Form A-1-131: California's public works payroll reporting form

Q: Where do I get form A-1-131?

DIR publishes the current PDF at dir.ca.gov . DIR's public works page also says copies may be procured at any office of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, or from the Division of Labor Statistics and Research, Attn: Prevailing Wage Unit, in San Francisco.

Form A-1-131 is the "Public Works Payroll Reporting Form" published by the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), the paper format tied to the certified payroll records law at Labor Code section 1776. It is not how you file the eCPR. DIR's forms page says the form or its elements will be required if the Labor Commissioner conducts an investigation.

Last reviewed October 16, 2026 against the sources it cites

The short answer

Form A-1-131 is DIR's Public Works Payroll Reporting Form, a paper format for the certified payroll records that Labor Code section 1776 requires. DIR's forms page says the form will not be used to satisfy the eCPR initial reporting requirement, and that the form or its elements will be required if the Labor Commissioner conducts an investigation. For records requested under section 1776, 8 CCR 16401(a) says the format is a form provided by the public entity, but the Labor Commissioner may require A-1-131 if a contractor does not comply.

Under Labor Code section 1776(c), unless records must be furnished directly to the Labor Commissioner electronically under section 1771.4(a)(3), certified payroll records must be on DLSE's forms or contain the same information as those forms.
For records requested under section 1776, 8 CCR 16401(a) says the format is a form provided by the public entity, and another format is accepted only if it contains all of the information section 1776 requires. If a contractor does not comply, DIR's public works page says the Labor Commissioner may require DIR's suggested format, Form A-1-131.
The eCPR duty under Labor Code section 1771.4(a)(3) runs at least once every 30 days while work continues and within 30 days after the last day of work, with a penalty of $100 for each day in violation, capped at $5,000 per project. The Labor Commissioner does not levy the penalty until the records are still not furnished 14 days after the 30 day deadline.
DIR's forms page says A-1-131 or its elements will be required if the Labor Commissioner conducts an investigation, and that the form will not be used to satisfy the eCPR initial reporting requirement. The Labor Commissioner's Public Works Manual says in sections 3.1.5 and 3.1.7 that the Labor Commissioner includes A-1-131 with its written requests for certified payroll records, and that the eCPR duty is separate from the 10 day duty to respond to a written request under section 1776(d).
Under section 1776(e)(2), copies of electronic certified payroll records do not satisfy requests from a multiemployer Taft-Hartley trust fund or a joint labor management committee. Records furnished to them must be on DLSE's forms or contain the same information.

What form A-1-131 is

Form A-1-131 is a single-page columnar payroll sheet, printed front and back, that DIR makes available as its suggested format for certified payroll records. Two rules sit behind it. The first is Labor Code section 1776(c): unless records must be furnished directly to the Labor Commissioner electronically under section 1771.4(a)(3), "the certified payroll records shall be on forms provided by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or shall contain the same information as the forms provided by the division." The second is the format rule for records requested under section 1776, in 8 CCR 16401(a). The format is a form provided by the public entity. Another format is accepted only if it contains all of the information section 1776 requires. If the contractor does not comply with section 1776, the Labor Commissioner may require DIR's suggested format, Form A-1-131. DIR's public works page states the same rule. Printed at the bottom of the current form is its revision line, "Form A-1-131 (New 2-80)."

A-1-131 is not a separate filing on top of certified payroll. It is one accepted paper shape for the record every California public works contractor already keeps. Labor Code section 1776(a) says each payroll record shows the name, address, social security number, work classification, straight time and overtime hours worked each day and week, and the actual per diem wages paid, and that it contains or is verified by a written declaration made under penalty of perjury. The A-1-131 form itself also has an hourly rate column and a signature line.

Where to get it

DIR publishes the current PDF directly at dir.ca.gov/dlse/forms/pw/dlseforma-1-131.pdf. DIR also lists it on its public works forms page. The DIR public works page and 8 CCR 16401(a) say copies may be procured at any office of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), or from the Division of Labor Statistics and Research, Attn: Prevailing Wage Unit, in San Francisco. Unlike the federal WH-347, for which DOL offers a web-based WH-347 form generator, DIR's pages list the A-1-131 PDF and paper copies from DLSE offices or the Prevailing Wage Unit. We found no DIR web form and no DIR Excel version of A-1-131 on those pages. Our Excel template is not a DIR form. It counts as another format under 8 CCR 16401(a) only if it contains all of the information section 1776 requires. The DIR PDF has interactive form fields, so it can be typed into directly in a PDF reader rather than printed and filled out by hand.

Form A-1-131, block by block

The header identifies the contractor and the job: name of contractor or subcontractor, address, contractor's license number, specialty license number, payroll number, the week ending date, self-insured certificate number, workers' compensation policy number, and the project or contract number and location. Below that, nine numbered columns repeat for each worker, in two rows, one for straight time (S) and one for overtime (O):

(1) Name, address, and social security number of employee. One combined field. DOL's WH-347 instructions use separate fields for last name, first name, and middle initial.
(2) Number of withholding exemptions. The WH-347 has no such column. In DOL's instructions, column 2 of the WH-347 is a "J" or "RA" entry for journeyworker or registered apprentice.
(3) Work classification. The Public Works Manual (October 2023, section 3.1, page 13) says the work classification is the craft classification, or type of work performed, as fixed by the Director and specified by title on the published prevailing wage determinations.
(4) Hours worked each day. Monday through Sunday, with a date row above the hours, split across the straight time and overtime lines.
(5) Total hours. One column, printed next to the daily hours in column (4).
(6) Hourly rate of pay. One rate column. DOL's WH-347 instructions split the WH-347 into 6A hourly wage rate, 6B total fringe benefit credit, and 6C payment in lieu of fringe benefits.
(7) Gross amount earned. Two sub columns, this project and all projects, for a worker with more than one job that week.
(8) Deductions, contributions, and payments. Thirteen labeled boxes: federal tax, FICA, state tax, State Disability Insurance, vacation and holiday, health and welfare, pension, training, fund administration, dues, travel and subsistence, savings, and an "other" line, plus a total. A footnote requires any other deduction or payment, whether or not a wage determination requires it, listed separately, on an extra sheet if needed.
(9) Net wages paid for the week, and check number.

The front page ends with a note that "CERTIFICATION MUST be completed," pointing to the back. The back is headed "Notice to Public Entity, for Privacy Considerations," and prints this instruction: "Fold back along dotted line prior to copying for release to general public (private persons)." The form gives no reason beyond that privacy label. Page 1 also has a vertical dashed line just right of columns (1) and (2), the name, address, social security number and exemptions columns. Separately, Labor Code section 1776(e)(1) says copies furnished to the public must be "marked or obliterated to prevent disclosure of an individual's name, address, and social security number." The certification is a fill-in perjury declaration: the signer gives their name and position, and certifies under penalty of perjury that the submitted records "are the originals or true, full, and correct copies of the originals which depict the payroll record(s) of the actual disbursements by way of cash, check, or whatever form to the individual or individuals named," followed by a date and signature line. A closing note lets a public entity require a stricter certification than this one.

How A-1-131 maps to the WH-347 and the eCPR

Subs doing federal Davis-Bacon work, or filing the state's electronic record, are tracking one set of payroll facts across three formats. Here is where each A-1-131 field lands in the other two, drawing on our WH-347 field by field guide and DIR eCPR system guide.

A-1-131 field	WH-347 equivalent	eCPR
(1) Name, address, SSN	1B to 1D: last name, first name, middle initial (1A is a sequential worker entry number, not a name field). 1E is a worker identifying number, the last four SSN digits or any other worker-specific identifier, since DOL's WH-347 instructions bar a full SSN. The WH-347 carries no worker address field at all.	Full name, street address, and the full nine-digit SSN, the opposite formatting rule on the SSN, under the eCPR XML schema, which requires a 9 digit SSN, an address (street, city, state, and zip), and a name field id in SSN::NAME format; see eCPR XML upload errors
(2) Withholding exemptions	No equivalent. DOL's WH-347 instructions list column 2 as "J" or "RA" and do not mention withholding exemptions.	A numWithholdingExemp element in the eCPR XML schema, which is not marked optional
(3) Work classification	Column 3, same concept	A free text classification field (1 to 300 characters) in the eCPR XML schema
(4), (5) Daily hours, total hours	Column 4 (days and hours) and column 5 (total hours)	Daily hours for the week ending date: straight time, overtime and doubletime hours
(6) Hourly rate	Split into 6A base rate, 6B fringe credit, 6C cash fringe	The eCPR XML schema has no separate hourly fringe-rate field; the only hourly-rate elements are straight time, overtime, and doubletime pay. Fringe contributions go in the deductionsContribPay block, in the same data structure as the tax withholdings, in the vacationHoliday, healthWelfare, pension, training, fundAdmin, dues, travelSubs, savings, and other elements. The schema does not state a unit for those elements, but DIR's eCPR FAQ answers it: deductions, contributions, and payments should be reported by the hour, not by pay period. The same FAQ says fringe you pay directly to the worker belongs in the hourly rate, with 0 in the box, while fringe you pay into a fund or to a committee stays out of the hourly rate and goes in the contribution boxes. That differs from the WH-347, where DOL's instructions make 6B and 6C weekly dollar totals, with the hourly credit rates on page 2 of that form.
(7) Gross, this project and all projects	7A this project, 7B all work that week	thisProject and allWork, the same split as columns 7A and 7B
(8) Deductions and contributions	Column 8, "Deductions for All Work," with a specified "other" line	The same categories in one deductionsContribPay block, plus a total and a notes field, in the eCPR XML schema
(9) Net wages, check number	Column 9, net pay	Net wages for the period, plus a required check number field (or CASH)
Back page perjury certification	Page two Statement of Compliance, which DOL's WH-347 instructions describe	The review and sign step inside the DIR portal, where DIR's Upload eCPR guide has the payroll submitter sign to acknowledge that all information is correct before submitting. The guide does not describe that acknowledgement as a declaration under penalty of perjury. The certification is always the contractor's under Labor Code section 1776(a) and 8 CCR 16401, and we never sign for you.

When the paper form still applies, and when the eCPR replaces it

On an ordinary registered California public works project, you are not sending DIR a scanned A-1-131. You are filing the eCPR, the electronic duty under Labor Code section 1771.4(a)(3), at least once every 30 days while work continues and within 30 days after the last day of work, with a penalty of $100 for each day in violation, capped at $5,000 per project. The Labor Commissioner does not levy the penalty until the records are still not furnished 14 days after the 30 day deadline. DIR's forms page says A-1-131 will not be used to satisfy the eCPR initial reporting requirement. See how to submit certified payroll to DIR. The eCPR duty is also separate from the duties in section 1776. The Labor Commissioner's Public Works Manual (October 2023, section 3.1.7) says a contractor that has furnished eCPRs is not excused from furnishing certified payroll records within 10 days after a written request under section 1776(d). A-1-131 can come up in these places:

A written records request under section 1776(d). Under section 1776(b) and (d), an employee, an awarding body representative, DLSE, or a member of the public through the awarding body or DLSE can ask for certified payroll records, and you file a certified copy within 10 days after receipt of a written request. The format is set by 8 CCR 16401(a): a form provided by the public entity. If you do not comply with section 1776, the Labor Commissioner may require A-1-131. The Public Works Manual (sections 3.1.5 and 3.1.7) says the Labor Commissioner's form letter requesting certified payroll records comes with blank copies of A-1-131, and that the Labor Commissioner includes A-1-131 in all of its written requests for certified payroll records. See our 10 day records request guide and the full Labor Code 1776 walkthrough for the redaction rules that apply first.
Two requesters the eCPR does not satisfy. Under section 1776(e)(2), copies of electronic certified payroll records do not satisfy requests from a multiemployer Taft-Hartley trust fund or a joint labor management committee. Records furnished to them must be on DLSE's forms or contain the same information, even from a sub filing eCPR every week.
An investigation, or a failure to comply with section 1776. The default format for a section 1776 request is the public entity's form. Under 8 CCR 16401(a), if a contractor does not comply with section 1776, the Labor Commissioner may require A-1-131. DIR's forms page adds that the form or its elements will be required if the Labor Commissioner conducts an investigation.

The federal WH-347 is a separate form. DOL's WH-347 page says use of the form itself is optional, and 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(B) says the required weekly certified payroll information may be submitted using Optional Form WH-347 or in any other format desired. See WH-347 vs eCPR for which projects owe which filing.

Questions

What is form A-1-131?

Form A-1-131 is DIR's "Public Works Payroll Reporting Form," a single-page paper format for certified payroll records tied to Labor Code section 1776. It is DIR's suggested format, which the Labor Commissioner may require if a contractor does not comply with the certified payroll records law, per 8 CCR 16401(a) and DIR's public works guidance.

Is form A-1-131 the same as certified payroll?

No. Certified payroll is the underlying record that section 1776(a) requires every contractor and subcontractor to keep: name, address, social security number, work classification, straight time and overtime hours worked each day and week, the actual per diem wages paid, and a written declaration made under penalty of perjury. A-1-131 is one accepted paper format for that record; an alternative containing the same information satisfies section 1776(c) just as well.

Do I still need form A-1-131 if I file eCPR?

Not for your Labor Commissioner filing, which runs through the electronic eCPR under section 1771.4(a)(3). DIR's forms page says A-1-131 will not be used to satisfy the eCPR initial reporting requirement. The eCPR does not replace your duty to respond to a written records request under section 1776(d). The format for that request is a form provided by the public entity under 8 CCR 16401(a), the Labor Commissioner may require A-1-131 if you do not comply, and the Public Works Manual says the Labor Commissioner includes A-1-131 with its written requests. An electronic copy does not satisfy a request from a Taft-Hartley trust fund or a joint labor management committee. Records furnished to them must be on DLSE's forms or contain the same information, under section 1776(e)(2).

What is the difference between A-1-131 and WH-347?

A-1-131 is a California form published by DIR and tied to Labor Code section 1776. The WH-347 is a federal payroll form published by the U.S. Department of Labor. DOL's WH-347 page says use of the form itself is optional, and 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(B) says the required weekly certified payroll information may be submitted using Optional Form WH-347 or in any other format desired. See WH-347 vs eCPR.

Where do I get form A-1-131?

DIR publishes the current PDF at dir.ca.gov. DIR's public works page also says copies may be procured at any office of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, or from the Division of Labor Statistics and Research, Attn: Prevailing Wage Unit, in San Francisco.

Is form A-1-131 available in Excel?

We found no DIR Excel version of A-1-131. DIR's forms page links the PDF, and DIR's pages list paper copies from DLSE offices or the Prevailing Wage Unit. Our Excel template is not a DIR form. Under 8 CCR 16401(a), another format is accepted only if it contains all of the information section 1776 requires.

What form does California use for certified payroll?

Contractors and subcontractors on projects covered by section 1771.4(a)(3) furnish their records to the Labor Commissioner electronically, as the eCPR, on DIR's website. A-1-131 is DIR's suggested paper format for the same records. It can come up in a section 1776 records request or an investigation, and an electronic copy does not satisfy a request from a Taft-Hartley trust fund or a joint labor management committee. Records furnished to them must be on DLSE's forms or contain the same information, under section 1776(e)(2).

Sources

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

Labor Code section 1776 leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
DIR's forms page dir.ca.gov
8 CCR 16401(a) dir.ca.gov
section 1771.4(a)(3) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
DIR's public works page dir.ca.gov
Public Works Manual dir.ca.gov
the current form dir.ca.gov
web-based WH-347 form generator dol.gov
DOL's WH-347 instructions dol.gov
eCPR XML schema dir.ca.gov
DIR's eCPR FAQ dir.ca.gov
DIR's Upload eCPR guide dir.ca.gov
29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(B) ecfr.gov