Private Wage Surveys for PERM: Criteria, Filing, and Validity

A private wage survey for PERM will be accepted by the National Prevailing Wage Center only if it satisfies every criterion in 20 CFR 656.40(g): recent data, coverage of the area of intended employment, cross-industry sampling, at least 30 workers from at least 3 employers, a sound statistical methodology, and a reported arithmetic mean (or median, if no mean is available). Missing any one of these gives the NPWC grounds to reject the survey and issue a wage based on Occupational Employment Statistics data instead.¹

When a Private Survey Is Worth Filing

The default PERM prevailing wage comes from the OES program, which sorts occupations into four wage levels based on duties, education, and supervision. A private survey bypasses that tiered system: the NPWC uses the survey’s reported wage as the prevailing wage, without slotting the position into a level.

This matters most when the OES figure for a metropolitan area is pulled upward by employers in unrelated industries. A software company in a mid-size city may find its OES Level II wage inflated by nearby defense contractors and banks. A cross-industry survey of the same occupation in the same area can produce a lower, more accurate figure. The survey can also be submitted after the NPWC has already issued an OES-based determination; that submission is then treated as a fresh prevailing wage request.¹

What the Survey Has To Contain

Recent Data

A published survey must have been published within 24 months of the date it is submitted to the NPWC, must be the most current edition available, and must be based on data collected within 24 months of that publication date. An employer-conducted survey must be based on data collected within 24 months of the submission date.¹ An employer who buys a published survey and then sits on it for a year can watch the data age out before the NPWC ever reviews it.

The Right Geography

The data must cover the area of intended employment: the metropolitan statistical area or normal commuting zone where the job will be performed. If there are not enough workers in the same occupation within that area to form a representative sample, the regulation allows data from workers with substantially similar skill levels in the area, or from workers in the same occupation outside the area.¹

Cross-Industry Coverage

This is where many surveys fail. The sample cannot be limited to a single type of employer. A survey polling only hospitals for nursing wages, or only law firms for paralegal wages, will be rejected. The DOL has stated that whether an employer is public or private, for-profit or nonprofit, or large or small is not relevant to setting the prevailing wage and must not be used to narrow the survey universe.² The employer must submit either a list of participating employers or an explanation of how the cross-industry character of the survey was maintained.

Sample Size and Methodology

The survey must include wage data from at least 30 workers employed by at least 3 different employers. The DOL is clear that meeting this floor does not automatically make the survey statistically valid; it is just the minimum threshold below which the survey is automatically disqualified.² Above that floor, the survey must show sound methodology: randomized or representative sampling, an identifiable universe of employers, and enough detail for the NPWC to evaluate reliability.

The Right Wage Measure

The prevailing wage is normally the arithmetic mean. If the survey provides an arithmetic mean, that figure becomes the prevailing wage. If the survey provides only a median, the NPWC will use the median instead.¹ Surveys that report both should highlight the arithmetic mean.

Who Can Conduct It

Contrary to common belief, an independent third party is not required. The regulation explicitly contemplates surveys “conducted by the employer,” provided the timing and methodology standards are met.¹ Employer-conducted surveys draw heavier scrutiny because the potential for bias is obvious, and many practitioners choose an independent survey firm or a recognized published survey to reduce that friction.

A Different Rule for Universities and Nonprofit Research

Institutions of higher education, their affiliated nonprofit entities, nonprofit research organizations, and government research organizations are not measured against for-profit employers at all. Their prevailing wage must be based only on wages at similar institutions and organizations in the area of intended employment. A nonprofit research organization qualifies if it is primarily engaged in basic or applied research and holds tax-exempt status under IRC section 501(c)(3), (c)(4), or (c)(6).¹

Because OES data typically blends academic and private-sector salaries, a private survey limited to comparable academic institutions in the same metro area can produce a wage that reflects what peer schools actually pay. The cross-industry rule above does not override this narrower comparison pool for qualifying employers.

Filing on Form ETA-9141 in FLAG

Prevailing wage requests are filed electronically through the Foreign Labor Application Gateway at flag.dol.gov, using a Login.gov account.³ The same Form ETA-9141 is used for PERM, H-1B, and H-2B requests.

The survey-specific fields sit in Section E, Wage Source Information. Question 5 asks whether the employer is requesting consideration of an employer-provided survey. Marking “Yes” opens two additional fields: the name or title of the survey and its publication date. For an unpublished survey, such as a one-time employer study, the instructions direct filers to use the ETA-9141 submission date as the publication date.⁴ The survey document itself is uploaded with the application.

Documentation To Attach

The NPWC needs enough information to independently evaluate the survey. At a minimum, include:

A description of the methodology: how the universe of employers was defined, how the sample was selected, and the response rate.
Either a list of participating employers or a detailed explanation of how cross-industry character was maintained.
Sample size data: number of employers surveyed and number of individual wage responses collected for the occupation in the area.
The job descriptions the survey used to identify comparable positions.
Clearly labeled wage results, with the arithmetic mean (and median, if available) for the relevant occupation and geography.

The regulation requires enough detail about sample size and source, sample selection procedures, and survey job descriptions to let the NPWC judge both the adequacy of the data and the validity of the statistical methods.¹ Bare wage numbers without supporting methodology are a guaranteed rejection.

What Happens After You File

The NPWC assigns a case number and reviews the survey against every requirement in 656.40(g). Processing times fluctuate with workload and are posted on the FLAG portal; as of early 2026 the center was working through PERM prevailing wage requests filed roughly three months earlier.⁵ Check the portal before filing rather than relying on any fixed estimate.

If the survey passes, the resulting determination reflects the survey’s wage. If the NPWC finds the survey unacceptable, it notifies the employer in writing with specific reasons and issues a determination based on OES data instead.⁶

Validity Period

Every prevailing wage determination carries an expiration date set by the NPWC, which must be at least 90 days and no more than one year from the determination date.¹ The employer must file the PERM application or begin the required recruitment within that window. If the determination expires unused, a new request is required, and by that point the underlying survey may have aged out of the 24-month window.

If the Survey Is Rejected

An employer that disagrees with the determination can request redetermination from the director of the National Processing Center within 30 days of the date the determination was issued. The request must identify the determination, state the grounds for disagreement, and include all materials previously submitted.⁷

An unfavorable redetermination can be taken to a Center Director Review within 30 calendar days, filed through FLAG, by email to the NPWC Help Desk, or by mail.² The Center Director’s decision can be appealed to the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals within 30 days, but BALCA reviews only the existing record; no new evidence can be added at that stage.⁷ Each step has a hard 30-day deadline, and missing one makes the existing determination final.

1
eCFR. 20 CFR 656.40 – Determination of Prevailing Wage for Labor Certification Purposes
2
U.S. Department of Labor. PERM and LCA Prevailing Wage and Surveys – Concepts and Filing Tips
3
U.S. Department of Labor. How To Create and Submit an ETA-9141 in FLAG
4
U.S. Department of Labor. Form ETA-9141 General Instructions
5
Office of Foreign Labor Certification. Processing Times
6
eCFR. 20 CFR Part 656 – Labor Certification Process for Permanent Employment of Aliens in the United States
7
eCFR. 20 CFR 656.41 – Review of Prevailing Wage Determinations