one applies mid-job, annual updates on open-ended contracts, and what to do.
• 6 minCalifornia certified payroll: DIR's eCPR system, the worker data it requires, and federal jobsHow California certified payroll works: Labor Code thresholds, eCPR filing with DIR by online entry or XML, full SSNs and addresses, and Davis-Bacon jobs.
• 6 minNew York certified payroll: the DOL Certified Payroll portal, Article 8, and federal jobsHow New York certified payroll works under Article 8: the DOL portal required since 2026, XML upload, no-work weeks, worker data, and federal jobs.
• 6 minWashington certified payroll: L&I's online system, the Intent and Affidavit, and federal jobsHow Washington certified payroll works under RCW 39.12: the L&I Intent and Affidavit, monthly online filing, XML upload, worker data, and Davis-Bacon jobs.
• 6 minIllinois certified payroll: the IDOL Certified Transcript of Payroll, monthly deadlines, and federal jobsHow Illinois certified payroll works under 820 ILCS 130: IDOL's portal, the import template, the deadline on the 15th, worker data, and Davis-Bacon jobs.
• 6 minNew Jersey certified payroll: the MW-562, the NJ Wage Hub, and the 10-day ruleNew Jersey certified payroll for state and local public works: the MW-562, the NJ Wage Hub, the 10-day deadline, registration, and jobs with federal money.
• 5 minPennsylvania certified payroll: the LLC-25, weekly filing, and when Davis-Bacon takes overPennsylvania certified payroll on state and local public works: the $25,000 threshold, the weekly LLC-25 and its notarized statement, and federal jobs.
• 5 minMassachusetts certified payroll: weekly reports, the Statement of Compliance, and what the WH-347 leaves outMassachusetts public works payrolls go to the awarding authority every week with a signed statement, worker addresses, apprentice cards, and OSHA 10 proof.
• 5 minConnecticut certified payroll: form WWS-CP1, monthly filing, and what the WH-347 leaves outConnecticut certified payrolls go to the contracting agency monthly on form WWS-CP1 with a signed statement, OSHA 10 cards, and no Social Security numbers.
• 5 minMinnesota certified payroll: the DLI form, MnDOT reports, and jobs with federal moneyHow Minnesota certified payroll works under the Prevailing Wage Act: DLI's form, MnDOT reports, the 14-day deadline, daily overtime, and Davis-Bacon jobs.
• 5 minOregon certified payroll: BOLI form WH-38, the monthly deadline, and Davis-Bacon jobsOregon certified payroll under ORS 279C: BOLI form WH-38, filing by the 5th business day of each month, daily overtime, and WH-38F for Davis-Bacon jobs.

These guides explain the rules as written; they are not legal advice. When your contract or a state law says something different, the contract and the law control.