Certified payroll guide
Certified payroll basics for federal construction
What a weekly certified payroll is, who must file it, and why it is a weekly duty on every Davis-Bacon job.
A certified payroll is the weekly statement a contractor or subcontractor gives the contracting agency on a covered construction contract, setting out what each worker was paid and certifying it is accurate. On federal and federally assisted construction it is not optional and it is not annual - it is a weekly duty for every week in which covered work is performed.
Who has to file
The prime contractor and every subcontractor on covered work must provide a certified payroll. The obligation sits on the contractor, not on the agency. The prime is responsible for collecting the payrolls of its subcontractors.
Where the duty comes from
The Copeland Act, 40 U.S.C. 3145, requires contractors and subcontractors on federal or federally financed construction contracts to furnish, weekly, a statement of the wages paid each employee during the prior week. The contract clauses in 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3) set out how that certified payroll is submitted. The Department of Labor publishes the WH-347 as the standard form for the statement, together with instructions.
What goes in it
Each worker appears with an individually identifying number, their work classification, the hourly rate paid and the hours worked, including overtime, plus deductions. The payroll also carries the project and contract information and a signed statement of compliance. The one thing it must not carry is a full Social Security number or a worker's home address, telephone number or personal email - see the guide on the last-four rule.
What we offer
Our free preflight checks one week of payroll against the WH-347 fields and the last-four rule before you file it.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division — WH-347 certified payroll form and instructions; 29 CFR 5.5 (contract provisions and related matters). This guide is general information, not legal advice, and not a determination by any agency. Owned and operated by GCExperts LLC.