Complete WH-347 Reference

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What is the WH-347 form?

The WH-347 is the DOL's official certified payroll form. Contractors and subs use it to report weekly payroll on federal and federally assisted construction under the Davis-Bacon Act.

It captures every worker's hours, classification, hourly rate, fringes, deductions, and net pay for the week. It also has the Statement of Compliance, where you swear under penalty of perjury that workers got at least the prevailing wage.

Technically the WH-347 is optional (you can use any format with the same info), but it's the de facto standard. Use it and you're guaranteed to capture every required field and meet federal regs under 29 CFR 3.3 and 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3).

When it applies

  • • Federal or federally assisted construction
  • • Project value greater than $2,000
  • • Covered by Davis-Bacon Act or related acts
  • • All GCs and subcontractors on the project

Filing cadence

  • • Submitted weekly
  • • Covers Saturday through Friday
  • • Due within 7 days of pay period end
  • • Submit to prime contractor or awarding agency

Who has to file a WH-347?

If your contract is federally funded or federally assisted and the contract exceeds $2,000, you and every sub submit weekly certified payroll. That includes:

General contractors (GCs)
Electrical subcontractors
Plumbing and HVAC subs
Carpentry and framing
Concrete and foundation
Painting and drywall
Roofing and sheet metal
Excavation and site work
Steel and ironworking
Mechanical insulation
Glass and glazing
Flooring and tile

Even sole proprietors and single-person LLCs file certified payroll on Davis-Bacon jobs. The $2,000 threshold is a contract threshold, not a per-worker threshold. Once you cross it, it hits every trade on the job.

Line-by-line: what goes in each WH-347 column

Nine columns plus header fields. Here's what goes in each one.

Column 1

Name and ID Number of Worker

Full legal name of the worker as it appears on the W-4, plus the last 4 digits of their Social Security Number.

Column 2

No. of Withholding Exemptions

Optional. This column can be left blank — it's for the contractor's own payroll records.

Column 3

Work Classification

The craft or classification the worker performed during the reporting week (Carpenter, Electrician, Laborer Group 1, etc.). Must match the classification listed on the applicable wage determination.

Column 4

Day and Date / Hours Worked

Daily hours for each of the 7 days (Saturday-Friday on the DOL template). Separate rows for straight-time (O) and overtime (O/T) hours. Weekly total goes in column 5.

Column 5

Total Hours

Sum of all hours worked that week, shown separately for straight-time and overtime.

Column 6

Rate of Pay

Hourly rate paid to the worker, including a breakdown: 'basic hourly rate' + 'fringe benefits' = total. Must equal or exceed the prevailing wage for that classification.

Column 7

Gross Amount Earned

Total gross wages the worker earned on this project this week. If the worker performed work on multiple projects, show 'this project/all projects' (e.g., $1,200 / $2,400).

Column 8

Deductions

Itemize each deduction: FICA, Federal withholding, State withholding, insurance, pension, and any other deductions. Total the deductions column.

Column 9

Net Wages Paid

Gross wages (column 7) minus deductions (column 8). This is what the worker actually takes home.

Header fields you also need to fill in

• Contractor or subcontractor name & address
• Payroll number (sequential)
• Week ending date
• Project name and location
• Project/contract number
• For week ending date (repeat)

The Statement of Compliance

The back of the WH-347 (or Form WH-348 if you use an alternate format) has theStatement of Compliance. You or your authorized payroll officer signs it — it's a sworn declaration that certifies four things:

1

That the payroll shown is complete and correct

2

That each worker has been paid no less than the applicable prevailing wage rate (or has been paid the fringe benefit amount to an approved benefit plan)

3

That no rebates or kickbacks have been paid, either directly or indirectly, from any worker

4

That workers have been paid the full weekly wages for all hours worked on the project

Signing a false Statement of Compliance is a federal crime.

Under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 and 31 U.S.C. § 3729, falsifying certified payroll can get you fines, debarment, and prison. Don't sign until the numbers are right.

8 common WH-347 mistakes (and how to avoid them)

What DOL auditors find over and over. Fix these and you'll survive almost any audit.

Worker misclassification

Listing a worker as 'Laborer' when they performed carpentry or electrical work. Each task must be billed at the rate for that craft, not the worker's general title.

Missing fringe benefits

Either failing to pay fringes at all, or not showing the fringe breakdown on the WH-347. Fringes must be either paid to the worker as additional cash or contributed to bona fide plans.

Wrong wage determination

Using an expired or wrong-county wage determination. The applicable WD is based on project location and the date the contract was awarded (or modified).

Arithmetic errors

Weekly total hours don't match the sum of daily hours, or gross wages don't equal hours × rate. Machine-generated reports eliminate these errors entirely.

Late filing

Submitting past the weekly deadline. Even if you're catching up, contracting officers note lateness and it can affect your next bid.

Unsigned Statement of Compliance

The back of the WH-347 (or Form WH-348) MUST be signed by the contractor or authorized payroll officer. An unsigned statement is treated as non-compliant.

Overtime miscalculation

Davis-Bacon overtime under CWHSSA is paid for hours over 40 per week at 1.5× the basic hourly rate (not including fringes). Many contractors miscalculate this.

Using WH-347 for state-only projects

WH-347 is federal. States like California (eCPR), Illinois (Transcript), and New York (MPWR) require different formats for state-funded projects.

Manual WH-347 vs automated software

Same legal report. Very different workflow. Honest comparison below.

TaskManual (Spreadsheet / PDF)CertifiedPayrollPro
Time per weekly report2–3 hours2–10 minutes
Pulling wage determinationsSearch SAM.gov manuallyAuto-pulled by project
Fringe benefit calculationsManual math, error-proneAutomatic
Classification validationYou double-checkSystem validates
Overtime calculations (CWHSSA)ManualAutomatic
Arithmetic errorsCommonImpossible
Statement of ComplianceHand-sign every weekDigital signature, auto-attached
Missing required fieldsEasy to missPre-submission check
Submit to multiple agenciesEmail attachmentPDF export or portal upload
Average contractor saves 8–12 hours per week per active project

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WH-347 Frequently Asked Questions

What is the WH-347 form?

It's the DOL's official certified payroll form for reporting weekly payroll on federal or federally assisted construction under the Davis-Bacon Act. Documents hours worked, wages paid, fringe benefits, deductions, and the signed Statement of Compliance swearing you paid at least the prevailing wage.

Who needs to file a WH-347?

Any GC or sub on a federal or federally funded construction job over $2,000 files weekly. WH-347 or an equivalent form with the same info. That's GCs, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, concrete, painting, HVAC — every trade on a Davis-Bacon job.

Is the WH-347 form required, or can I use my own format?

Technically, the WH-347 is optional. You can use any format that has the same information. But the official form is the easiest way to stay compliant because it already has every field you need. Most contracting agencies take it and a lot of them prefer it.

How often must the WH-347 be submitted?

Weekly. You file a WH-347 for each work week, usually within 7 days of the pay period ending. The form covers a seven-day week, Saturday through Friday on the official DOL form.

What is the Statement of Compliance on the WH-347?

It's the sworn declaration on the back of the WH-347 (or on a separate page). You or your payroll officer signs it, swearing under penalty of perjury that workers got at least the prevailing wage, nobody was forced to kick back wages, and fringes got paid either to the worker or into bona fide plans. Lying on it is a federal crime.

What happens if I submit a WH-347 with errors?

Small mistakes? File an amended submission. Systemic underpayments or misclassifications are a different story — back wages owed, DOL investigations, held contract funds, up to 3-year debarment, and criminal prosecution for willful fraud.

Where can I download the official WH-347 form?

Free PDF from the DOL at dol.gov/whd/forms/wh347.pdf. Print it and fill it out by hand if you want. Most contractors use software to generate it — saves hours a week and kills the math errors.

How long does it take to fill out a WH-347 manually vs with software?

Doing it by hand runs 2-3 hours a week per project, depending on crew size. That's splitting hours by classification, calculating fringes, reconciling wages, and double-checking the prevailing wage. With software, the same report takes 2-10 minutes.

What are the most common WH-347 mistakes?

The usual suspects: (1) misclassifying workers — paying laborer rate for carpentry work, (2) missing or wrong fringe benefits, (3) using the wrong wage determination, (4) bad overtime math, (5) filing late, (6) arithmetic errors in the weekly totals, (7) forgetting to sign the Statement of Compliance.

Does CertifiedPayrollPro generate WH-347 forms automatically?

Yes. We build the official WH-347 PDF by dropping your payroll data onto the DOL template. We pull the right prevailing wage from SAM.gov, calculate fringes, check classifications, and flag compliance problems before you submit. Done in under 10 minutes.

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