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How to fill out the WH-347 certified payroll form
WH-347 is the U.S. Department of Labor's weekly certified payroll form. The form itself is optional. Reporting the information on it is not, if federal money is in your project. Here is what goes in each column, and the deadline that decides whether it counted.
What you will do
- Know when WH-347 applies to you
- Fill in every column right
- Meet the weekly deadline
Who actually has to file a WH-347
The trigger is federal money, not the size of your company. Davis-Bacon and the acts with it cover federal building jobs. They also cover a job the government helps pay for. Once a project is covered, the laborers and mechanics on site have to be paid at least the local prevailing wage for their class.
Florida adds nothing on top. Florida has no state prevailing-wage law, so if there is no federal funding in the job, there is no certified payroll obligation to meet. That single question decides whether this form matters to you at all.
The form is optional; the reporting is mandatory. Covered contractors must report the same payroll information weekly under 29 CFR 3.3 and 5.5(a), and the Copeland Act (40 U.S.C. 3145) is what requires the weekly statement. Using WH-347 is simply the easiest way to satisfy it.
If you are the prime, you are responsible for your subs. The prime contractor submits every subcontractor's payrolls, which means a sub who files late is your problem, not just theirs.
Filling out the form, column by column
- 1
Start from the week you are reporting
The contractor or subcontractor name and address. The payroll number. The week-ending date. The project and its location, and the contract number. The week-ending date is the one people get wrong. It is the end of the payroll week you are reporting, not the day you fill the form in.
- 2
Report the hours that were actually worked
Column 4 is the day-by-day grid, split between straight time and overtime. This is what an auditor reconciles against your time records, so it has to agree with what the crews actually clocked.
- 3
Set the pay class, the rate and the deductions for each worker
Column 3 has to match a class on the job's wage determination. The rate is set per class. Columns 5 through 9 carry the rate including any fringe paid in cash, the gross earned, each deduction listed on its own, and the net pay. Use a number that identifies the worker, such as the last four of the Social Security number. Never the full number.
- 4
Sign the Statement of Compliance and file within seven days
Page two is the signed certification. It says the payroll is correct, that no unlawful deductions were taken, and that everyone was paid at or above the rate that applies. Each weekly payroll and its statement are due within seven days after the regular pay date (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)).
What to watch, and what this is not
- Two WH-347 layouts are in use right now, because DOL redesigned the form. Check which one the contracting agency wants before you build a process around one column order.
- The form is a U.S. government work in the public domain (17 U.S.C. 105), so unlike the AIA pay-application forms it can be reproduced as-is.
- FL Permit Pay builds the WH-347 from what is already on the job: the time entries, the wage classes, and the worker records. The weekly form comes from what your crews recorded. Nobody retypes it from a spreadsheet.
- This is a compliance walkthrough. It is not legal advice. It does not tell you which wage determination rules your project. Confirm coverage and class with the contracting agency.
Common questions
Is the WH-347 form itself required?
No. The form itself is optional. Sending the same facts every week is not. That is 29 CFR 3.3 and 5.5(a), and the Copeland Act (40 U.S.C. 3145) requires the weekly statement. WH-347 is simply the standard way to satisfy the requirement, which is why most agencies expect it.
When is a certified payroll due?
Within seven days after the regular pay date for that payroll period (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)). Each weekly payroll goes in with its signed Statement of Compliance.
Does Florida require certified payroll on private jobs?
No. Florida has no state law on prevailing wage. So you owe certified payroll on one kind of job only: the kind Davis-Bacon covers, which is federal work. If there is no federal money in the project, WH-347 does not apply.
Should I put a full Social Security number on the form?
No. Use an individually identifying number such as the last four digits. The full number does not belong on a document that leaves your office.
Put the guide to work.
Build the weekly certified payroll from the hours your crews already clocked. The classes and the rates sit on the worker record.