Certified payroll service for California public works subs

A certified payroll service prepares your payroll reports from the payroll you already run. One is Form WH-347, the Department of Labor's optional form for the weekly payroll that federal and federally assisted construction contracts require. The other is your California DIR eCPR. The Department of Labor's WH-347 form page says the Statement of Compliance is subject to the penalties provided by 18 U.S.C. 1001, namely a fine, possible imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both. On the California side, Labor Code section 1776(a) requires each payroll record to contain or be verified by a written declaration, made under penalty of perjury, that the information is true and correct and that the employer complied with Sections 1771, 1811, and 1815. 8 CCR 16401(b) gives the certification wording for payroll records requested under section 1776, and that wording has the signer state "the authority to act for and on behalf of" the business. On the federal form, the Department of Labor says the contractor or subcontractor, or their agent who paid or supervised the payment of the workers, signs. WellStanding prepares both from the payroll export you already run, and a person reviews every filing. You review the finished filing and sign the certification. We never sign for you.

Certified payroll service providers in California

We read each provider's own pages on October 16, 2026. The table sorts what we found into five groups. It says what a page states, and "none on its page" means only that. CPWIS also goes by Contractors Prevailing Wage: cpwis.com redirects to contractorsprevailingwage.com, whose live site returned HTTP 503 to our requests each time we checked, most recently October 16, 2026, with a message that access had been limited. Because we could not read the live page, we used its archived services page from June 9, 2025. Our pricing roundup and software comparison cover more software. See all four options compared.

On who signs, the pages for CPWIS, Public Works Consultant, One2S, LCPcertified, and Points North do not say. Sunburst describes its final reports as "ready for your signature and mailing", and Miter says an authorized signer at your company reviews and signs. At WellStanding, you review the finished filing and sign the certification, and we never sign for you.

Five questions to ask a certified payroll service before you sign

Ask all five in writing. Each comes with the rule behind it and our own answer.

1. Who puts the payroll into DIR's eCPR system? On most projects, Labor Code section 1771.4(a)(3) requires each contractor and subcontractor to furnish certified payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner, electronically, at least once every 30 days while work is performed, or more often if the contract says so. Some projects are exempt, including small projects, as subdivisions (a)(4) and (b) of that section and the exempt projects section below set out. DIR's Certified Payroll Reporting FAQ says each contractor and subcontractor must submit its own certified payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner using DIR's online system, and that submitting records to other agencies does not fulfill the requirement. DIR's Upload eCPR guide walks the contractor through the upload. Ask the service to name the system it files into and who enters the signature there. At WellStanding: we prepare the eCPR XML file and check it against DIR's eCPR XML Guidelines, version 1.10. You review the finished filing and sign the certification. We found no DIR page that says whether an outside service may submit for a contractor, so ask any provider, us included, which DIR account a filing goes under and who enters the signature there.
2. Who signs the certification? Section 1776(a) says each payroll record shall contain or be verified by a written declaration made under penalty of perjury. In DIR's Upload eCPR guide, the contractor attaches an XML file exported from its payroll system, then enters a signature and clicks Submit. On the federal form, DOL says the contractor, or an agent who paid or supervised the payment of the workers, signs. A service that offers to sign for you should show you the rule that allows it. At WellStanding: you review the finished filing and sign the certification in one step. The certification is always yours, and we never sign for you. More on who signs.
3. What do you get each week? Ask for the actual files: the WH-347, the eCPR file, and the confirmation. Under Labor Code section 1776(d) and (h), you have 10 days after receipt of a written request to file a certified copy of your payroll records with the entity that asked, and a contractor that does not comply forfeits $100 for each calendar day, or portion thereof, for each worker (from January 1, 2027, SB 909 raises this to $140; see what SB 909 changes) until strict compliance. At WellStanding: we send you the WH-347 and the eCPR file every week for your records. Keep any confirmation DIR gives with them.
4. What does it cost at your crew size? Ask for the setup fee, the monthly fee at your headcount, and whether every project and weekly filing is included. Among the other providers in the table, only LCPcertified and Sunburst show a price, and both are software, not a done for you service. DOL's WH-347 page estimates an average of 55 minutes for the form's information collection, so add your own hours to a software price. At WellStanding: $995 one time, then $249 a month for up to 25 workers or $449 for 26 to 50, covering every project and weekly filing. First filing free.
5. What happens when DIR rejects a filing? DIR's Upload eCPR guide says that if an error appears after you submit an XML file, you should refer to DIR's eCPR XML guide for the mandatory information. DIR's Certified Payroll Reporting FAQ says a submitted record cannot be changed or deleted, and that you correct errors by submitting a new record for the same pay period. The amended record takes precedence over the original, and the original stays on file. The upload form in DIR's guide asks whether the file amends a previous payroll and ends in a signature, so plan on signing the corrected file too. Meanwhile the clock runs: under section 1771.4(a)(3)(B) and (C) the penalty is $100 for each day in violation, up to $5,000 per project, and the Labor Commissioner does not levy it until the records are still not furnished 14 days after the requirement. Ask who fixes the file, who resubmits it, and whether a fix costs extra. At WellStanding: if the problem is in the file we prepared, we prepare the corrected file for you to review and sign. You can reach a person Monday to Friday, 7:00 to 5:00 Pacific. Why uploads bounce.

Who this is for

• Subcontractors with up to 50 workers on California public works projects.
• Payroll already running in any system that can export a spreadsheet or report. We map the export at setup.
• Owners and bookkeepers who want the weekly forms prepared from the payroll they already run.

Prime contractors running a multi subcontractor rollout, and crews over 50 workers, are a custom setup. Use the form and we will scope it. New to public works, or catching up on a backlog: see certified payroll help for small contractors.

What you get every week

• Federal Form WH-347, filled and formatted, with the Statement of Compliance for you to sign.
• California DIR eCPR XML file, checked against DIR's eCPR XML Guidelines, version 1.10.
• A finished filing for you to review, with the certification for you to sign.
• Classifications and rates sanity checked against the project's published prevailing wage determination.
• A weekly reminder before each filing is due.
• Copies of the WH-347 and the eCPR file for your records, every week.
• A person reviews every file.
• You send one payroll export from the payroll you already run. We do not process wages or taxes or move money.

What gets filed, and where

The federal WH-347. On federal and federally assisted construction work, payroll submission is required weekly. The Department of Labor's Form WH-347, with its Statement of Compliance, is DOL's optional form for it. We produce it from your export every pay period. WH-347 vs the DIR eCPR, compared.

The California eCPR, directly to DIR. Labor Code section 1771.4 requires each contractor and subcontractor to furnish certified payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner, electronically, at least monthly, meaning once every 30 days while work is performed and within 30 days after the final day of work, or more often if the contract with the awarding body says so. Your contract may require weekly. We prepare the eCPR file from your export and check it against DIR's eCPR XML Guidelines, version 1.10. You review the finished filing and sign the certification. We never sign for you, because the declaration under penalty of perjury is your company's to make. DIR's Upload eCPR guide shows the contractor attaching the XML file, then entering a signature and clicking Submit. We found no DIR page that says whether an outside service may submit for a contractor, so ask us at setup how your filings reach DIR.

Exempt projects. Subdivision (b) of section 1771.4 lets the Labor Commissioner exempt a public works project from all or part of those requirements in two cases. One is where the awarding body has enforced an approved labor compliance program on all public works projects under its authority, except those deemed exempt under subdivision (a) of section 1771.5, continuously since December 31, 2011. The other is where the awarding body has entered into a collective bargaining agreement that binds all contractors performing work on the project and includes a mechanism for resolving disputes about the payment of wages. DIR's Certified Payroll Reporting FAQ says the Labor Commissioner has exempted three kinds of project: projects monitored by the legacy labor compliance programs of Caltrans, the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the County of Sacramento; projects covered by a qualifying project labor agreement; and projects under the small project exemption.

Small projects. The small project exemption comes from the statute. Section 1771.4(a)(4) says a contractor or subcontractor that is not registered, and is working on a project for which registration is not required because of section 1725.5(f), does not have to furnish payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner, but must keep them for at least three years after completion of the work. Section 1725.5(f) says the registration section does not apply to work on a public works project of $25,000 or less when the project is for construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work, or of $15,000 or less when the project is for maintenance work. Check your contract documents or ask the awarding body which exemption applies, and tell us at setup.

The GC's portal is not the state. On a project where DIR filing applies, DIR's Certified Payroll Reporting FAQ says that submitting certified payroll records to a union, the prime contractor, the awarding body, or a labor compliance program does not fulfill the requirement to submit them to the Labor Commissioner and DIR. If a general contractor or agency has you file in its own portal, that is the awarding body's side and does not replace the DIR filing. For each project where DIR filing applies, we prepare the eCPR file, and we confirm at setup exactly where each project's filings have to go. More on LCPtracker vs DIR.

Apprenticeship paperwork when a project needs it. The DAS 140 (public works contract award information) and DAS 142 (request for dispatch of an apprentice) forms, and the CAC2 form that goes with training fund contributions. Training fund contributions are due by the 15th of the month after the month the work was performed and are sent with a CAC2 form, per the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. Tell us at setup which projects need them. More on DAS 140 and DAS 142.

How a week works

1. You send one payroll export. The report you already run.
2. The engine maps it. Your crafts, your fringes, your overtime, mapped once at setup and reused every week. Software checks the eCPR file against DIR's eCPR XML Guidelines before you see it.
3. A person reviews it. Classifications and rates against the project's published determination, hours against the week, the arithmetic, the fringe lines.
4. You sign. You review the finished filing and sign the certification. We never sign for you.
5. Copies land in your records. The WH-347 and the eCPR file. Keep any confirmation DIR gives with them.

What a done for you service does, and what stays yours

What it costs

$995 one time setup. We map your payroll export, your crafts, and your projects. Happens once. Then $249 per month, flat for crews up to 25 workers, covering every project and every weekly WH-347 and DIR eCPR file. Crews of 26 to 50 workers: $449 per month, still flat. First filing free.

Software and a service are different purchases. LCPcertified and Sunburst show prices but are software, and a service prepares the filing for you instead. A late filing costs money too, as question five shows. For the full comparison, see how much certified payroll costs.

What it does not include

• Running payroll, withholding taxes, or moving money. That stays with your payroll system and your accountant.
• Legal advice. We cite the statute and follow it; an attorney interprets it for your situation.
• Your public works contractor registration with DIR. It stays in your name. We check it is current at setup and remind you before renewal. How registration works.

What to send at setup

• One payroll export from your system, any recent week.
• Your project list: awarding body, contract, DIR project number where you have it, and any portal the GC uses.
• Your classifications and any fringe or CBA details.
• If you are behind, the weeks you missed. How catching up works.

Questions