California State University (CSU) certified payroll and prevailing wage requirements

What applies on a CSU job

Two layers apply. The state's: prevailing wage, plus your own certified payroll filing with DIR. The campus's: whatever your contract adds. DIR's certified payroll FAQ says that sending records to a union, a prime contractor, an awarding body, or a Labor Compliance Program does not meet your duty to send them to the Labor Commissioner.

Does prevailing wage apply to your CSU job

One test is in Labor Code section 1720(a)(1): construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for in whole or in part out of public funds. Not every CSU job is a public work, so ask the campus in writing whether yours is.

If it is, workers are owed the prevailing wage. DIR's Public Works FAQ says contractors on projects exceeding $1,000 must pay it under section 1771. Under section 1773.2, the campus must state the rate for each craft in the call for bids, the bid specifications, and the contract. It can instead say the rates are on file at its principal office, and the section also has it cause the director's determination to be posted at each job site.

DIR's Public Works FAQ sets a small project exemption at $25,000 for new construction, alteration, installation, demolition, or repair, and $15,000 for maintenance, measured on the whole contract with the prime, so a small subcontract under a larger prime contract does not qualify. On an exempt project you do not file an eCPR, but you keep payroll records and give them to the Labor Commissioner when asked. See our thresholds guide.

What you file with DIR on a CSU job

Section 1771.4(a)(3) requires every contractor and subcontractor to furnish payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner, electronically on DIR's website. The deadline is at least once every 30 days while work is performed and within 30 days after the final day of work, or more often if your contract says so. The penalty is $100 per day, capped at $5,000 per project, and it cannot be levied until 14 days after the filing was due. See how often certified payroll is due.

You cannot file until the project is in DIR's system. DIR's eCPR FAQ says an awarding body must submit a PWC-100 before you can submit your eCPR, and that if you are not listed on the project, the eCPR system lets you add yourself.

Why CSU's own program does not replace the DIR filing

The campus may monitor payroll too. DIR's Labor Compliance Program FAQ says awarding bodies may adopt their own programs to monitor labor compliance on their own public works projects. DIR's list of approved programs (data as of October 22, 2026) has an entry for The Trustees of the California State University, LCP ID 2003.00356, approved 11/6/2003, with no notes. Your contract says what that program asks of you.

An entry on that list is not an exemption. DIR's exemption page says only projects monitored and enforced by an approved labor compliance program, or covered by a qualifying project labor agreement, may be exempted. It names four legacy programs: Caltrans, the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Unified School District, and the County of Sacramento. CSU is not among them. Section 1771.4(b) is the legal route: the Labor Commissioner may exempt a project when the awarding body has enforced an approved program on all its public works continuously since December 31, 2011, or has a collective bargaining agreement that binds all contractors on the project. A contract clause saying the campus program replaces the DIR filing does not by itself exempt you. DIR's certified payroll FAQ says that submitting certified payroll records to other agencies does not fulfill the requirement to submit them to the Labor Commissioner.

One older rule names the CSU. Labor Code section 1771.7(c)(1) makes the Chancellor of the California State University the awarding body when a campus uses 2002 or 2004 Kindergarten-University bond funds, and has the Chancellor review payroll records at least monthly. Subdivision (f) limits it to contracts awarded before January 1, 2012.

What the campus can ask for on top

Section 1771.4(a)(1) requires the call for bids and contract documents to say the project is subject to DIR compliance monitoring. Labor Code section 1776 gives the awarding body rights over your records, and subdivision (i) requires it to put stipulations in the contract to carry them out:

• Records. Subdivision (b) lets the awarding body get certified copies of your payroll records.
• 10 days. Subdivision (d) gives you 10 days to file a certified copy after a written request, and subdivision (h) sets $100 for each calendar day for each worker after that. See our 10 day records request guide.
• Where records live. Subdivision (g) requires you to tell the awarding body where records are kept and report a change within five working days.

Your contract sets any extra submittals, forms, and schedule. Read the payroll article in your bid package and ask the campus whether it wants anything beyond the eCPR, such as early sample payrolls or a wage rate worksheet. We do not quote CSU's general conditions here.

Before your first CSU payroll

1. Get the DIR Project ID. Use our Project ID guide. If the campus has not registered the project, ask it to, in writing, and see the last question below.
2. Read the payroll article in your contract. Write down what goes to the campus, how often, and who uploads it. If it names a portal, see LCPtracker vs DIR.
3. File the eCPR on DIR's clock. If you submitted a payroll by mistake for a period with no work, DIR's certified payroll FAQ says you may submit a Statement of Non-Performance for the same period.
4. Sign it yourself. The declaration is the contractor's. See who signs certified payroll.

CSU campuses we track

Each shows up as an awarding body in our data on public works projects registered with DIR. You can look up registered projects in DIR's public works project search tool. The campuses are California State University, Fullerton, California State University, Los Angeles, Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, and San Jose State University. Education Code section 89001 lists all four locations among the California State University institutions.

Where we fit

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. If your contract names a campus upload too, tell us what it asks and we will say plainly what we handle. Setup is $995 one time, first filing free, then $249 per month for crews up to 25 workers or $449 for 26 to 50 workers. We are reachable Monday to Friday 7:00 to 5:00 Pacific.

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