What is certified payroll? It is a weekly wage report plus a signed statement. A contractor or subcontractor files it on covered construction work. The contracting agency uses that report to check pay. Laborers and mechanics must receive at least the required prevailing wage, including fringe benefits. It is not a special kind of paycheck. It is also not a license that makes a payroll company "certified."
Ordinary payroll pays people and withholds taxes. Certified payroll adds a public record of who worked, in which classification, for how many hours, and at what rate. It also shows the fringe benefits. A company officer then signs that the record is true. The U.S. Department of Labor's Davis-Bacon fact sheet says covered contractors must pay those workers weekly. They must also submit weekly certified payroll records to the contracting agency.
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What is certified payroll on a government job?
On a covered job, certified payroll is the weekly proof behind the paycheck. The Davis-Bacon Act applies to each federal or District of Columbia contract over $2,000. The work is construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings or public works. Painting and decorating count.
Related Acts extend those labor standards to most federally assisted construction. That includes work funded by grants, loans, or loan guarantees. A normal private job does not create this filing. A restaurant, a salon, or an office can run a clean payroll and never produce a certified payroll. The trigger is the contract and its funding, not the fact that the business has employees.
The workers covered on the site of the work are laborers and mechanics. The contractor must pay at least the locally prevailing wage in the wage determination for that contract. That prevailing wage is the basic hourly rate plus any fringe benefits listed for the classification.
You can meet it in cash. You can also meet it with cash wages plus bona fide fringe benefits. If the books never show which project those hours belong to, the report is hard to defend. Bookkeeping that tracks project costs next to payroll gives you that second look before anyone signs.
Who has to file it
The prime contractor files a weekly certified payroll for its own workers on the project. Each subcontractor that performs covered work files its own. A subcontractor does not disappear into the prime's report. If your crew is on the site, your company's payroll is the one that has to be certified.
The report goes to the contracting agency when a federal agency is a party to the contract. When the federal agency is not a party, the report goes to the applicant, sponsor, owner, or other entity that keeps the records. That party sends it to the agency that provided the assistance.
The contract names the portal or the office that receives the file. Read that clause before the first week of work, not after a payment notice.
What is certified payroll on Form WH-347?
Form WH-347 is the Department of Labor form contractors may use for that weekly certified payroll. Using the form itself is optional. Submitting the payroll information every week is not. A completed WH-347 meets the certified-payroll rules in 29 CFR parts 3 and 5 for Davis-Bacon and Related Acts contracts.
The WH-347 instructions also point to the Copeland Act. That law tells contractors and subcontractors on federal or federally financed construction to file a weekly wage statement. The statement covers wages paid to each employee during the prior week.
Each certified payroll needs a signed Statement of Compliance. Page 2 of WH-347 is one version of that statement. Another document with the same wording can be used instead. The statement says the payroll is accurate and complete. It also says each laborer or mechanic was paid at least the required Davis-Bacon prevailing wage for the work performed. Fringe benefits are part of that wage.
A false statement is not a paperwork slip. The signer is responsible for the certification.
The lines that usually cause rework
The form shows the wages paid to each worker that week. Those wages may be all cash. They may also be cash plus employer-provided bona fide fringe benefits. Reviewers compare the classification on the wage determination with the work the person actually did. They also check hours, the rate, and the fringe treatment.
- Worker identity and classification. The name and work classification must match the wage determination. Do not list someone as "labor" when they ran a listed piece of equipment.
- Hours and rate. Straight-time and overtime hours on the project should be visible, with the rate paid for those hours. Cash paid in place of fringes does not go in the hourly-rate box.
- Gross and deductions. The report shows gross wages and the deductions taken. A reviewer can then see that the worker received the required pay.
- Fringe credit. If you claim a credit for a bona fide plan, the form has a box for the hourly credit. The credit times the hours should match the plan cost you are claiming.
- Cash in lieu of fringes. If you pay the fringe in cash, show that cash amount for the week. The total still has to meet the prevailing wage.
- Statement of Compliance. A person who knows the payroll signs that the report is correct. Electronic filing is allowed when the agency accepts it.
Apprentices are the exception that gets people in trouble. They may be paid less than the listed rate only in limited cases. They must be individually registered in a program registered with the Department of Labor, or with a recognized state apprenticeship agency. The program's terms must be met. A helper who is "in training" on paper, but not registered, is not an apprentice for this purpose.
How certified payroll differs from a normal paycheck run
A small business can run a clean payroll every Friday and still fail certified payroll. The two jobs answer different questions.
Standard payroll asks whether people were paid and whether taxes were withheld. It also covers filings such as Form 941 and the W-2. Certified payroll asks a narrower question. Was each covered worker on a public project paid the contract rate for the work performed? Will someone sign to that fact?
| Question | Ordinary payroll | Certified payroll |
|---|---|---|
| What it proves | People were paid and payroll taxes were handled. | Covered workers got at least the prevailing wage. |
| How often it is due | Each pay period you choose, within deposit rules. | Every week while covered work is underway. |
| Who receives it | Workers, the payroll system, and tax agencies. | The agency, or the owner that passes it on. |
| Rate that controls | The agreed rate, plus minimum wage and overtime. | The basic rate plus fringes in the wage determination. |
| Signature | No weekly public certification. | A signed Statement of Compliance each week. |
| Typical form | Pay stubs, a register, and tax forms. | WH-347, or a report with the same facts. |
Both still have to be right. Calling a worker a 1099 contractor does not remove a Davis-Bacon duty if that person is a laborer or mechanic on the site of the work. The label can also create a separate tax problem.
Our guide to the independent contractor vs employee IRS test covers that tax question. It is a different test from the wage-determination classification on a public job. A contractor can get either one wrong.
What a small contractor should gather before week one
The expensive mistakes happen before the first report. Once the crew is on site, you are already on a weekly clock. Set the file up while the contract is still on the desk.
- Read the wage determination in the contract. Note each classification you will use, the basic hourly rate, and the fringe amount. Do not borrow a determination from a nearby county or an older job.
- Map real duties to those classifications. If someone works as an electrician, do not list them as a laborer to get a lower rate. That is a misclassification, not a savings.
- Decide how fringes will be paid. Cash in lieu of benefits is allowed. So is a payment to a bona fide plan. The weekly report must show which one you used. The total still has to meet the determination.
- Separate project hours from other hours. If a worker splits time between a private job and the public job, mark the public hours. The certified report covers the covered work.
- Name the signer. Someone who knows how the payroll was built should sign the Statement of Compliance. Do not leave the signature to whoever is free on Friday.
- Confirm the delivery path. Some agencies want the optional online WH-347. Some want a PDF in a portal. Some want the prime to collect subcontractor reports. The contract decides, not habit.
Posting still sits beside the filing. Covered contractors must post the wage determination and the Davis-Bacon poster, WH-1321, where workers can see them. A clean report does not replace that poster. A poster does not replace the weekly report.
Keep the backup with the report
A signed report is only as strong as the file behind it. Keep the time cards, the classification notes, and the fringe calculation for that week with the copy you submitted. If a reviewer asks why a rate changed, you want the wage determination page and the hours log in the same folder.
Do not wait to rebuild that folder after the agency writes. Subcontractor reports belong in that folder too. The prime is often the one the agency calls first, even when the missing week belongs to a sub. Ask for each subcontractor's certified payroll on the same day you close your own. A gap in their file becomes a gap in the project file.
Florida contractors often face a second set of rules on local public work. Our article on prevailing wage compliance for Fort Lauderdale construction companies stays on that local question. This page stays on the weekly certified report.
The payroll tax obligations for Fort Lauderdale construction contractors are a third file. Withholding, deposits, and unemployment continue even when no certified report is due.
How Accountants Now fits the weekly close
Accountants Now processes payroll for small businesses through ADP, with payroll taxes and W-2s included. Clients work with a dedicated team of five accountants who already know the business. They can reach that team by iMessage, video chat, or a secure portal. Pricing comes from a quote, with no separate surprise fee for the tax filings that come with the payroll.
That service is the paycheck run. Certified payroll is the extra weekly report and signed statement a public contract may require on top of it. Clean hours, classifications, and fringe treatment let you hand a reviewer a report that matches the wage determination. Rebuilding those records on Sunday night is how a week gets missed, or how someone signs a statement they cannot explain.
If you are still deciding how payroll should run, start with how to do payroll for a small business with employees. Then read payroll services for small business. Bookkeeping and payroll services shows how the monthly books stay tied to that payroll. None of those pages replaces the wage determination in your contract.
Job-cost reports that do not match the certified hours will not survive a review, even when the paychecks cleared. Keep the books in the same conversation as the weekly report.
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Frequently asked questions
Does every employer file certified payroll?
No. Certified payroll is a weekly report for covered construction under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. It is not a form every employer files. A private job with no Davis-Bacon clause does not require it. The contract and its funding decide.
Is Form WH-347 mandatory?
The form is optional. The weekly submission is not. DOL offers WH-347 so contractors can report the required payroll information. A completed form meets the certified-payroll rules. Another format is fine if it carries the same facts and the same Statement of Compliance wording.
How often is a certified payroll submitted?
Weekly. Covered contractors pay laborers and mechanics each week. They also submit certified payroll records each week. The Copeland Act requires a weekly statement of wages paid during the prior week. If nobody was on site, follow the agency's request. That is often a signed note that no work was performed.
Can the fringe benefit be paid in cash?
Yes. The prevailing wage is the basic hourly rate plus fringe benefits. You can provide bona fide fringe benefits, pay the fringe as cash, or combine the two. The worker still must receive the full amount for each hour on the site.
Does certified payroll replace payroll taxes?
No. Withholding, deposits, unemployment, W-2s, and any 1099s still follow the normal tax rules. The certified report is an extra wage record for the contracting agency. It does not file your payroll taxes for you.
