What is certified payroll?

What certified payroll is

On a prevailing wage job, you have to pay each worker at least the rate set for their trade, and prove it. The proof is a weekly payroll report, signed by someone who pays or supervises pay, with a statement that the information is correct and everyone was paid in full. That signed report is the "certified" payroll.

On federal and federally assisted construction it comes from the Davis-Bacon Act and the Copeland Act. The statute requires each contractor and subcontractor to "furnish a statement on the wages paid each employee during the prior week" [40 U.S.C. 3145], and DOL's rules turn that into a weekly certified payroll with a Statement of Compliance [29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)]. States add their own requirements for state and local public works.

Who has to file it

• Every contractor and subcontractor with laborers or mechanics working on the site of a covered contract. The prime is responsible for collecting and submitting all subs' payrolls [29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(A)].
• Covered contracts: federal contracts over $2,000 for construction, alteration or repair, including painting and decorating, of public buildings or public works, and construction financed in whole or in part with federal funds under the Davis-Bacon Related Acts [40 U.S.C. 3142].
• State and local public works under each state's prevailing wage law, with its own thresholds and filing system.

What goes on a certified payroll

For each worker, each week: name and an identifying number (the last 4 digits of the SSN, never the full number), the classification of work actually performed, daily and weekly hours split into straight time and overtime, the rates paid, fringe benefits (paid to plans or in cash), gross pay for the project and for all work, every deduction, and net pay [29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(B)]. Then the signed Statement of Compliance.

The federal form for it is the WH-347. It is optional: any format with the same information and the same statement works. Our WH-347 guide walks through every box with a worked example.

When and where it is due

• Federal: weekly, for each week covered work is performed, within 7 days after the regular payday [29 CFR 3.4]. Subs send it to the prime; primes send all of them to the agency or the owner.
• State: often monthly and electronic. California's eCPR, New York's MPWR portal, Washington L&I and Illinois' IDOL portal all take payroll directly from contractors.
• Records: keep basic payroll records and certified payrolls for at least 3 years after all the work on the prime contract is completed [29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)]. Some states require longer.

Where the rates come from

On federal work, the rates are in the wage determination (WD) in your contract: a list of classifications with a base hourly rate and a fringe rate for a county and a construction type, published on SAM.gov. A WD number looks like CA20260001; modifications are numbered. The WD in your contract governs, even if SAM.gov shows a newer modification later.

Find yours with our wage determination lookup, or browse prevailing wage rates by county.

When certified payroll goes wrong

• Payment held. The agency can suspend payments after written notice when payrolls are missing [29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(iv)(B)]. As a sub, a late payroll can hold up your prime's payment, and primes remember.
• Back wages. Underpaid workers are owed the difference, with interest.
• False statements. Falsifying the certification can bring civil or criminal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 31 U.S.C. 3729 [29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(F)].
• Debarment. Contractors who disregard their obligations can be barred from federal contracts for 3 years [29 CFR 5.12].

The usual reasons a payroll gets sent back are covered in why payrolls get sent back.

Certified payroll by state

Doing certified payroll from the payroll you already run

Your payroll system already has the hours, rates, deductions and net pay. What it usually does not have is the WD classification for each worker, daily hours split ST and OT, and the fringe math. That is the part that takes the 55 minutes DOL estimates for each WH-347.

LevelWage reads the export you already have (QuickBooks, Gusto, ADP, any CSV or Excel file), you pick classifications once, and every line is checked against the WD before you see it. See how it works.