Certified payroll records request: the 10 day rule and what to send

Who can ask, and how

• An employee or the employee's authorized representative can request a certified copy of that employee's own record (subdivision (b)(1)).
• The awarding body and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement can request certified copies of all records (subdivision (b)(2)).
• The public can request copies, but only through the awarding body or DLSE, and the requester may have to reimburse preparation costs first (subdivision (b)(3)). The public cannot come to your office to inspect (same subdivision).

A request from a general contractor for its own monitoring is a contract matter, not a section 1776 request, but treat it with the same discipline.

A records request is not the same as a compliance audit

Section 1776 covers one event: a written request for certified copies, answered within 10 days under subdivision (d). DLSE separately runs a Compliance Monitoring Unit review on many public works projects, with its own letter and its own timeline, and the records it asks for can overlap with a section 1776 request without being the same demand. Treating one like the other can cost you the deadline that actually applies. If what arrived is a formal audit letter, work from the compliance monitoring unit audit letter guide instead. This page covers the subdivision (d) request.

The clock

You must file a certified copy of the records with the entity that requested them within 10 days after receipt of a written request (subdivision (d)). When an awarding body seeks records on behalf of a public request and you miss the 10 day period, the awarding body notifies DLSE, which may request that penalties be withheld from progress payments then due (subdivision (b)(4)). The day you receive the written request counts as day zero, and the 10 days start running the next day, under the general rule for computing time in Code of Civil Procedure section 12. Keep the envelope or the email as proof of the receipt date.

What "certified" means

The records must show, for each worker, the name, address, social security number, work classification, straight time and overtime hours worked each day and each week, and the actual per diem wages paid (subdivision (a)). Each record must contain or be verified by a written declaration under penalty of perjury stating two things: that the information is true and correct, and that the employer has complied with sections 1771, 1811, and 1815 for the work performed (subdivision (a)(1) and (2)). Unless the records must go directly to the Labor Commissioner electronically under section 1771.4, they are on DLSE's forms or contain the same information, and computer printouts qualify if they carry the same information and the same verification (subdivision (c)).

What to redact, and what not to

Copies furnished to the public or to a public agency by the awarding body or DLSE are marked to prevent disclosure of an individual's name, address, and social security number; the contractor's or subcontractor's own name and address are not redacted (subdivision (e)(1)). Two exceptions to know: a multiemployer Taft-Hartley trust fund requesting records to allocate contributions gets the last four digits of the social security number, and a joint labor management committee gets the record with only the social security number masked (same subdivision). Copies of electronic certified payroll records do not satisfy requests from those two kinds of requesters; they get the DLSE form or its equivalent (subdivision (e)(2)). Agencies in the Joint Enforcement Strike Force on the Underground Economy and law enforcement investigating violations get unredacted copies on request (subdivision (f)).

Where the records live

Certified records must be available for inspection at all reasonable hours at your principal office (subdivision (b)). You must tell the awarding body where the records are kept, street address, city, and county, and give notice of any change of location within five working days (subdivision (g)).

How long you have to keep the records

Section 1776 does not set a retention period. The general California wage statute does: payroll records showing hours worked each day and wages paid must stay on file for not less than three years (Labor Code 1174(d)). Certified payroll records are payroll records, so the three year floor applies. Run three years from the week worked, and keep the underlying time and pay records alongside the certified copies, not just the filed form.

When federal money funds the job and you also file Form WH-347 (see our WH-347 guide), the federal clock runs differently: records are preserved for three years after all the work on the prime contract is completed, not three years from each week worked (U.S. Department of Labor). Keep to whichever clock runs longer.

A records request can reach any week inside your retention window, including ones from a prior year. Not having a week is not a defense to the 10 day clock, it is a second problem on top of the first. If a request surfaces gaps, see how to catch up.

The forfeit

Miss the 10 day period and you forfeit, as a penalty to the state or political subdivision, $100 for each calendar day or portion of a day, for each worker, until strict compliance (subdivision (h)). From January 1, 2027, SB 909 raises this to $140. See what SB 909 changes. On DLSE's request those penalties are withheld from progress payments then due. A contractor is not penalized under this section for a subcontractor's failure. Run your own figure on the penalty calculator.

The separate duty that keeps running

Independently of any request, each contractor and subcontractor furnishes certified payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner electronically, at least every 30 days while work is performed and within 30 days after the final day, or more often if the contract says so; not furnishing them carries $100 per day up to $5,000 per project, levied only after 14 days past the due date (Labor Code 1771.4(a)(3)). A records request often arrives because that filing stopped.

A 10 day plan

1. Day 0 to 1. Date stamp the request. Identify the requester and the project. Reply in writing acknowledging receipt and the date. Pull the project's weeks from your payroll system.
2. Day 1 to 3. Assemble every week requested, including no work weeks. Reconcile classifications, hours by day, rates, fringes, and deductions to what was actually paid. If weeks were never filed, this is where you find out.
3. Day 3 to 7. Produce the certified copies with the declaration under penalty of perjury, signed by the person with authority. Prepare a redacted set if the request came through the public path.
4. Day 7 to 10. Deliver by a method that proves the date. Keep a complete copy of what you sent. If any weeks are still missing, deliver what is complete on time and state in writing what follows and when.

If you are behind

Back filings are one of the most common ways subs start with us. We map your export, generate the missed weeks, and get you current before it becomes a payment problem. See how catch up works.

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