WH-347 Certified Payroll Report: Generate Yours Without Starting From a Blank Form

Every contractor on a Davis-Bacon covered project files the same form. The WH-347 is the Department of Labor's standard format for weekly certified payroll, and getting it wrong can trigger back-wage orders, contract termination, or debarment from future federal work. Most contractors still fill it out manually, re-entering hours, rates, classifications, and fringe calculations that already exist somewhere else in their back office. That process is slow, repetitive, and one transposed number from a compliance problem.

A better approach pulls field data, wage determinations, and fringe benefit records into the WH-347 automatically, so the form generates itself from information the crew already logged. Here is what the form actually requires, where manual entry breaks down, and how automated generation changes the math for contractors filing every week.

What the WH-347 Form Requires and Why It Matters

The WH-347 is the Wage and Hour Division's standard form for reporting weekly payroll on federally funded or federally assisted construction projects. Filing it satisfies the certified payroll requirements under the Copeland Act (40 U.S.C. § 3145) and the regulations in 29 CFR Parts 3 and 5.

Every contractor and subcontractor on a covered project must submit a completed WH-347, or an equivalent format containing the same data, to the contracting agency each week. Using the DOL's specific form is optional, but the weekly submission itself is not.

What Each Form Captures

Page one of the WH-347 collects nine columns of data per worker, with several sub-fields that bring the total closer to 16 individual entries per row. For a crew of 15, that means roughly 240 data points filled in by hand, every single week.

Per-worker fields include:

• Worker entry number, name, and a partial identifier (last four digits of SSN or equivalent)

• Journeyworker or registered apprentice designation, with progression level for apprentices

• Labor classification pulled from the applicable wage determination

• Daily hours worked, broken out by straight time and overtime, with weekly totals

• Hourly rate, fringe benefit credit, and any cash paid in lieu of fringe benefits

• Gross wages on the specific project and across all jobs that week

• Deductions for taxes, FICA, and other withholdings, plus net pay

Page two adds the Statement of Compliance, the certifying official's signature, and fringe benefit plan details. The Statement of Compliance carries real teeth. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, knowingly submitting false information on the form can result in fines, up to five years of imprisonment, or both.

Where Manual Form Entry Falls Apart

Filling out a blank WH-347 once is tedious. Filling it out 52 times a year, across multiple projects and subcontractors, is where the process starts generating errors that trigger enforcement actions. The DOL's enforcement data shows a pattern of violations rooted in the same handful of manual entry mistakes, each carrying financial consequences that far outweigh the cost of preventing them.

Mismatched Wage Determinations

Federal projects reference specific wage determinations that set the minimum hourly rate and fringe benefit amount for each labor classification in a given area. Contractors pulling rates from the wrong determination, or using an outdated one after a modification, risk underpaying workers without realizing it. The DOL does not accept good intentions as a defense. Back wages are owed regardless of whether the underpayment was intentional.

Classification Errors

A worker performing duties across more than one trade classification during the same week needs a separate row on the WH-347 for each classification, with hours and rates broken out accordingly. Manual entry makes it tempting to lump hours under one classification and miss the split. When an auditor catches the discrepancy, the contractor owes the difference at the higher applicable rate.

Fringe Benefit Miscalculations

Fringe benefits on Davis-Bacon projects can be paid into bona fide plans, paid in cash to the worker, or split between the two. Each method has different reporting requirements on the WH-347. Calculating the correct fringe credit per hour, per classification, and entering it accurately across columns 6A, 6B, and 6C is one of the most error-prone parts of the form when done manually.

Late or Incomplete Submissions

Certified payroll is due weekly, numbered consecutively starting at payroll number one. Missing a week, submitting late, or leaving fields blank gives the contracting agency grounds to withhold payment. For subcontractors, a late filing by a lower-tier sub can hold up the general contractor's entire payment application.

What Enforcement Actually Looks Like

The consequences of getting certified payroll wrong go beyond paperwork corrections. The DOL's Wage and Hour Division actively investigates Davis-Bacon violations, and the penalties scale with the severity of the issue.

Penalties contractors may face include:

• Back-wage orders covering the full underpayment amount, plus liquidated damages

• Withholding of contract payments until violations are resolved

• Debarment from federal contracts for up to three years, covering the contractor and any responsible officers

• Criminal referrals under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 for knowingly false certifications, carrying fines and up to five years of imprisonment

For a contractor whose pipeline depends on federal and state-funded work, a three-year debarment is not a fine. That is a shutdown.

How Automated WH-347 Generation Works

Automated certified payroll generation does not just speed up form completion. The entire re-entry step disappears because verified data is pulled from the systems where that data already lives. Instead of starting from a blank PDF each Monday, the payroll system assembles the WH-347 from data captured at the source.

Field Data Flows Directly Into the Form

When crews log hours through a construction worker app, the time entries, project codes, and labor classifications captured at the jobsite become the source data for the WH-347. No one re-types what someone already recorded. The form populates from the same records used to run construction payroll, so the numbers match by default.

Wage Determinations Stay Current

An automated system can reference the correct wage determination for each project and flag changes when modifications are published. Manual processes depend on someone remembering to check for updates before submitting each week's payroll. Automation makes the check a built-in step, not a memory test.

The Statement of Compliance Reflects Verified Data

The certifying official still signs the Statement of Compliance, and that responsibility does not go away. But the data behind the certification has been validated against wage determinations, fringe benefit plans, and classification rules before the form is generated. Signing a form backed by verified payroll data is fundamentally different from signing one assembled from spreadsheet entries.

What to Look for in a Certified Payroll System

Not every payroll platform that claims to handle certified payroll actually generates the WH-347 from live project data. Some just provide a blank template. Others handle the form but miss the compliance logic underneath it.

A system worth evaluating should connect field time tracking to payroll processing to certified payroll output in one continuous flow. Contractors who need to export data from one tool, manipulate it in a spreadsheet, and paste it into another form are not automating. That workflow is adding steps.

Key capabilities to evaluate:

• Prevailing wage enforcement that runs proactively, before payroll processes, rather than flagging errors after the fact

• Fringe benefit calculations that handle bona fide plans, cash-in-lieu payments, and split arrangements without manual overrides

• Payroll reporting output that produces submission-ready WH-347s, not documents that still need manual cleanup

For contractors managing multi-state payroll across several prevailing wage jurisdictions, the platform also needs to apply the correct wage determination to each project automatically. One missed update on a single project can cascade into weeks of incorrect filings.

Stop Re-Entering What Your Crew Already Logged

The WH-347 is not going away. Federal and state-funded construction projects will continue to require weekly certified payroll submissions, and the enforcement environment is getting stricter, not more forgiving. Contractors who still fill out the form from scratch each week are spending hours on data entry that could be handled in minutes.

Trayd generates certified payroll reports, including submission-ready WH-347s, directly from field and payroll data already in the system. Prevailing wage rates, fringe benefit calculations, and labor classifications are enforced before payroll runs, not corrected after the fact. The result is clean, auditable certified payroll output without the manual re-entry that creates errors and delays submissions.

For a deeper look at how certified payroll reporting works under Davis-Bacon, the certified payroll contractor guide covers the full regulatory framework.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the WH-347 form used for?

The WH-347 is the DOL's standard form for reporting weekly certified payroll on construction projects covered by the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. Contractors and subcontractors use it to verify that workers are paid prevailing wages.

Is using the WH-347 form mandatory?

The form itself is optional, but the weekly certified payroll submission it represents is mandatory on all Davis-Bacon covered projects. Contractors can use any format that contains the same required data fields.

How often must certified payroll be submitted?

Weekly. Each submission is numbered consecutively, and the contracting agency or project owner typically requires it before releasing progress payments.

What happens if a contractor submits an incorrect WH-347?

Errors can trigger back-wage orders, payment withholding, and liquidated damages. Willful or repeated violations may lead to debarment from federal contracts for up to three years. Knowingly false certifications carry criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. § 1001.

Can certified payroll be filed electronically?

Yes. The DOL accepts electronically generated and signed certified payroll submissions, provided the electronic signature verifies the signer's identity. Photocopied or scanned signatures are not accepted.

How many data fields does the WH-347 require per worker?

Nine numbered columns with multiple sub-fields bring the total to roughly 16 individual entries per worker, per week. For a crew of 15, that adds up to approximately 240 data points on a single form.