How to Fill Out and Submit Form WH-347: Prevailing Wage Payroll

To fill out Form WH-347, you record each covered worker’s classification, daily and weekly hours, rate of pay, gross earnings, deductions, and net pay on the page-one grid, then sign the Statement of Compliance on page two certifying that everyone was paid at least the prevailing wage. The form itself is optional — you may use any format that captures the same information — but WH-347 is built to satisfy the reporting rules in 29 CFR Parts 3 and 5, which is why most contracting agencies expect it.¹ One completed, signed copy is due for every week your crew works on a covered project.

Certified payroll itself is mandatory on every federal or federally assisted construction contract over $2,000.² The current WH-347 carries OMB Control No. 1235-0008 and expires January 31, 2028; download it from the Wage and Hour Division at dol.gov/agencies/whd/forms/wh347.

What to Gather Before You Start

Pull these together before opening the form. You’ll need them all to complete a single week’s payroll.

The contract number, project name, and the exact location of the work site (city, county, and state).
The wage determination incorporated into your contract, listing the prevailing wage and fringe rates for every classification on the job. Look it up by wage determination number, or by selecting “Public Buildings or Works” at SAM.gov.³
Each worker’s name and an individual identifying number — typically the last four digits of the Social Security number. Full SSNs, addresses, and phone numbers go on a separate worker information sheet to the prime contractor, not on WH-347.⁴
Daily time records for the week, with straight time and overtime hours already separated.

Completing Page One

The header at the top of page one takes your company name and address, the payroll number, the week ending date, the project name and location, and the contract number. Number your payrolls sequentially starting at “1” for the first week of work. Agencies scan for gaps in the sequence, and a missing number invites a records request.

Worker Name, ID, and Classification

In the first column, list every worker who performed covered work that week by name and identifying number. The classification column is where most rejections originate. The job title you enter must match a classification on the wage determination attached to your contract — not your company’s internal job title, and not a generic label. If the wage determination says “Power Equipment Operator — Group 3,” writing “Equipment Operator” is enough to get the payroll returned.

If a worker performed duties in more than one classification during the week, list the hours and rate for each classification on a separate line.

Hours Worked

The daily columns capture hours for each day of the week, with straight time and overtime hours reported separately. Under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, overtime on covered contracts must be paid at no less than one and a half times the basic rate for all hours above 40 in a workweek.⁵ Missing required overtime triggers liquidated damages of $33 per affected worker per day, on top of the back wages.

Rate of Pay

List both the hourly cash wage and any fringe benefit amount. If you pay fringe in cash rather than into a third-party plan, add the cash amount to the hourly rate so the combined figure meets or exceeds the total prevailing wage (base plus fringe) on the wage determination.

Columns 7A and 7B: Gross Earnings

Column 7 has two parts, and mixing them up is a common error. Column 7A is gross earnings for work on this specific federal or federally assisted project only. Column 7B is total gross earnings for the entire week across all projects, including any non-Davis-Bacon work.¹ If the worker did any non-covered work that week, both columns must be filled in.

Deductions and Net Pay

List every amount withheld from gross pay in the deductions column. The Copeland Act regulations at 29 CFR 3.5 allow certain deductions without prior DOL approval: federal, state, and local tax withholding and Social Security; voluntary contributions to bona fide benefit funds where the worker consented in writing beforehand; court-ordered payments not flowing back to the contractor; repayment of bona fide interest-free cash advances; voluntary payments to credit unions and 501(c)(3) charities; and regular union initiation fees and dues.⁶ Anything else requires written approval from the Secretary of Labor before you withhold it; taking an unauthorized deduction is treated as a kickback under the Copeland Act.

The net wages column has to match the actual amount the worker received by check or direct deposit.

Reporting Fringe Benefits

How you deliver fringe benefits changes both the rate-of-pay entry and what you certify on page two. The DOL recognizes three approaches.

Funded plans involve irrevocable contributions, at least quarterly, to a trustee or third party unaffiliated with your company, with no ability to recapture or divert the money. Health insurance and pensions typically work this way. Unfunded plans, common for vacation and sick leave, pay from general assets; they must be communicated in writing, be an enforceable commitment, and reasonably anticipate the cost of the benefits — and they require prior DOL approval.⁷ The third option is paying some or all of the fringe amount in cash; when you do, add the cash amount to the hourly wage so the combined figure meets the full prevailing wage. If you split the fringe between a plan and cash, both portions have to appear on the form and be accounted for in the Statement of Compliance.

Apprentices on the Payroll

Registered apprentices may be paid less than the full prevailing wage, but only if the number on the job site does not exceed the apprentice-to-journey-level ratio in the registered program. That ratio is calculated daily, not weekly.⁸ If you exceed the ratio on a given day, the apprentices who started work before the limit was reached keep their apprentice rate; anyone beyond the cap must be paid the full prevailing wage for the classification of work performed. If you’re working outside the area where your program is registered, follow the ratios from a registered program covering the project’s location.

On the form, list apprentices with their proper classification and step (for example, “Electrician — 2nd Year Apprentice”) and the wage rate specified by the apprenticeship program. Keep each apprentice’s registration documentation in the project file for auditors.

Signing the Statement of Compliance

Page two is the certification. Signed under penalty of perjury, the Statement of Compliance affirms that the page-one data is accurate and that every worker received at least the required prevailing wage and fringe for the work actually performed.⁹ The signer must have direct knowledge of the payroll: the business owner, or someone who paid or supervised payment of the workers for that week.

The statement includes a section for indicating how fringe was handled — into a bona fide plan, as cash, or a combination. If you’re claiming credit for plan contributions, provide the plan details and the hourly credit claimed for each worker. An unsigned form is not certified and will be sent back.

Submitting the Form

Certified payrolls are due weekly. Under 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii), you submit a copy of every payroll to the contracting agency, or to whichever entity maintains records for transmission to the federal agency when the federal agency is not a direct party to the contract.¹⁰ Subcontractors send their completed WH-347 to the prime contractor, who compiles and forwards everything to the agency.

The DOL permits electronic filing and accepts electronic signatures. Several web-based platforms, including LCPtracker and eMars, generate reports in WH-347 format. Check with the contracting agency for its preferred method — some mandate a particular system, others take a paper form or an emailed PDF.

For weeks when no covered work was performed, some agencies still expect a “no work” payroll noting that no laborers or mechanics worked on the project during the period. The contract specifications should say whether yours does. When in doubt, submit one; a short notation is easier than explaining a gap later.

What Records to Keep

Preserve every certified payroll during the work and for three years after all work on the prime contract is completed.¹⁰ These records must be available to the Department of Labor or the contracting agency’s investigators on request. Inadequate records can result in withheld contract payments.

Errors That Get Payrolls Rejected

A few mistakes account for most rejections. Watch for them before you submit.

Classification that doesn’t match the wage determination language.
Missing signature on the Statement of Compliance. Without it, the document isn’t a certified payroll.
Gaps in the sequential payroll numbering.
No contract number or project identifier, so the agency can’t match the payroll to a contract.
Fringe benefits reported without showing how they’re delivered, or credit claimed for a plan that doesn’t meet the bona fide requirements.
Column 7A and 7B mixed up, or 7B left blank when a worker also performed non-covered work that week.

Correcting a rejected payroll means resubmitting a corrected version with a fresh signed Statement of Compliance. Each rejection adds time and can hold up pay applications, so the goal is to catch these before the form leaves your desk.

Consequences of Getting It Wrong

False information on a certified payroll carries real exposure. Knowingly making a false statement on a federal form is a felony under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, punishable by up to five years in prison,¹¹ and fraudulent submissions can also trigger False Claims Act liability with treble damages.¹² Contractors who disregard their Davis-Bacon obligations to workers also face a three-year debarment from federal and federally assisted contracts, extending to responsible officers and any firm those officers hold an interest in.¹³

1
U.S. Department of Labor. Instructions For Completing Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Weekly Certified Payroll Form, WH-347
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 40 USC 3142 – Rate of Wages for Laborers and Mechanics
3
SAM.gov. Wage Determinations
4
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. DOL WH-347 Prevailing Wage Payroll
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA)
6
eCFR. 29 CFR 3.5 – Payroll Deductions Permissible Without Application to or Approval of the Secretary of Labor
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 66E – The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts – Compliance with Fringe Benefit Requirements
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Davis-Bacon Compliance Principles
9
U.S. Department of Labor. Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Weekly Certified Payroll Form
10
eCFR. 29 CFR 5.5 – Contract Provisions and Related Matters
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 3729 – False Claims
13
eCFR. 29 CFR 5.12 – Debarment Proceedings