What "certified" means
Certified payroll is two things sent together: a week's payroll detail, and a signed statement that the detail is true. The regulation puts the second part plainly: "Each certified payroll submitted must be accompanied by a 'Statement of Compliance,' signed by the contractor or subcontractor, or the contractor's or subcontractor's agent who pays or supervises the payment of the persons working on the contract" [3].
The spreadsheet is the easy half. The certification is the legal act. Form WH-347 says so on its own face: willful falsification of any of the statements may subject the contractor or subcontractor to civil or criminal prosecution, as well as debarment from future federal and federally assisted contracts [2]. The same footer warns that information reported in certified payrolls may be subject to disclosure in response to a Freedom of Information Act request [2].
So the person who signs is not a clerk processing paperwork. The form asks for a certifying official's name and title and a signature [2], and the wording of the attestation is "I paid or supervised the payment of the laborers or mechanics working on the above project during the stated time period" [2].
This guide is about the weekly report, not the Certified Payroll Professional credential, which is a different subject that shares the phrase.
Who has to file and how often
Weekly, on every covered job, for as long as covered work is performed. The regulation sets it out:
The contractor or subcontractor must submit weekly, for each week in which any DBA- or Related Acts-covered work is performed, certified payrolls to the [write in name of appropriate Federal agency] if the agency is a party to the contract, but if the agency is not such a party, the contractor will submit the certified payrolls to the applicant, sponsor, owner, or other entity, as the case may be, that maintains such records, for transmission to the [write in name of agency]. The prime contractor is responsible for the submission of all certified payrolls by all subcontractors.29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(A) · official text · retrieved 2026-09-23
Two things in that passage decide how your office runs. Submission goes to the federal agency when the agency is a party to the contract, and otherwise to the applicant, sponsor or owner for transmission [3]. And the prime contractor is responsible for the submission of all certified payrolls by all subcontractors [3]. Chasing a sub's late payroll is the prime's problem, which is why it belongs in the subcontract.
Coverage comes from the contract. The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts "apply to contractors and subcontractors performing on federally funded or assisted contracts in excess of $2,000 for the construction, alteration, or repair (including painting and decorating) of public buildings or public works" [5]. Underneath the reporting sits the pay rule itself: laborers and mechanics on the site of the work "will be paid unconditionally and not less often than once a week" at rates "not less than those contained in the wage determination of the Secretary of Labor which is attached hereto and made a part hereof" [3]. Weekly pay and weekly reporting are the same rhythm by design.
Form WH-347 line by line
Start with the distinction between the form and the duty. The Department of Labor states it in one sentence: "While use of Form WH-347 itself is optional, covered contractors and subcontractors performing work on Federal or federally assisted construction contracts are required by the DBRA regulations and the contract clauses to submit payroll information on a weekly basis" [1]. The form is a convenience. The information is the obligation. The form itself is headed "For Contractor's Optional Use" [2].
Check the version before you file. The current form is marked Rev. January 2025, OMB No.: 1235-0008, Expires: 01/31/2028 [2].
The header identifies the payroll. The instructions for each field are short and literal.
| Header field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Project name | "Enter the name of the project on which you are reporting." |
| Project no. or contract no. | "Enter the project number or the prime contract number assigned by the relevant contracting agency (if available)." |
| Wage determination no. | "Enter the wage determination number(s) and revision number(s) included in the covered contract." |
| Certified payroll no. | Sequential: each weekly certified payroll submitted for a project is given a payroll number, running from the first one onward. |
| Week ending date | The week the payroll covers. |
| Prime contractor / subcontractor | "Mark the appropriate box to indicate whether it is the prime contractor or a subcontractor on the project." |
| Final payroll box | "Mark the box to indicate that this submission is for the final week of work on the project." |
The body of the form carries one row per worker. The worker is identified by name and by an identifying number: "enter each worker's individual identifying number (e.g., last four digits of the worker's social security number or any number specific to the individual worker) on each weekly certified payroll submitted. Note: workers' full Social Security numbers must not be included" [1].
From there the row runs through the week and out the other side:
- Journeyworker or apprentice. "Enter 'J' if the worker is a journeyworker or 'RA' if the worker is a registered apprentice in an apprenticeship program approved by DOL's Office of Apprenticeship (OA) or a State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA)" [1].
- Labor classification. "List the labor classification for the work actually performed by each worker" [1].
- Hours worked each day. "For worker-specific entries, please enter hours worked on this project as straight time ('ST') and overtime ('OT')" [1], on the day-by-day grid, then the total hours worked for the week [1].
- Hourly wage rate paid. "For each worker, list the actual hourly rate paid for straight time (top row) and overtime (bottom row)" [1].
- Total fringe benefit credit. "Enter the total of the contractor's or subcontractor's contributions to or reasonably anticipated costs of bona fide fringe benefit plans" [1]. A separate column carries payment in lieu of fringe benefits [2].
- Gross amount earned. The form separates the gross earned on this project from the gross earned for all work [2].
- Deductions and net pay. Deductions are entered against the gross for all work [1], and net pay is "the actual dollar amount paid to the worker for all hours worked across all projects" [1].
That last pair trips people up. The hours and the project gross describe this job; the deductions and the net describe the worker's whole paycheck. Copy your accounting system's job-cost numbers into the net pay column and the arithmetic on the page will not tie.
The Statement of Compliance on page 2
Turn the form over and the certification is four attestations, printed above the signature line.
The first is the one a reviewer reads first: the payroll information "is correct and complete for the above project during the above period, and the wage and fringe benefit rates paid to the workers, including credit taken for the reasonably anticipated costs of a bona fide fringe benefit plan, fund or program, are not less than the applicable wage and fringe benefits rates for the classification(s) of work actually performed, as specified in the wage determination(s) incorporated into the contract" [2].
The second covers your files: all regular payrolls and other basic records for the period "are complete and accurate and will be made available upon request from the agency or the Department of Labor" [2].
The third is about classification: "The classifications reported for each laborer or mechanic are the classification(s) of work that each worker actually performed" [2].
The fourth is about apprentices: any workers paid as apprentices "are duly registered in a bona fide apprenticeship program registered with the Office of Apprenticeship, Employment and Training Administration, United States Department of Labor ('OA'), or a State Apprenticeship Agency ('SAA') recognized by Department of Labor" [2], and the certifying official confirms having verified the program information entered on the form [2].
Two more statements sit alongside them. Fringe benefits "have been paid in cash and/or to bona fide fringe benefit plans, funds, or programs," and where an hourly credit is claimed the form requires plan information and the hourly credit claimed for each worker [2]. The form provides a grid for plan name, plan type, plan number, whether the plan is funded or unfunded, and the hourly credit [2]. And all workers "have been paid the full weekly wages earned, and no rebates or deductions have been or will be made either directly or indirectly, other than permissible deductions" [2].
The instructions allow you to use a different document, so long as the wording matches: the statement can be "page 2 of the WH-347 or another document with identical wording" [1].
The mistakes that fail a review
Every item below is something the form or the instructions ask for explicitly. None of it is a survey of how often anything happens.
- Payroll numbers out of sequence. They are meant to run from the first submission onward for the project [1]. A gap invites the question of what happened in the missing week.
- No final payroll marked. There is a box for the final week of work on the project [2], and a job whose last payroll is not marked reads as still open.
- A classification that is not on the determination. You certify that the classifications reported are the work actually performed [2], and you enter the wage determination number and revision on the same form [1]. The two have to agree. Where the work does not fit a listed classification, take it to the contracting agency rather than choosing the nearest label yourself.
- Fringe credit claimed with no plan behind it. If you claim an hourly credit, the form asks for the plan name, type and number, whether it is funded or unfunded, and the hourly credit per worker [2]. A number in the fringe column with an empty plan grid is an unsupported claim.
- Apprentices who are not registered. The certification names registration with the Office of Apprenticeship or a recognized State Apprenticeship Agency [2]. An apprentice rate paid to an unregistered worker contradicts the statement you signed.
- Full Social Security numbers on the form. The instructions state that workers' full Social Security numbers must not be included [1].
- An unsigned or unsupervised certification. The regulation requires the statement to be signed by the contractor, the subcontractor, or the agent who pays or supervises the payment of the persons working on the contract [3].
No payroll software satisfies this on your behalf. The software fills the grid; the certifying official signs the statement.
Where this varies by state
A federal certified payroll does not discharge a state requirement, and a state filing does not discharge the federal one. State public works schemes run their own systems.
California is the example this guide uses. The Department of Industrial Relations states that "contractors and subcontractors on most public works projects are required to submit certified payroll records (CPRs) to the Labor Commissioner using DIR's Public Works Website Services" [4]. The same page notes that "a few categories of public works projects are exempt from reporting online to DIR" [4]. So the word "most" matters, and whether your project is one of the exceptions is a question for the awarding body.
Other states run their own portals, their own forms and their own deadlines. This site publishes no count of them and no state-by-state table for this topic. Ask the awarding body which system it expects, in writing, before the first week's payroll is due. If a job carries both federal and state money, expect to file in both places.
Prevailing wage and certified payroll are linked but not the same thing: one sets what you owe the worker, the other reports what you paid. Our guide to prevailing wage and how to read a wage determination covers the first half.
Frequently asked questions
What is certified payroll?
A weekly payroll report for covered federal and federally assisted construction work, submitted with a signed Statement of Compliance. The statement certifies that the payroll is correct and complete, that the classifications reported are the work actually performed, and that wage and fringe rates are no less than the wage determination incorporated into the contract.
What is certified payroll in construction?
It is the weekly record a contractor or subcontractor files on a covered construction contract, listing each laborer and mechanic, the classification of the work performed, hours by day, rates paid, fringe credit, deductions and net pay. The prime contractor is responsible for the submission of all certified payrolls by all subcontractors.
How to do certified payroll
Take the wage determination number and revision from your contract, list each worker with an individual identifying number rather than a full Social Security number, record the classification for the work actually performed and the hours by day, enter the rates and fringe credit you actually paid, then have the certifying official sign the Statement of Compliance and submit it for that week. Use of Form WH-347 is optional; weekly submission of the information is not.
Is certified payroll the same as prevailing wage?
No. Prevailing wage is the pay obligation set by the wage determination attached to the contract. Certified payroll is the weekly report and signed statement showing what you actually paid against that obligation.
What does certified payroll mean?
The word certified refers to the signed Statement of Compliance that accompanies the payroll, not to any credential held by the preparer. Signing it is the legal act, and the form states that willful falsification may lead to civil or criminal prosecution and to debarment from future federal and federally assisted contracts.
Related
- Labor burden calculator: enter the wage and fringe figures from your determination and see what an hour of covered work costs once taxes and insurance are added.