FHWA-1391 report in 2026: is it still required, and how do you complete it?

Is the FHWA-1391 still required in 2026?

The regulation still describes the report, but State DOT notices for July 2026 conflict. Kentucky's memo of July 20 says KYTC will not collect the report, citing current FHWA direction, and NCDOT's undated page says FHWA will not require the 2026 Form 1392 and NCDOT will not collect 1391 data (see North Carolina). Caltrans (memo of June 15) and Oregon (bulletin of July 17) set August 14 (Oregon for its online form). Colorado (undated email) set August 28 (see Colorado), and Alaska (2026 instructions, whose footer reads "Updated on 06/26/2025") set September 4 (see Alaska).

Alaska's 2026 FHWA-1392 summary, dated October 1, 2026 and covering 133 projects, postdates Kentucky's memo, while NCDOT's page says FHWA will not require the 2026 Form 1392. No source read here explains the split, and FHWA's civil rights pages returned errors. Ask the DOT on your contract, or your prime, in writing whether and for which dates it will collect the report.

What the federal sources say

• The regulation. Section 230.121(a)(2) says each contractor and subcontractor subject to the part submits Form PR-1391 (FHWA's PDF calls it FHWA-1391) for every July in which work is performed, one report per covered contract or subcontract. Projects under 23 U.S.C. 117 are outside the subpart (section 230.105(a)(1)). Appendix A paragraph 10.c has the contractor submit the annual July report on Form PR-1391. The eCFR is current as of November 3, 2026.
• What FHWA said in 2026. FHWA's May 11, 2026 final rule removed the requirement to physically incorporate Form FHWA-1273 into contracts, effective June 10, 2026. The June 29 memo says the change does not exempt contractors from the underlying requirements. Neither names Form 1391. The memo calls the revised 1273 "dated May 11, 2026", while the form says "Revised June 25, 2026", the date this page uses.
• The contract form. Paragraph II.11.b of the October 23, 2023 FHWA-1273, as posted by Louisiana DOTD, told contractors to submit an annual July report on Form FHWA-1391. The June 25, 2026 edition no longer carries that text. FHWA's forms page still lists Forms 1391 and 1392 as of November 5, 2026. Our FHWA-1273 guide covers the rest.

What the FHWA-1391 is, and how it relates to certified payroll

It is an equal employment opportunity report, not a payroll. The form cites 23 U.S.C. 140a and 23 CFR part 230, and has 15 job categories, male and female counts by race and ethnicity, and apprentice and trainee tables, with no wage or hours columns. Certified payroll, covered in our WH-347 guide, is the separate weekly wage record.

How DOTs collect it

No 2026 notice from Connecticut, Oklahoma, Vermont, South Carolina or Hawaii was found.

How to complete it

Which pay period

Box 6 of the form says the last full pay period ending in July. Section 230.121(a)(2) says the data should reflect the work force on board during all or any part of the last payroll period preceding the end of the month. For 2026, Caltrans, South Dakota and Alaska used Sunday July 19 to Saturday July 25.

LCPtracker's help article (undated, with 2020 calendar examples) says that in its experience DOTs vary: some treat the phrase as one finite week, the last full payroll period in July, and others as each contractor's own last work week in July. The second reading resembles Montana's page (undated), "the last full week the contractor worked in July", and Wisconsin's, "last full week worked in July", though Wisconsin also names the week ending July 25, 2026. Your DOT's notice decides the dates.

Who reports

Section 230.121(a)(2) states no dollar figure. Elsewhere in subpart A, section 230.107(a) says subcontracts of $10,000 or more "(not including contracts for supplying materials)". Appendix A paragraph 1.c, the contract clause that carries paragraph 10.c, says subcontractors "holding subcontracts not including material suppliers, of $10,000 or more". Appendix G, which has Hometown or Imposed plan areas report July employment data on Form PR-1391, says the contractor and subcontractors "holding subcontracts, not including material suppliers, of $10,000 or more". Section 230.121(c)(2), also for those areas, says contracts or subcontracts exceeding $10,000.

DOT wording varies. Oregon, Alaska and the Caltrans memo say over or exceeding $10,000, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Connecticut say $10,000 or more, and Montana says where the prime contract is $10,000 or more. For exactly $10,000, follow your DOT's notice.

Steps

1. Get your DOT's notice and form.
2. Count heads, not hours. Start from each contract's payroll for the week. WisDOT says its AWP CRL report omits Official/Owner, Supervisor, Foremen/Women and Administrative, so you add them. LCPtracker has a page for what it calls non-prevailing wage workers. South Dakota includes company officials, supervisors and support staff who contribute to the project, even if off payroll, and Hawaii's 2013 instructions include officials and supervisors on the project a majority of the time. Leaving out home office staff is DOT instruction, not federal text: Connecticut (2024) and Hawaii say to omit them unless assigned exclusively to the project and on its payroll, and Vermont says "and/or" on its payroll.
3. Put each person in one printed job category and add none. Table A takes male and female counts by race and ethnicity and must balance. Tables B and C cover apprentices and trainees and must match, an error Oregon and Caltrans name.
4. Sign it. Your representative signs and dates boxes 8 and 9; box 10 is for the state highway official.
5. Keep your records. Appendix A paragraph 10.b says to keep its equal employment opportunity records three years following completion of the contract work. It does not name the 1391, so ask your DOT how long it wants your copy.

What happens if you miss it

Subpart A sets no penalty for a late or missing report. A contract that still carries the October 2023 FHWA-1273 treats a breach of II.11.b under Section I.3: it may be sufficient grounds for withholding progress or final payment, terminating the contract, suspension or debarment, or any other action the contracting agency and FHWA decide is appropriate. The June 25, 2026 edition keeps Section I.3 without the 1391 text.

Some DOTs act on their own. Caltrans's memo cites a progress pay deduction for a report that is missing, unsigned, illegible or incomplete. South Carolina's resident engineer may withhold project payment until reports are received. Connecticut's 2025 notice suggests holding July payment estimates if AWP payroll is not in by August 1.

When the next report falls

As plain date logic, July 31, 2027 is a Saturday, so a Sunday to Saturday pay week of July 25 to 31, 2027 sits wholly inside July.

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