California Labor Code 1777.5, explained

Section 1777.5 is the apprentice statute for California public works. If you employ workers in an apprenticeable craft, it requires apprentices at no less than 1 hour of apprentice work for every 5 hours of journeyman work (except as the section otherwise provides), contract award information sent to apprenticeship programs, and training fund contributions. Here it is subdivision by subdivision, from the official code.

Last reviewed October 16, 2026 against the sources it cites

The short answer

Labor Code 1777.5 requires a public works contractor with workers in an apprenticeable craft to employ apprentices at no less than 1 hour for every 5 journeyman hours (except as the section otherwise provides), send contract award information (the DAS 140) to apprenticeship programs, and pay training fund contributions.

Except as otherwise provided in the section, subdivision (g) sets the floor at one hour of apprentice work for every five hours of journeyman work in a craft, and subdivision (h) leaves out journeyman hours beyond eight a day or 40 a week, per Labor Code section 1777.5.
Subdivision (o) says the section does not apply to a general contractor's contract, or to a specialty contractor's contract not bid through a general or prime contractor, that involves less than $30,000, per Labor Code section 1777.5.
The DAS 140 or a written notice with the same information is due to the apprenticeship committee within 10 days of the date you executed your contract and no later than the first day you have workers on the job, under 8 CCR 230.
A written request for apprentices must reach the committee at least 72 hours, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays, before you need them, and the DAS 142 is an optional form for it, under 8 CCR 230.1.
Subdivision (m)(1) requires a contractor who employs journeymen or apprentices in an apprenticeable craft to pay the prevailing training contribution to the California Apprenticeship Council, with a credit for payments to an approved program, per Labor Code section 1777.5.

The four duties at a glance

Duty	What it asks	The clock
Notice	Send contract award information to the apprenticeship committees, on the DAS 140 or in writing.	Within 10 days of executing your contract, and no later than the first day you have workers on the job (8 CCR 230).
Request	Ask the committees in writing for apprentices. The DAS 142 is optional.	At least 72 hours before you need them, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays (8 CCR 230.1).
Ratio	Not less than 1 hour of apprentice work for every 5 hours of journeyman work, craft by craft, unless an exemption applies.	Before the end of your contract or subcontract.
Training fund	Pay the prevailing training amount to the California Apprenticeship Council, less any program credit.	The 15th of the month, for work done the month before (8 CCR 230.2).

Subdivisions (a) to (c): registered apprentices and their pay

Subdivisions (a) and (b) allow registered apprentices from an approved program, paid the prevailing apprentice rate for their registered trade and used only on that craft. Subdivision (c) limits the apprentice wage to apprentices in training under standards approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) and a written agreement. A relative or employee learning the trade does not count unless a program registered them, per the DAS public works FAQ.

Subdivision (d): who has to employ apprentices

If you employ workers in an apprenticeable craft on a public works contract, you must employ apprentices at least in the ratio below. "Contractor" includes any subcontractor under a contractor who performs public works not excluded by subdivision (o), so subs are covered. An apprenticeable craft is one the California Apprenticeship Council has so determined, and DIR says the prevailing wage determination for your craft shows when it is not.

Subdivisions (e) and (f): the award notice and the hours statement

Before you start, subdivision (e) has you send an applicable program that can supply apprentices to the site your estimated journeyman hours, the apprentices you propose to employ, and their approximate dates. If you are not approved to train, send it to every committee covering the site, for each craft. The DAS 140 is not a request for apprentices. For those, send each committee that trains the craft in the area of the site a written dispatch request (8 CCR 230.1), on the optional DAS 142 or in writing. Keep a copy of each request and your proof of sending (8 CCR 229(d)).

Within 60 days after you finish, send the program, and the awarding body if it asks, a verified statement of your journeyman and apprentice hours. Subdivision (f) puts an equal employment duty on the programs, not you.

Subdivisions (g) to (i): the 1 to 5 ratio

Under (g), if you agree to be bound by a program's standards, the ratio may be no higher than those standards stipulate. Under (i), a contractor covered by a program's standards must employ the ratio those standards stipulate, and never less than the 1 to 5 ratio in (g). Except as otherwise provided in the section, including the exemptions below, the ratio is not less than one hour of apprentice work for every five hours of journeyman work. Subdivision (h) applies it on any day a journeyman is on the jobsite. It leaves out journeyman hours beyond eight a day or 40 a week. You must employ the computed apprentice hours before the end of the contract, or subcontract.

DAS counts by craft, on straight time only, and one craft's apprentices cannot cover another's, per the DAS FAQ and the DAS ratio page. Say your electricians log 1,000 journeyman hours and 50 run past eight in a day. 950 count, so you need 190 apprentice hours. Check yours in the ratio calculator.

Subdivisions (j) to (l): exemptions from the ratio

Subdivision (j) lets the Administrator of Apprenticeship exempt a contractor already averaging 1 apprentice hour per 5 journeyman hours across its contracts in the state. Subdivision (k) lets a program do so, with the Administrator's approval, on one of four findings, such as local unemployment over 15 percent. Subdivision (l) covers an exempt association's members. These cover the ratio only, and DAS says you still send the DAS 140. The same page lists trade entries that change the ratio. For example, it says participating Northern California Laborers contractors are not required to hire an apprentice until there are four journeymen on the jobsite, and that Northern California Operating Engineers contractors must use a minimum of one apprentice for each four journeymen.

Subdivision (m): training fund contributions

Subdivision (m)(1) applies to a contractor who employs "journeymen or apprentices" in an apprenticeable craft, so you can owe it with no apprentices. You pay the California Apprenticeship Council the prevailing training amount for the site's area, less a credit for payments to an approved program that can supply apprentices to the site. The DAS FAQ says it is due on every journeyman and apprentice hour, overtime included.

8 CCR 230.2 takes the amount from the prevailing wage determination, and the check goes with a CAC-2. Find your rate in our training fund guide. Subdivisions (m)(2) and (m)(3) send the money to a state fund that pays grants to approved programs.

Subdivision (n): the prime carries the responsibility

The awarding body must write stipulations into the contract that put responsibility for compliance, for all apprenticeable occupations, on the prime contractor. Under section 1777.7(e) your prime avoids penalty for your violation only if it did not know and took four steps, one of them getting a signed declaration from you before final payment. See flow-down clauses and GC liability.

Subdivisions (o) and (p): the $30,000 line

Subdivision (o) says the section does not apply to contracts of general contractors, or of specialty contractors not bidding through a general or prime contractor, that involve less than $30,000. Other cases:

Case	Covered?
Subcontractor under a prime	Not named in (o). DIR says the duty applies even when the sub's part is under $30,000.
Craft that is not apprenticeable	No, per the DAS FAQ.
Federal project with no city, county, or state money	No, per the DAS FAQ, unless a state agency administers it.
Private project outside the Labor Code definition of public works	No, per the DAS FAQ.

Subdivision (p) lets an awarding body with an approved labor compliance program under section 1771.5(b) help enforce the section, with the Director's approval.

What skipping it costs

If the Labor Commissioner finds a knowing violation, Labor Code 1777.7 sets a civil penalty of up to $100 for each full calendar day, and up to $300 a day for a second or later knowing violation within three years if apprenticeship training is not provided. From January 1, 2027, SB 909 raises these to $140 and $420 (what SB 909 changes). The Commissioner can reduce the amount or, on a first violation with a program's concurrence, order equivalent apprentice employment instead.

A knowing, serious violation can also bar you from public works for up to one year, or up to three years for a later one, under Labor Code 1777.1(d).

8 CCR 229(d) has you keep records of every notice and request, and in a review you must prove they were on time. The DAS FAQ says late forms do not reduce penalty exposure.

Where apprentices show up on your payroll

Labor Code 1776(a) has you record hours and pay for each journeyman and apprentice (1776 explained). WellStanding prepares the WH-347 and the eCPR from the payroll export you already run, and a person reviews every filing. You review the finished filing and sign the certification in one step, and nothing is filed until you have signed. The certification is always yours; we never sign for you. We do not prepare or send the DAS 140 or DAS 142 (guide). Setup is $995 one time, then $249 per month for crews up to 25 workers or $449 for 26 to 50. First filing free.

Questions

What does Labor Code 1777.5 require?

It requires employing apprentices at no less than 1 hour for every 5 journeyman hours in each apprenticeable craft (except as the section otherwise provides), sending contract award information to programs, and paying training fund contributions. Subcontractors are covered.

Is there a $30,000 exemption in 1777.5?

Yes, in subdivision (o), for contracts under $30,000 of general contractors and of specialty contractors not bidding through a general or prime contractor. A sub under a prime is not named, and DIR says the duty applies to subs with a part under $30,000.

Does overtime count toward the 1 to 5 ratio?

No. Subdivision (h) leaves out journeyman work beyond eight hours a day or 40 hours a week, and the DAS FAQ counts straight time only.

Do I owe training fund contributions if I have no apprentices?

Yes, if you employ journeymen in an apprenticeable craft. Subdivision (m)(1) applies to employing "journeymen or apprentices." Pay by the 15th of the next month.

What happens if I miss the DAS 140 or DAS 142?

If the Labor Commissioner finds a knowing violation, section 1777.7 allows up to $100 for each full calendar day, and up to $300 a day for a second or later one within three years if training was not provided. From January 1, 2027, SB 909 raises these to $140 and $420. Late forms do not erase the exposure, per the DAS FAQ.

Sources

Every figure on this page links to its source where it first appears. The full list, in order:

official code leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
8 CCR 230 dir.ca.gov
8 CCR 230.1 dir.ca.gov
DAS 140 dir.ca.gov
DAS 142 dir.ca.gov
8 CCR 230.2 dir.ca.gov
DAS public works FAQ dir.ca.gov
DIR says dir.ca.gov
8 CCR 229(d) dir.ca.gov
DAS ratio page dir.ca.gov
CAC-2 dir.ca.gov
section 1777.7(e) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
section 1771.5(b) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
SB 909 leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Labor Code 1777.1(d) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Labor Code 1776(a) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
WH-347 dol.gov
eCPR dir.ca.gov