Certified payroll reporting is the weekly process of documenting what each worker on a covered construction project did, how many hours they worked, and what they were paid, and then certifying that the information is correct. It applies to construction contractors and subcontractors on federal and federally assisted contracts that carry Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements. Some state and local projects run similar programs with their own rules.
This guide covers what goes into certified payroll reports, which forms are in use, and a nine-step checklist you can run before every weekly submission. It's general guidance, not legal advice. Your contract and the contracting agency decide the details, so confirm the project-specific requirements before you rely on anything here.
What Is Certified Payroll Reporting?
Regular payroll processing answers one question: did everyone get paid the right amount? Certified payroll reporting adds a second: can you show, week by week and worker by worker, that you paid the wage rates your contract requires?
Four terms get mixed up, so here's the difference:
- Payroll processing is your normal pay run. It calculates wages, taxes, and deductions.
- Certified payroll reporting is the recurring obligation to document that pay for a covered project and submit it to the agency.
- A certified payroll report is the single weekly document, covering one payroll week on one project.
- WH-347 is the Department of Labor's optional form for that weekly report.
Which of these apply to you depends on the type of project, your contract, the prevailing wage rules that cover the work, and the agency that receives the report. If you want the short version first, our overview of what certified payroll is covers the basics in a few minutes.
When Is Certified Payroll Required?
Certified payroll requirements come from the contract and the law that covers it, so not every job site needs a report. According to the Department of Labor, the Davis-Bacon Act applies to federal contracts over $2,000 for the construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings or public works, and the Related Acts extend prevailing wage requirements to many federally assisted projects. On those contracts, covered construction contractors and subcontractors submit payroll information every week, for each week in which covered work is performed.
In practice, four situations come up:
- Federal projects. Contracts with a federal agency that include Davis-Bacon clauses. This is what most people mean by government certified payroll.
- Federally assisted projects. Public works and other work funded in part by federal money, where the funding law brings in Davis-Bacon requirements.
- State or local public works and prevailing wage projects. Many states run their own prevailing wage certified payroll programs, and some use their own forms or portals.
- Contract-specific requirements. The contract can add reporting rules on top of the law.
Read your contract, the bid documents, and any notes from the contracting agency or labor authority before the first payroll week. The report format, submission channel, and due date come from those documents.
You can check the federal rules yourself in the Department of Labor's Davis-Bacon fact sheet. Our page on the Davis-Bacon Act gives a plainer walkthrough.
What Information Goes Into a Certified Payroll Report?
Field names differ between forms and agencies, but the content is consistent. Each item below exists so a reviewer can rebuild your pay decisions without calling you.
| Item | What it shows | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Contractor and project information | Who is reporting, and for which project | Ties the report to the right contract |
| Project or contract number | The contract the work belongs to | Lets the agency file and match it |
| Payroll week ending date | The seven-day period covered | Keeps weeks in sequence, with no gaps |
| Employee name and identifying information | Who did the work | Lets the agency trace each worker; the form or agency sets what identifier is required |
| Worker classification | The kind of work performed | Sets the wage rate that applies |
| Daily and weekly hours | Hours by day, then the total | Supports overtime and gross pay |
| Straight-time and overtime hours | Regular hours and hours at an overtime rate | Overtime is handled separately from regular time |
| Rate of pay | The hourly rate paid | Compared against the wage determination |
| Fringe benefits | How the fringe portion was paid | Part of meeting the required rate |
| Gross wages | Total earnings before deductions | Should reconcile with hours and rate |
| Deductions and net wages | What was withheld and what the worker took home | Lets a reviewer check the pay end to end |
| Remarks or exceptions | Anything unusual that week | Explains what the numbers alone can't |
| Statement of Compliance | A signed certification of the report | Makes the report a certified payroll report |
Don't invent formulas for the calculations. Use the ones in your payroll rules and your contract, and confirm them when a project is new to you.
Which Forms Are Used for Certified Payroll Reporting?
The certified payroll form most federal contractors know is the WH-347, but the required format depends on the project and the agency. For federal Davis-Bacon work, the regulations say the weekly certified payroll reports may be submitted on Form WH-347 or in any other format, as long as the required content is there. The Department of Labor describes WH-347 itself as optional, and it is a widely used format.
Here's what you're likely to run into:
- WH-347. A two-page form. Page one lists the workers, hours, rates, and wages. Page two holds the Statement of Compliance.
- Statement of Compliance. The signed certification. On the WH-347 it's the second page. With another format, it needs to be included separately.
- Continuation sheets. Extra pages when the crew is bigger than one page can hold.
- Agency-specific forms or portals. Some agencies and state programs require their own form or an electronic submission system.
So don't assume WH-347 is the only acceptable format on every project. Check which certified payroll form your agency expects. For more detail, see our guide to which certified payroll forms you need and how to work with the WH-347 fillable form.
Weekly Certified Payroll Reporting Checklist
Run these nine steps every week, before you sign and submit your certified payroll reports. The order matters, because each step builds on the one before.
1. Confirm the project and reporting period
Check the project name, contract number, and payroll week ending date against your project documents. A wrong date or contract number is easy to make and easy to miss, and it can break the weekly sequence the agency expects. Confirm the week starts and ends the way your contract defines it.
2. Confirm the applicable wage determination
Find out which wage determination applies to the project and to the type of work, and which revision is current. The determination lists the classifications, prevailing wage base rates, and fringe amounts you'll check pay against. Our free Wage Determination Lookup shows those for a SAM.gov wage determination number in a readable table. The contract is the final word on which determination governs.
3. Match each worker to the correct classification
Worker classification is one of the most important checks. It can depend on the work a person actually performed, not just their job title, and one worker can fall into more than one classification in a week. Whether a particular task belongs in a particular classification is a project-specific question. When you aren't sure, ask the contracting agency before you submit.
4. Verify base wages and fringe benefits
The base wage is the hourly rate. Fringe benefits are the additional amounts for things like health coverage or retirement, and they can be paid into a bona fide plan or as cash. According to the Department of Labor, the required rate can be met with cash wages or a combination of cash and bona fide fringe benefits. So check the total: base plus fringe against the prevailing wage in the determination. How each portion is documented depends on your project and plans.
5. Check daily, weekly, and overtime hours
Enter hours by day, not only as a weekly total. Keep straight-time and overtime hours separate, and make sure hours match the classification actually worked. Overtime rules and rates depend on the contract and the law that applies, so confirm them rather than assuming.
6. Reconcile gross pay, deductions, and net pay
Do a plausibility check: hours times rate should line up with gross pay, and gross minus deductions should equal net pay. On the WH-347, gross pay for this project and gross pay for all work are separate lines, so know which one you're looking at. If your payroll system calculates differently, understand why before the numbers go on the report.
7. Complete and sign the Statement of Compliance
The Statement of Compliance certifies that the payroll information is accurate, that workers were paid the required wages and fringe benefits, and that nothing was kicked back. The person who signs is vouching for the report, and the WH-347 warns that false statements can carry serious penalties. Read what you're signing. Our article on the Statement of Compliance breaks it down section by section.
8. Submit the report through the required channel
Depending on the contract, the report may go by paper, email, or an electronic portal. The agency and the due date come from your contract or project documents, not from a general rule. Federal rules call for weekly submission for each week in which covered work is performed, so build the submission into your weekly routine.
9. Retain supporting records
Keep timesheets, payroll records, wage determinations, fringe-benefit documentation, worker classifications, and the submitted reports. The federal regulation requires payroll records to be preserved for at least three years after all work on the prime contract is completed. Your contract or a state program may require longer, so confirm the period for each project.
Common Certified Payroll Reporting Mistakes
Most errors are ordinary ones. Each has a check that catches it.
- Wrong or outdated wage determination. Check: compare the number and revision on the report with your contract documents each week.
- Wrong worker classification. Check: compare each classification with the work actually done that week.
- Missing or miscalculated fringe benefits. Check: add base rate and fringe, then compare the total with the determination.
- Straight-time and overtime hours mixed together. Check: confirm each day's hours sit on the correct line.
- Totals that don't match. Check: recompute hours times rate and reconcile gross, deductions, and net.
- Missing signature on the Statement of Compliance. Check: make signing part of the submission checklist.
- Wrong payroll week ending date. Check: confirm the date against your calendar and the prior week's report.
- Missing continuation sheets. Check: count workers against the lines on page one.
- Submitting to the wrong place. Check: confirm the recipient and channel in your contract.
- Missing documentation for later questions. Check: file supporting records with each report the same week.
Our list of certified payroll mistakes to avoid goes deeper on the ones that cost contractors the most.
What If No Work Was Performed During a Payroll Week?
A week with no work on the project isn't automatically handled like a week with workers on site. The federal regulation ties weekly submission to each week in which covered work is performed, and the Department of Labor's WH-347 page doesn't spell out a procedure for empty weeks. What the agency wants for a no-work week can vary.
Ask the contracting agency or the contract administrator how they want it handled, and apply the answer consistently for the rest of the project.
Can Certified Payroll Reporting Be Done With Software?
Yes. Software can take over the repetitive parts: recurring project data, workers and classifications, wage and fringe information, weekly hours, consistency checks, report generation, and PDF export for your records.
What it can't do is correct a wrong classification, wrong hours, or a wrong assumption about your contract. You stay responsible for the data you enter and for confirming project requirements.
For contractors who prepare recurring WH-347 reports, specialized certified payroll software can reduce repeated data entry and make common consistency checks easier. See how Certified Payroll handles WH-347 reporting: you enter hours by worker and day, the full version checks rates and fringe against the project's wage determination, and it generates the WH-347, Statement of Compliance, and continuation sheets. If you'd like to see the workflow first, Sample Mode uses sample data, needs no account, and saves nothing.
Certified Payroll Reporting FAQ
What is certified payroll reporting?+
Certified payroll reporting is the weekly submission of payroll information for a covered construction project, signed by the contractor to certify that it's accurate. It shows who worked, in which classification, for how many hours, and at what pay. It generally applies to federal and federally assisted contracts with Davis-Bacon requirements, and some state programs have similar rules. Confirm the requirements for your project.
Is a WH-347 required for every certified payroll report?+
No. For federal Davis-Bacon work, the regulations allow the weekly information to be submitted on WH-347 or in any other format that includes the required content. The Department of Labor calls the form optional. Some agencies, states, or contracts specify their own form or portal, so check what applies to your project.
What information is included in a certified payroll report?+
A report typically includes contractor and project details, the contract number, the payroll week ending date, each worker's name and classification, daily and weekly hours, straight-time and overtime, rate of pay, fringe benefits, gross wages, deductions, net wages, any remarks, and a signed Statement of Compliance. The exact fields depend on the form or agency.
How often must certified payroll be submitted?+
For federal Davis-Bacon work, the regulation calls for weekly submission for each week in which covered work is performed. The exact due date and channel come from your contract and the contracting agency, and state or local programs can differ. Put the submission on a weekly calendar and confirm the deadline in your project documents.
What is a Statement of Compliance?+
The Statement of Compliance is a signed certification, attached to the payroll report, that the information is accurate and that workers were paid the required wages and fringe benefits. On the WH-347 it is page two. The person who signs is vouching for the report, so review the report before you sign.
What should a contractor check before submitting a report?+
Check the project and week, the applicable wage determination and revision, each worker's classification, base wage plus fringe, daily and overtime hours, and the totals for gross, deductions, and net. Then confirm the Statement of Compliance is signed and the report is going to the right place. The checklist above walks through each step.
Can certified payroll reporting be automated?+
Parts of it can. Software can reuse project data, calculate totals, flag potential inconsistencies, and generate the report and PDF. It can't confirm that your classification, hours, or contract assumptions are correct. You remain responsible for the data and for confirming project requirements, so treat automation as a time saver for the routine work.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, Form WH-347 and instructions
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #66, Davis-Bacon and Related Acts
- 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions and related matters (payroll and records requirements)
Conclusion
Certified payroll reporting is a recurring check-and-document routine, and the weekly checklist is the most useful part of this guide. Confirm the project and week, match the wage determination and classifications, verify wages and fringe, reconcile the totals, sign the Statement of Compliance, submit through the right channel, and keep the records. Run those steps the same way every week and the reports get faster and cleaner.