Delaware certified payroll: the notarized weekly report and where it goes

The Department of Labor Payroll Report must be notarized

Regulation 7.1.1.2.3 tells every employer on a public project to send weekly payroll reports "to the Department of Labor on forms provided (upon request) by the Department." Leaving out any section, "including the requirement that the form be notarized," will "constitute a failure to submit sworn payroll information." The Payroll Report form ends with a sworn statement and notary block.

This notary rule is written for reports to the Department of Labor. No source read requires a notary on the DelDOT or DNREC routes below.

Penalty for a missing, incomplete or late payroll report

Section 6960(e) sets a civil penalty of $1,000 to $5,000 for each violation on an employer who "knowingly fails or refuses to pay" the prevailing wage rates "or who fails to submit payroll reports." The form's footer is the closest text on timing: an employer "who fails to submit sworn payroll information to the Department of Labor weekly shall be subject to fines of $1,000 and $5,000 for each violation."

No source read says whether a complete but late report is a "failure to submit" under 6960(e), whether each missed week is its own violation, or whether "knowingly" reaches the report clause.

Section 6960(e) also bars bidding: an employer adjudicated in violation within 2 years after an earlier judgment cannot bid on or receive a Delaware public construction contract until 3 years after the later penalty judgment.

After an investigation, you can appeal a Final Notice in writing to the Secretary of Labor, who must receive the appeal within 15 days of your receipt (regulation 7.1.2.2).

When wages are also short

Under 6960(d), the Secretary may terminate an employer's right to proceed after the Department finds the employer "has not paid or is not paying the prevailing wage rates" and compliance does not follow "within 15 days of receipt of said certified mail." Regulation 7.1.2.3 lets the Department direct withholding equal to the "prevailing wage deficiencies." No source read ties either to a payroll-filing failure alone.

How and when to send the report

1. Get the PDF from the Office of Construction Enforcement. It prints no form number, and its file name ends 5.05.2025, so confirm it is current.
2. Complete one report per week of covered work, with every worker, the fringe page, and the sworn statement.
3. Sign before a notary, and confirm the delivery address with the Office. Then mail or deliver the notarized original within one week of the last work day covered.

The regulation names no address or email. The form's letterhead prints DEcertifiedpayroll@delaware.gov, a Newark address and a phone number, but no source read labels any as where to send a report. The Office's own page offers the form "to submit your certified payroll" but does not say where to deliver it, though it lists offices in Georgetown, Newark and Dover. Its contact route is contractor.registry@delaware.gov, 302-761-8200 (Option #5), or a contact form with a 48-hour reply promise. No source read says an emailed scan counts as a notarized original, so ask the Office in writing before you mail originals or rely on email. The Department keeps sworn payroll 6 months (6960(c)), and you keep payroll records three years (regulation 7.1.1.3).

Which channel applies to which project

The state-by-state table compares other states.

A week with no work

For BIL and IRA funding, DNREC says weekly payroll records "must still be submitted even if no construction was performed during the week." FHWA-1273 requires payrolls "for each week in which any DBA- or Related Acts-covered work is performed" (Section III, paragraph 3.b.(1); see our 2026 changes guide). For the Department of Labor report, no source read says.

Where the sources disagree

The Office's employee FAQ says certified payrolls go to the public agency overseeing the project. The regulation and form say the Department. Check your contract.

What the Payroll Report asks for

The form does not define "Contract Registration Number." The Office's page says "Registration is required before performing any construction or maintenance work in the state," and the field's DE-9999-999999999 placeholder appears to point to it. Confirm the number with the Office.

Who has to send one, and which jobs are covered

Section 6960(a) reaches contracts over $500,000 for new construction, or over $45,000 for alteration, repair, renovation, rehabilitation, demolition or reconstruction, where the State or a subdivision is a party, the State appropriated any part of the funds, and mechanics or laborers are employed. Confirm the funding with the contracting agency.

Shop work

Section 6960(b) requires contracts to stipulate that the employer pays mechanics and laborers "engaged in any custom fabrication work, regardless of where the work is performed." Section 6902(8) defines custom fabrication as "offsite fabrication, assembly, or other production of nonstandard goods or materials" made "specifically for a public works project" and used only in plumbing or pipe fitting systems (including HVAC, refrigeration and duct systems), electrical, mechanical insulation, ornamental iron, and some commercial signage.

84 Del. Laws c. 124 (July 26, 2023) added the concept. Senate Substitute No. 1 for SB 307, 84 Del. Laws c. 466 (approved September 30, 2024), amended 19 Del. C. 3602, 6902(8) and 6960(b); Section 3 (6960(b)) took effect immediately and Sections 1, 2 and 4 on January 1, 2025. This page read both acts without strike and underline marks, and cannot say which words c. 466 changed.

Where the regulation and the statute conflict

The Prevailing Wage Regulations point the other way. Regulation 3.1.2 says manufacture or furnishing of materials, articles, supplies or equipment "is not a 'building' or 'work' within the meaning of the regulations unless conducted at the site of such a building or work," and 7.1.1.2.3 requires reports from an employer "performing work on a public project." The regulation predates both acts, and this page cannot tell which controls. The Payroll Report PDF opens with "On-site" selected in a drop-down that offers "Off-site," without instruction. Ask the Office in writing whether off-site custom fabrication hours go on the report, and whether to choose "Off-site" for them.

What stays unconfirmed

• Email filing, remote notarization, the delivery address, a no-work week on the Department of Labor report, and whether the federal WH-347 can substitute for the Delaware form.
• Whether contractors on federally funded DelDOT projects must also send the Payroll Report to the Office, and whether off-site custom fabrication hours go on it.

Questions