---
title: Do You Have to Hire Apprentices on California Public Works?
url: https://wellstanding.com/guides/do-i-have-to-hire-apprentices-california-public-works/
description: Usually yes: 1 apprentice hour for every 5 journeyman hours, per craft. Who is exempt, why a small sub is not, DAS 140 and 142 timing, and the penalty.
updated: 2026-10-16
type: guide
publisher: WellStanding Certified Payroll
---
# Do you have to hire apprentices on a California public works job?

Usually, yes. [Labor Code section 1777.5](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1777.5) makes a contractor or subcontractor with workers in an apprenticeable craft employ apprentices for at least one hour of work for every five hours of journeyman work. DIR says the duty comes with [public works contracts of $30,000 or more](https://www.dir.ca.gov/public-works/apprentices.html) and reaches subcontractors whose own piece is smaller.

Last reviewed October 16, 2026 against the sources it cites

The short answer

Yes, on most California public works jobs. [Labor Code 1777.5](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1777.5) requires at least 1 hour of apprentice work for every 5 hours of journeyman work in each apprenticeable craft, and [DIR applies it](https://www.dir.ca.gov/public-works/apprentices.html) to contracts of $30,000 or more, including subcontractors whose own piece is smaller.

- Labor Code section 1777.5(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](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1777.5).
- DIR says the duty to hire apprentices comes with public works contracts valued at $30,000 or more and applies to every contractor and subcontractor on the project, even one whose part is under $30,000, per [DIR's apprenticeship requirements page](https://www.dir.ca.gov/public-works/apprentices.html).
- Contract award information, on the DAS 140 or in a written notice with the same information, is due 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](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/230.html).
- A request for apprentices must be in writing at least 72 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) before they are needed, and the DAS 142 is an optional form for it, under [8 CCR 230.1](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/230_1.html).
- A knowing violation forfeits up to $100 for each full calendar day, and up to $300 a day for a second or subsequent knowing violation within three years if the noncompliance results in apprenticeship training not being provided, under [Labor Code section 1777.7](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1777.7). From January 1, 2027, [SB 909](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB909) raises these to $140 and $420.

## The answer in three lines

- **Hire them.** Keep apprentice hours at one fifth of your journeyman hours, craft by craft, on straight time only, per the [Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) FAQ](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/PublicWorksFAQ.html).
- **Tell the programs.** Send the [DAS 140](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/DASForm140.pdf), or a written notice with the same information, within 10 days of signing your contract, and no later than the first day you have workers on the job ([8 CCR 230](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/230.html)).
- **Ask for them.** Send the [DAS 142](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/DASForm142.pdf) dispatch request, or a written request with the same information, at least 72 hours before you need an apprentice, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays ([8 CCR 230.1](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/230_1.html)). The regulation calls the DAS 142 an optional form.

DIR's own page words the last deadline as [three business days](https://www.dir.ca.gov/public-works/apprentices.html), so give it three full business days. Training fund contributions are a separate duty under section 1777.5(m); see [our CAC guide](https://wellstanding.com/guides/cac-training-fund-contributions/).

## The $30,000 line does not save a small sub

Subdivision (o) of section 1777.5 carves out two kinds of contract under $30,000: a general contractor's contract, and a specialty contractor's contract that was not bid through a general or prime contractor. A subcontractor working under a prime is in neither group. Subdivision (d) says "contractor" includes "any subcontractor under a contractor who performs any public works not excluded by subdivision (o)." DIR says it plainly: the duty applies to all contractors and subcontractors on a project, even if their part is less than $30,000.

Say you hold a $22,000 electrical subcontract on a $400,000 city job. You owe the DAS 140, the DAS 142, and the ratio. The same $22,000 contract signed directly with the city, as a specialty contractor, sits inside the (o) carve-out. Other dollar lines are in [prevailing wage project thresholds](https://wellstanding.com/guides/prevailing-wage-project-thresholds/).

## Who does not have to hire apprentices

DIR lists most of these in the DAS FAQ and in its [eCPR FAQ](https://www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/ecprfaq.html). Where a row rests on the statute or on a different DIR page, the row says so.

| Exemption | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| Small direct contract | A general contractor with a contract under $30,000 (both FAQs). Section 1777.5(o) also names a specialty contractor not bidding through a general or prime contractor, with a contract under $30,000. |
| Craft is not apprenticeable | The craft is not an apprenticeable occupation as section 1777.5(d) defines it. [DIR says](https://www.dir.ca.gov/public-works/apprentices.html) the prevailing wage determination for your craft indicates this. |
| Sole proprietor working alone | A sole proprietor licensee who employed no workers and did the whole job alone (eCPR FAQ). |
| Federal job, no state or local money | Exempt unless a state agency administers it, in which case the requirements apply (DAS FAQ). |
| Not public works | A private project outside the Labor Code definition of public works (DAS FAQ). |

An individual contractor certificate under subdivision (j) or a program certificate under subdivision (k) relieves you from the ratio alone. For some crafts and regions DAS has also issued [minimum ratio letters](https://www.dir.ca.gov/das/RatioExemption.htm) that state the ratio as a headcount instead of hours. Operating Engineers: 1 apprentice per 4 journeymen in Northern California, 1 per 5 in Southern California. Teamsters in Southern California: 1 per 5. Laborers follow separate letters for each region, covered next. Read the letter for your craft and region. You still send the DAS 140. That page is dated April 2017, so confirm a letter is current.

The Laborers rule differs by region, and the letters set it, not the summary page. In Northern California, the [DAS letter of July 25, 2014](https://www.dir.ca.gov/das/RatioLNOR.pdf) says participating contractors employing four or fewer journey-level Laborers on a public works jobsite "shall not be required to hire an apprentice; however, the fifth (5th) Laborer employed shall be an apprentice." In Southern California, the [Laborers Southern California exemption form](https://www.dir.ca.gov/das/RatioLSO.pdf) says no apprentices are required on any day when there are three or fewer laborer journeypersons on a public works project, and the employer "must have an apprentice on any day where there are more than three journeypersons." So the first apprentice is due at the fifth Laborer in Northern California and at the fourth in Southern California.

Neither exemption is open to everyone. The Northern California letter covers affiliated employers approved to train apprentices by the Northern California Laborers Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee. The Southern California exemption covers only eligible participating contractors that appear on the list the Laborers Southern California Apprenticeship Program gave the Administrator of Apprenticeship, and the Program signs the form while the Administrator approves it. The 2012 form text says the Program issues it for no more than one year at a time, but the list at the end of the same PDF, printed 07/09/2026, shows terms running 07/01/2026 to 06/30/2030. Look for your company on that list and confirm with the Program. A contractor outside those groups is not covered.

DAS says none of these gets you out of it: a job under 40 hours, a non-union shop, or workers from a temp agency.

## How the 1 to 5 ratio works

Subdivision (g) sets the floor: never less than one hour of apprentice work for every five hours of journeyman work. Subdivision (h) leaves out journeyman hours beyond eight a day or 40 a week, and has you reach the apprentice hours before the end of your contract, or your subcontract. DAS counts it per craft, on straight time, at the end of the project. You cannot cover one craft with another craft's apprentices, and premium pay is not the same as overtime pay.

DIR's example: 100 journeyman hours in a craft means 20 apprentice hours in that craft. Here is the same math for a sub with two crafts (our illustration, not DIR's):

| Craft | Journeyman hours worked | Beyond 8 a day or 40 a week | Hours that count | Apprentice hours needed |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Craft A | 700 | 60 | 640 | 128 |
| Craft B | 150 | 0 | 150 | 30 |

Check your own numbers in the [apprentice ratio calculator](https://wellstanding.com/tools/apprentice-ratio-calculator/). Only apprentices registered with an approved program count, and you pay them the prevailing apprentice rate (section 1777.5(b) and (c)). A relative or employee still learning the trade does not count unless a program registered them.

## What to send, and when

1. **Find the programs.** DAS has a [search by county and craft](https://www.dir.ca.gov/databases/das/pwaddrstart.asp). If you are not already approved to train, you send to every program that covers the jobsite, for each craft.
2. **Send the DAS 140.** You complete and sign it, then send it to the programs, not to DAS; both forms say so. A written notice with the same information also meets 8 CCR 230.
3. **Send the DAS 142.** It must be in writing, sent by first class mail, fax, or email, one craft per form. The form is optional under 8 CCR 230.1(a), so a written request with the same information works. If a program sends nobody, ask the others and keep every reply. Step 4 adds the mailing rules.
4. **Keep proof.** [8 CCR 229(d)(1)](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/229.html) applies to both the DAS 140 notice and the dispatch request. If you mail one, it calls for first class and certified mail, return receipt requested, and you keep the postal receipts. For fax, keep the confirmation that it was received and the date. For email, keep the dated email. In a review of a penalty you carry the burden of proving the notice was on time (8 CCR 229(d)(2)).
5. **Report your hours.** Within 60 days after you finish, section 1777.5(e) has you send the program a verified statement of journeyman and apprentice hours, and the awarding body too if it asks.

Late paperwork does not repair a miss. DAS says forms sent after the project ends still leave you out of compliance. For counting penalty days under [Labor Code section 1777.7](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1777.7), [8 CCR 230](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/230.html) treats contract award information that you knew about and did not provide as a continuing violation until the awarding body files a Notice of Completion. Form details: [DAS 140 and DAS 142 guide](https://wellstanding.com/guides/das-140-142/).

## What skipping it costs

If the Labor Commissioner finds a knowing violation, [Labor Code section 1777.7](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1777.7) sets a penalty of up to $100 for each full calendar day. A second or subsequent knowing violation within three years rises to up to $300 a day if the noncompliance results in apprenticeship training not being provided as the chapter requires. Those are ceilings: 60 days at the first rate is at most $6,000. From January 1, 2027, SB 909 raises the $100 and $300 ceilings to $140 and $420 ([what SB 909 changes](https://wellstanding.com/guides/sb-909-prevailing-wage-penalty-increases-2027/)). The Commissioner can reduce the amount or, on a first violation with a program's concurrence, order equivalent apprentice work instead. A knowing, serious violation can also bar you from public works contracts for up to one year, or up to three years for a second or subsequent violation, under [Labor Code section 1777.1(d)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1777.1).

Your general contractor is watching too. Under section 1777.7(e), a prime avoids penalty for your violation only if it did not know of it and did four things: put copies of Labor Code sections 1771, 1775, 1776, 1777.5, 1813 and 1815 in your subcontract, monitor your apprentice use including your certified payroll, take corrective action when it sees a shortfall (which can include retaining funds due to you until the shortfall is corrected), and get a signed declaration under penalty of perjury before final payment that you employed the required apprentices. Expect that request. See [flow-down clauses](https://wellstanding.com/guides/subcontractor-flow-down-clause/) and [GC liability for sub violations](https://wellstanding.com/guides/general-contractor-liability-subcontractor-violations/).

## Where apprentices show up in your payroll

[Labor Code section 1776](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1776) has you keep the work classification, straight time and overtime hours each day and week, and pay for each journeyman, apprentice, and worker, so the hours the ratio needs are hours you already report ([Labor Code 1776 explained](https://wellstanding.com/guides/california-labor-code-1776/)).

WellStanding is a done-for-you filing service. WellStanding prepares the federal [WH-347](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/forms/wh347) 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. That follows [Labor Code section 1776(a)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1776), which has each payroll record verified by a written declaration under penalty of perjury, and [8 CCR 16401(b)](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/16401.html), whose certification wording is signed by someone with authority to act for the contractor (see [who signs certified payroll](https://wellstanding.com/guides/who-signs-certified-payroll-california/)). We do not prepare or send the DAS 140 or DAS 142. Those go from you to the apprenticeship programs ([DAS 140 and DAS 142 guide](https://wellstanding.com/guides/das-140-142/)). 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

Do I have to hire apprentices on a California public works job?**

Usually, yes, if you employ workers in an apprenticeable craft. Section 1777.5 requires one apprentice hour for every five journeyman hours, and DIR applies the duty to contracts of $30,000 or more.

Is a subcontractor under $30,000 exempt from hiring apprentices?**

Not because of its own contract size. Subdivision (o) names general contractors and specialty contractors not bidding through a prime. DIR says the duty applies to subcontractors even when their part of the project is under $30,000.

Does overtime count toward the 1 to 5 ratio?**

No. Section 1777.5(h) excludes journeyman hours beyond eight a day or 40 a week, and DAS says only straight time hours count. Premium pay is not overtime pay, so check which hours your pay rules call overtime.

What if the apprenticeship program has no one to send?**

Under 8 CCR 230.1(a), if no committee agrees to dispatch within 72 hours (not counting Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays) of your written request, you are not in violation for the rest of the project. That holds only if you agreed to employ and train apprentices under the committee's standards or the CAC regulations (the boxes on the DAS 140), you requested dispatch from each committee in the geographic area, and your request was early enough to meet the ratio. If a committee sends fewer than you asked for, you comply by employing those sent, provided you requested dispatch from all committees that train the craft in the area of the jobsite. You cannot know a program is unwilling until you ask, so ask every one. Keep every reply.

Can I send the DAS 140 and DAS 142 after the job is done?**

You can, but DAS says late forms do not remove or reduce penalty exposure if a complaint is filed. Send both on time.

## Sources

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

1. [Labor Code section 1777.5](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1777.5) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
2. [public works contracts of $30,000 or more](https://www.dir.ca.gov/public-works/apprentices.html) dir.ca.gov
3. [8 CCR 230](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/230.html) dir.ca.gov
4. [8 CCR 230.1](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/230_1.html) dir.ca.gov
5. [Labor Code section 1777.7](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1777.7) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
6. [SB 909](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB909) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
7. [Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) FAQ](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/PublicWorksFAQ.html) dir.ca.gov
8. [DAS 140](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/DASForm140.pdf) dir.ca.gov
9. [DAS 142](https://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/DASForm142.pdf) dir.ca.gov
10. [eCPR FAQ](https://www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/ecprfaq.html) dir.ca.gov
11. [minimum ratio letters](https://www.dir.ca.gov/das/RatioExemption.htm) dir.ca.gov
12. [DAS letter of July 25, 2014](https://www.dir.ca.gov/das/RatioLNOR.pdf) dir.ca.gov
13. [Laborers Southern California exemption form](https://www.dir.ca.gov/das/RatioLSO.pdf) dir.ca.gov
14. [search by county and craft](https://www.dir.ca.gov/databases/das/pwaddrstart.asp) dir.ca.gov
15. [8 CCR 229(d)(1)](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/229.html) dir.ca.gov
16. [Labor Code section 1777.1(d)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1777.1) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
17. [Labor Code section 1776](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1776) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
18. [WH-347](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/forms/wh347) dol.gov
19. [8 CCR 16401(b)](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/16401.html) dir.ca.gov

## Related

- [DAS 140 and DAS 142, explained](https://wellstanding.com/guides/das-140-142/)
- [Apprentice ratio calculator](https://wellstanding.com/tools/apprentice-ratio-calculator/)
- [CAC training fund contributions](https://wellstanding.com/guides/cac-training-fund-contributions/)
- [Subcontractor flow-down clauses](https://wellstanding.com/guides/subcontractor-flow-down-clause/)
- [GC liability for sub violations](https://wellstanding.com/guides/general-contractor-liability-subcontractor-violations/)
- [Is my project public works?](https://wellstanding.com/guides/is-my-project-public-works-california/)