What Is a Certified Payroll Report?

A certified payroll report is two things stapled together: a weekly payroll record showing every worker on a covered construction project — their hours, classification, pay rate, gross, deductions, and net — and a signed Statement of Compliancein which you swear those numbers are true and that everyone was paid at least the prevailing wage. The signature is what makes it "certified." On federal and federally assisted jobs, the standard format is Form WH-347, published by the U.S. Department of Labor. If a general contractor just asked you for "certifieds" and you've never filed one, this guide is for you.

What makes a payroll report "certified"

The payroll page by itself is just a record. It becomes a certified payroll report when you (or an officer of your company) sign the Statement of Compliance — a certification that the payroll is correct and complete, that wage rates meet the wage determination in your contract, that deductions were lawful, and that fringe benefits were provided either through bona-fide plans or in cash. That signature is made under penalty of federal prosecution: the form itself warns that willful falsification can subject you to civil or criminal prosecution under Section 1001 of Title 18 and Section 3729 of Title 31 of the U.S. Code. Electronic signatures are acceptable under DOL's current guidance — but a photocopied or scanned signature is not, so sign each week's statement fresh.

Who files, when, and to whom

Every contractor and subcontractor on a Davis-Bacon covered project — generally federal or federally assisted construction contracts over $2,000 — must file. The rhythm is strict:

• Weekly.One report per workweek, usually due within seven days of the pay date. Weeks where your crew did no work still get a "no work" payroll (or a no-work letter, if the agency accepts one).
• Per project. A crew split across two covered jobs means two reports each week, one for each project.
• Sequentially numbered, for the life of the job. Payroll No. 1, 2, 3… with no gaps, and the last one marked "final." Reviewers use the numbering to spot missing weeks.

Where it goes depends on your position in the chain. A subcontractor typically submits to the prime (general) contractor, who forwards everything to the awarding agency; on many public jobs you upload directly to a compliance portal such as LCPtracker or eMars. Late or missing reports are one of the most common reasons progress payments get held.

What's actually in the report

Whatever format you use, the same data has to be there. Here is the core of it, worker by worker:

For a column-by-column walkthrough of the federal form itself, see how to fill out WH-347.

Why certified payroll reports get rejected

Reviewers kick back reports for the same short list of reasons, and most of them are avoidable:

• Missing or wrong classification.The trade listed doesn't match anything on the wage determination, or is blank.
• Fringe shortfall.The total package (cash rate plus plan contributions plus cash-in-lieu) doesn't reach base + fringe from the determination. This is the number-one audit finding — our fringe benefits guide covers it in depth.
• Wrong overtime math. Overtime is 1.5× the basicrate plus the fringe at straight time — not 1.5× the whole base-plus-fringe package. See the example below.
• Missing signature.Page 1 without a signed Statement of Compliance isn't certified payroll at all.
• Stale form version. Agencies increasingly expect the current revised WH-347 layout (OMB No. 1235-0008) rather than the legacy December 2008 revision.

A worked example: 50 hours with cash fringe

A laborer's wage determination sets a $20.00 basic rate and $8.00 fringe, which you pay in cash. He works 10 hours a day for five days — 50 hours, so 40 straight-time and 10 overtime.

1. Overtime rate: (1.5 × $20.00) + $8.00 = $38.00/hr. Time-and-a-half applies to the base only; the fringe rides along at straight time.
2. Straight-time gross: 40 × ($20.00 + $8.00) = $1,120.00
3. Overtime gross: 10 × $38.00 = $380.00
4. Weekly gross: $1,500.00

The tempting-but-wrong method — 1.5 × ($20.00 + $8.00) = $42.00/hr — inflates the fringe by the overtime multiplier and marks your whole payroll as computed incorrectly.

Certified payroll vs. your regular payroll records

The register or pay-stub report your payroll provider generates is nota certified payroll report, even though it contains much of the same data. It lacks the per-project gross split, the classification tied to a wage determination, the straight-time/overtime daily breakdown in the required layout, and — most importantly — the signed Statement of Compliance. Most subcontractors run payroll as usual, then re-shape that week's numbers into the certified format for each covered project. That translation step is where the errors creep in, and it's exactly the step tools like Certiwage exist to handle. (Certiwage is a preparation tool, not legal advice, and is not affiliated with the Department of Labor.)

The quickest way to see how your own numbers fit the format is to run one week through the free builder and watch the report assemble itself.