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⟡ Reference — Certified payroll

WH-347, field by field.

Form WH-347 is the weekly certified payroll form for federal and federally assisted construction work. The form was revised in January 2025 — worker names were split into separate fields, the withholding-exemptions column was removed, and the old single rate-of-pay column became three. Guidance written against the older layout no longer matches the form.

This page walks the current form field by field, in the order the fields appear, using the Wage and Hour Division's own instructions. It is reference material. Nothing here is legal advice, and the linked federal sources govern.

Is Form WH-347 required?

The form is optional. The weekly submission is not. The Copeland Act (40 U.S.C. § 3145) requires contractors and subcontractors on federal or federally financed construction contracts to furnish a weekly statement of the wages paid each worker, and 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii) requires weekly certified payrolls to go to the contracting agency — or, where the federal agency is not a party to the contract, to the applicant, sponsor or owner that maintains the records for transmission to the agency.

Filing deadline: Under 29 CFR 3.4 and 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii), certified payroll submissions are due weekly, within seven days after the regular payment date of the payroll period.

WH-347 exists for convenience: properly completed, it satisfies the certified-payroll requirements of 29 CFR parts 3 and 5. Any other format works, provided each payroll carries a signed Statement of Compliance with wording identical to page 2.

Which version is current?

The form carries OMB Control No. 1235-0008 and expires 01/31/2028. Those two values are the fastest way to tell a current form from a stale one — if a submitted PDF shows a different expiration date, it predates the January 2025 revision and its column numbering will not match anything below.

What does each column mean?

Columns run 1A through 9. The lettered sub-columns are the substance of the 2025 revision, and they are where a payroll system that was built against the old form will disagree with the current one.

WH-347 page 1 — columns
Column What the instructions require
1A — Worker Entry No. Sequential per payroll, beginning at 1, and continuing across continuation pages. A worker who worked in more than one classification gets a separate row per classification and the same entry number on each row.
1B / 1C / 1D — Last, First, Middle Initial The worker's name, in three separate fields. On the pre-2025 form this was one field.
1E — Worker Identifying No. An individual identifying number — the last four digits of the worker's Social Security number, or any number specific to that worker. Full Social Security numbers must not be included.
2 — Journeyworker / Registered Apprentice J for a journeyworker, RA for an apprentice registered with the DOL Office of Apprenticeship or a State Apprenticeship Agency. For apprentices, also list the level of progression in the approved program.
3 — Labor Classification The classification for the work actually performed, drawn from the wage determination in the contract. If the wage determination has no classification for work performed, the instructions say to contact the contracting officer immediately rather than to approximate.
4 — Hours Worked Each Day The first letter of each day of the contractor's workweek across the top row and the corresponding date beneath it, then per-worker hours split into straight time (ST) on the top row and overtime (OT) on the bottom row. Important row swap: In the 2025 revision, ST is on top and OT is on the bottom (the exact reverse of older forms). Under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA, applying to contracts over $100,000) and the FLSA, hours beyond 40 in the week are overtime including hours worked off the site of the covered contract.
5 — Total Hours Worked for the Week The total of the hours entered in column 4.
6A — Hourly Wage Rate Paid, ST and OT The rate actually paid — straight time on the top row, overtime beneath. Where a worker was paid above the wage determination, show what was actually paid. Cash paid in lieu of fringe benefits does not belong here.
6B — Total Fringe Benefit Credit Contributions to, or reasonably anticipated costs of, bona fide fringe benefit plans for which a credit is claimed. Should equal total hours worked in the period × the hourly credit listed in the page 2 fringe table.
6C — Payment in Lieu of Fringe Benefits Cash provided in lieu of fringe benefits during the workweek. Should equal total hours worked × the hourly cash-in-lieu rate. 6B and 6C are different obligations and must not be combined.
7A — Gross Amount Earned Gross earned for hours worked on this federal or federally assisted project.
7B — Gross Amount Earned for All Work Where part of the week's wage was earned elsewhere — including on projects not covered by Davis-Bacon — the total gross for all work performed during the week.
8 — Deductions for All Work Deductions from the all-work gross in 7B, split into tax withholdings, FICA, Other, and a Total. A single "Other" deduction is described in Additional Remarks; several require an itemized addendum. Deductions must comply with 29 CFR part 3, and anything outside 29 CFR 3.5 needs prior DOL approval.
9 — Net Payment to Worker for All Work The actual amount paid to the worker for all hours worked across all projects during the week, covered and uncovered alike.

Worked example: split classification and mixed fringe

Consider a single worker (Worker Entry No. 1, J. Doe) who performed work in two separate classifications on the same covered project during one workweek: 24.0 hours as an Electrician and 20.0 hours (16.0 ST + 4.0 OT) as a Carpenter. Fringe benefit obligations for carpentry were satisfied partly through a pension fund ($8.00/hr) and partly in cash ($4.00/hr).

Worked example — 2 rows for 1 worker
1A 1B–1D 1E 2 3 (Class) 4 (ST/OT) 5 (Tot) 6A (Rate) 6B (Credit) 6C (In Lieu) 7A (Proj) 7B (All) 8 (Deduct) 9 (Net)
1 Doe, John A. 1234 J Electrician 24.0 ST
0.0 OT		 24.0 $45.00 ST
—		 $288.00
($12/h plan)		 $0.00 $1,080.00 — — —
1 Doe, John A. 1234 J Carpenter 16.0 ST
4.0 OT		 20.0 $40.00 ST
$60.00 OT		 $160.00
($8/h plan)		 $80.00
($4/h cash)		 $960.00 $2,040.00 $510.00
(Tax/FICA/Other)		 $1,530.00

How the arithmetic balances:

  • Entry numbering (1A): Both rows carry 1 because they represent the same worker.
  • Fringe reporting (6B vs 6C): The Electrician hours met fringe entirely through health/welfare ($12.00 × 24.0 = $288.00 in 6B). The Carpenter hours met fringe via $8.00/hr pension ($8.00 × 20.0 = $160.00 in 6B) plus $4.00/hr cash in lieu ($4.00 × 20.0 = $80.00 in 6C). The cash in lieu is not included in 6A.
  • Project gross (7A): Row 1 = 24.0 × $45.00 = $1,080.00. Row 2 = (16.0 × $40.00) + (4.0 × $60.00) + $80.00 (cash in lieu) = $960.00. Total project gross is $2,040.00.
  • Deductions & Net (8 & 9): Entered on the final row for that worker against the all-work gross in 7B ($2,040.00 − $510.00 total deductions = $1,530.00 net pay).

What does page 2 certify?

Page 2 repeats the project identifiers — project name, project or contract number, payroll number, business name, project location, week ending date — followed by the Statement of Compliance, the Additional Remarks block, and the certifying official signature section.

The statement need not be notarized. It is subject to criminal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (a fine, imprisonment of up to five years, or both) and civil liabilities under the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. § 3729). The signer certifies knowledge of the facts represented as true: workers were paid at least the required rates, fringe obligations were satisfied, and required records are maintained.

There are six compliance checkboxes:

  • Boxes 1, 2, 3 and 6 must always be checked to certify basic compliance.
  • Box 4 applies only when registered apprentices worked in the period. Each program the contractor has registered apprentices working under must be listed in the apprentice table: program name, registration status (Office of Apprenticeship or State Apprenticeship Agency), labor classification, and apprentice progression level. More than three entries require an addendum. When no apprentices worked, leave the box unchecked and enter "Not Applicable" or "N/A".
  • Box 5 must be checked whenever fringe benefits are required by the wage determination.
    • Where fringe obligations are met via bona fide plan contributions, the "Hourly Credit for Fringe Benefits" table is completed: worker entry number, worker name, plan name, funded vs unfunded status, and hourly credit claimed per worker. More than six plans require an addendum.
    • Where fringe obligations are met entirely in cash, box 5 is checked but the table is left blank, because those payments are reported in column 6C.
    • Where obligations are met partly in plans and partly in cash, plan amounts go into the table and cash-in-lieu amounts appear in column 6C.

Additional Remarks: Page 2 provides a dedicated remarks field for explanatory notes — such as detailing "Other" deductions listed in Column 8, explaining hourly fringe cost calculations, or documenting contracting officer classification authorizations.

Signature section (Mandatory contact details): The January 2025 revision explicitly mandates that the certifying official provide: Name, Title, Telephone Number, Email Address, Signature, and Date. Legally valid electronic signatures are accepted; photocopies and scans of a signature do not satisfy the requirement.

Which rules in the instructions are easiest to miss?

Every item below is stated in the WHD instructions themselves, and each one is a mismatch a reviewer can see without leaving the form.

  • Full Social Security numbers must not appear in column 1E — last four digits, or a worker-specific number.
  • ST and OT rows swapped positions in 2025. Straight Time (ST) is now the top row; Overtime (OT) is the bottom row.
  • Deductions are never pro-rated. If a worker worked other jobs that week, show the actual deductions from the whole weekly gross in column 8, not a project-weighted share.
  • Split classifications need split rows. Without an accurate breakdown of hours per classification, the worker must be paid for all hours at the highest applicable prevailing rate — basic hourly rate and fringe benefits both.
  • Unfunded plans need prior approval. A credit for the reasonably anticipated cost of benefits provided directly by the contractor requires DOL approval in advance, under 29 CFR 5.28, before the credit is claimed.
  • Overtime counts hours worked off site. Under CWHSSA (contracts >$100,000) and the FLSA, the 40-hour threshold covers hours on and off the site of the covered contract, so a worker splitting a week across jobs can be owed overtime that this project's hours alone would not show.
  • A scanned signature is not a signature. Legally valid electronic signatures are accepted; photocopies and scans of a signature do not satisfy the requirement.
  • Official's telephone and email are mandatory in the page 2 signature block under the 2025 revision.
  • Wage determination revision numbers matter. The header asks for the determination number and its revision, and for every determination that applied during the period.

Does WH-347 satisfy state certified payroll requirements?

Often not. Several states run their own electronic systems that accept a defined file format rather than a federal form, on their own filing schedule, with fields the federal form does not carry. A project can be subject to both. See certified payroll electronic filing, state by state for what California, New York and Washington each require.

Official sources

⟡ Revision history
  • 31 Aug 2026 — Reconciled header count (8 identifying fields); added page 2 contact fields (phone & email), Additional Remarks inventory, and False Claims Act citation; highlighted Column 4 ST/OT row swap; added worked multi-classification example; updated heading hierarchy and print stylesheet.
  • 30 Aug 2026 — Initial publication.

Reviewed against the WHD instructions current on that date.

Maintained by Osketh. We build quiet software for regulated back offices — systems that read a document, check every value against the rules that govern it, and file the result. This page is reference material, not a product. Corrections are welcome at [email protected].