Certified payroll: what it is, who files it and how to fill out WH-347

Certified payroll in one minute

How often

WeeklyFor every week work is done on the job

Standard form

WH-347Rev. January 2025, OMB 1235-0008

Form expires

January 31, 2028OMB approval date on the form

Signature

Original or valid e-signatureNo photocopied or scanned signatures

Certified payroll is a weekly payroll report, signed under penalty of law, that shows you paid each worker on a federal or federally assisted construction job at least the prevailing wage for their job classification. Contractors and every subcontractor on a Davis-Bacon covered contract submit one to the contracting agency, or to the applicant, sponsor or owner, who passes it on.

The requirement comes from two places: the Copeland Act requires a weekly statement of wages paid, and 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii) requires weekly certified payrolls. The US Department of Labor publishes Form WH-347 for the job. Using that exact form is optional. Reporting the same payroll information with a signed Statement of Compliance worded the same way is not.

Is certified payroll the same as prevailing wage?

No. They are two halves of one rule:

• Prevailing wage is the minimum you must pay: a base hourly rate plus fringe benefits for each labor classification, set by the wage determination attached to your contract.
• Certified payroll is the weekly proof that you paid it: names, classifications, hours, rates, fringes and deductions for every worker, with a signed statement that the report is true.

A job can require prevailing wage without you thinking about certified payroll until the first report is due. Build both into your bid: the wage rates set labor cost, and the weekly report sets admin time.

Many states run their own prevailing wage programs for state and local public works, with their own forms and filing systems. This page covers the federal Davis-Bacon report; check your state labor department for state-funded jobs. State-specific payroll rules are on pages such as California payroll taxes and labor rules.

What goes on Form WH-347

The January 2025 revision of WH-347 asks for the following on page 1, one line per worker per week:

How to do certified payroll each week

1. Read the wage determination in your contract. List every classification you will use (for example carpenter, laborer, operator) with its base rate and fringe rate.
2. Set up job and classification codes in payroll. Each worker's hours must be split by job and by classification if they work more than one trade in a week. Without this, the report cannot be built from payroll data.
3. Collect timecards by day. WH-347 shows hours for each day, not just the weekly total.
4. Check rates before you run payroll. Base rate paid plus fringe credit plus any cash in lieu of fringes must meet or beat the determination for each classification.
5. Run payroll, then build the WH-347 from the same data, so the report and the paychecks cannot disagree.
6. Sign the Statement of Compliance with an original or legally valid electronic signature, then submit it to the agency or the prime contractor by the deadline in your contract.
7. Collect your subs' reports. Primes are usually responsible for passing on subcontractor certified payrolls. Hiring rules for subs are in construction payroll and subcontractors.

Certified payroll software and services

There are three ways to produce the weekly report: a payroll service that outputs WH-347 directly, standalone certified payroll software that imports your payroll data, or filling in the DOL form by hand from your payroll register.

We could not confirm which mainstream payroll providers output WH-347. None of the pricing or feature pages in our research (Gusto, QuickBooks Workforce, Patriot, OnPay, Square, Wave, Justworks) list certified payroll as a feature or price it as an add-on, and ADP and Paychex publish no prices at all. Search results titled "can Gusto do certified payroll" and "how to do prevailing wage payroll in Gusto" show buyers ask; the answer belongs in writing from the vendor.

Questions to ask any vendor: Does it output WH-347 or only a CSV? Does it split hours by job and classification? Does it handle apprentice ratios and fringe credits? Can a sub's report be uploaded into the prime's system? What does it cost per report or per month? For general provider rankings see the best payroll software, and for full fee math, what payroll costs.

Fringe benefits: credit vs cash

The wage determination sets a fringe rate on top of the base rate. You can meet it by paying into bona fide benefit plans (health, retirement), which you report as fringe benefit credit, or by paying the fringe amount in cash on the check, reported as payment in lieu of fringes. Many contractors mix the two.

Cash in lieu of fringes is wages for tax purposes, so it raises FICA, FUTA and SUTA. Plan contributions generally do not. On a large prevailing wage job that difference shows up in your tax bill; model it with the employee cost calculator and check your state's rate in the 2026 SUTA table. Construction employers in some states pay a higher unemployment rate: Pennsylvania charges new construction employers 10.5924% on a $10,000 wage base.

Common certified payroll mistakes

• Wrong classification. Paying a worker who ran equipment at the laborer rate. Split hours by classification when duties change.
• Unregistered apprentices. The RA mark is only for apprentices in a registered program; anyone else is paid the journeyworker rate.
• Scanned signatures. DOL says photocopied or scanned signatures do not count.
• Unchecked boxes on page 2. Boxes 1, 2, 3 and 6 must always be checked.
• Weekly totals only. The form wants hours by day.
• Using an old form. Use WH-347 Rev. January 2025, which has the J and RA classification marks.
• Misclassifying subs. A "sub" who is really an employee drags your payroll, not theirs, into the report. See W-2 vs 1099 rules.