Guides

How to Fill Out Form WH-347, Line by Line

Form WH-347 is the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) form for the weekly certified payroll on federal and federally assisted construction jobs covered by the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. This guide goes through it box by box, using only DOL's instructions and its annotated guide to the form, version Rev. January 2025.

Do you have to use Form WH-347?

No. DOL says the form itself is optional and the payroll may be submitted in any other format. What is required is payroll information every week, with a signed Statement of Compliance: page 2 of WH-347 or another document with identical wording. If you also work on New York prevailing wage jobs, see which job needs WH-347 and which needs the NYSDOL portal.

What goes in the header on page 1?

• Submission of Final DBRA Certified Payroll Form. Check it only on the payroll for your final week of work on the project.
• Prime Contractor / Subcontractor. Check one.
• Project Name. The project you are reporting on.
• Project No. or Contract No. The project or prime contract number assigned by the contracting agency, if available.
• Certified Payroll No. Start with 1 and number each weekly payroll for the project in order.
• Prime Contractor's/Subcontractor's Business Name. Your business's legal name.
• Project Location. The complete address. If there is none, describe the location, with at least the county or counties and the state.
• Wage Determination No. The wage determination and revision numbers in your contract. If more than one applied to this pay period's work, list them all.
• Week Ending Date. The workweek ending date for this pay period.
• Prime Contractor's/Subcontractor's Business Address. Your full business address.

How do you fill in columns 1 to 9?

Each row is one worker in one labor classification, with a straight time (ST) line and an overtime (OT) line.

Column 1: the worker

• 1A Worker Entry No. Number the workers starting with 1. A worker who worked in more than one classification gets a separate row for each, with the same entry number.
• 1B, 1C, 1D. Last name, first name, middle initial.
• 1E Worker Identifying No. For example the last four digits of the Social Security number, or any number specific to that worker. Never enter a full Social Security number. DOL says full numbers must not be included.

Column 2: Journeyworker or Registered Apprentice

Enter J for a journeyworker or RA for a registered apprentice in a program approved by DOL's Office of Apprenticeship (OA) or a State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA). For an apprentice, also list their level of progression in the program.

Column 3: Labor Classification

The classification for the work actually performed, from the Davis-Bacon wage determination in your contract. If it has no classification for work someone did, contact the Contracting Officer or agency representative right away.

A worker who splits the week between classifications must be paid at least each classification's rate for the time worked in it. If you did not keep an accurate breakdown, the worker must be paid for all hours at the highest applicable rate, basic hourly rate and fringe.

Column 4: Hours Worked Each Day

Above row 1, write the first letter of each day of your workweek, and its date below. A Tuesday to Monday week reads T, W, T, F, S, S, M.

For each worker, enter the hours worked on this project each day as ST or OT. On contracts subject to the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA), hours over 40 in the week are overtime, counting hours on and off the site of the covered contract.

Column 5: Total Hours Worked for Week

The total of the hours in column 4.

Column 6: rate and fringe

• 6A Hourly Wage Rate Paid for ST and OT. The actual rate paid for the column 3 classification: straight time on top, overtime below. If you paid more than required, enter what you paid. Cash in lieu of fringe does not go here.
• 6B Total Fringe Benefit Credit. The credit you take for contributions to, or reasonably anticipated costs of, bona fide fringe benefit plans. It should equal the worker's total hours times the total hourly credit for that worker on page 2.
• 6C Payment in Lieu of Fringe Benefits. Cash paid to the worker instead of fringe that week: total hours times the hourly cash in lieu rate.

Column 7: gross pay

• 7A Gross Amt Earned. Gross pay for the week for hours on this federal or federally assisted project.
• 7B Gross Amt Earned for All Work. If the worker also earned pay on other work that week, including jobs not covered by Davis-Bacon, the total gross for all work.

Column 8: Deductions for All Work

Deductions come from the gross in column 7B, under Tax Withholdings, FICA, Other and Total Deductions, the sum of all three.

• If "Other" is one deduction, describe it under Additional Remarks on page 2. If it is several, attach an addendum listing each with a description and amount.
• Do not pro-rate deductions for workers who had other jobs. Show the actual deductions from the weekly gross for all projects.
• Deductions must follow 29 CFR part 3. Except for those listed in 29 CFR 3.5, they need prior DOL approval.

Column 9: Net Pay to Worker for All Work

The actual dollar amount paid to the worker for all hours on all projects that week.

What goes on page 2?

The page 2 header

It repeats the project, payroll number, business name, location and week ending date, and adds Certifying Official's Name and Title: the contractor, subcontractor or agent who paid or supervised the payment of the workers that week.

Which Statement of Compliance boxes do you check?

The statement opens with "I paid or supervised the payment of the laborers or mechanics working on the above project during the stated time period." Six boxes follow. Boxes 1, 2, 3 and 6 must always be checked.

1. The payroll is correct and complete, and rates paid are not less than required for the classification of work actually performed.
2. All payrolls and basic records for the period are complete and accurate and will be available on request.
3. Each worker's classification is the work actually performed.
4. Apprentices. Check it if anyone was paid as an apprentice. List each program name, check OA or SAA, and name the labor classification. More than three entries go on an addendum. If it does not apply, leave it unchecked and write "N/A" under Apprenticeship Program Name.
5. Fringe benefits have been paid in cash and/or to bona fide plans. See below.
6. All workers were paid the full weekly wages earned, with no rebates or deductions other than those permitted by 29 CFR part 3.

Box 5 and the Hourly Credit for Fringe Benefits table

When you take an hourly credit for fringe plans, check box 5 and fill in the table:

• Name of Worker. Entry number from 1A and name, in page 1 order.
• Each plan. FB Name, FB Type, Plan No., and Funded or Unfunded.
• Hourly Credit. The credit for each worker under each plan.
• Total Hourly Credit. The total for each worker.

More than six plans go on an addendum. An unfunded plan needs DOL approval before you claim the credit (29 CFR 5.28). If all fringe is paid as cash, check box 5 but leave the table blank: the cash goes in column 6C. If it is part plan, part cash, fill in both. For New York jobs, read our guide to New York prevailing wage fringe and overtime.

Additional Remarks

Optional space for notes on deductions, the hourly cost of fringe benefits, or explanations. A separate page must carry the contractor and project information too.

Signature of Certifying Official

The contractor, subcontractor or agent who paid or supervised the payment of the workers signs, with the date, telephone number and email address. Legally valid electronic signatures are accepted. Photocopied or scanned signatures are not.

What if the statement is wrong?

No notary is needed, but the statement is subject to 18 U.S.C. 1001: a fine, up to 5 years in prison, or both. The form warns that willful falsification may also lead to debarment from future federal and federally assisted contracts.

Where does the finished WH-347 go?

Every week, to the federal agency if it is a party to the contract, or else to the applicant, sponsor, owner or other entity that keeps the records, for the agency. The prime contractor is responsible for submitting its subcontractors' certified payrolls.

Common questions

Can I put the full Social Security number on WH-347? No. Column 1E takes the last four digits or another worker number.

What if a worker worked in two trades in one week? Use a separate row for each classification, with the same worker entry number.

Which boxes on page 2 must always be checked? Boxes 1, 2, 3 and 6. Box 4 is for apprentices, box 5 for fringe benefits.

Can I sign WH-347 electronically? Yes, with a legally valid electronic signature. A scanned signature does not count.

How WeeklyCert helps

With WeeklyCert you enter the week's hours once, in one grid. Overtime, rates and fringe are checked before you sign. The WH-347 for your GC and the NYSDOL file come out ready to send, with a reminder before every project deadline.

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General information from U.S. Department of Labor sources, not legal advice.