Hawaii certified payroll: who gets it, how often, and what a miss costs
This page draws on the DLIR Wage Standards Division's Chapter 104 summary (Rev. 05/24), Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 12-22 as DLIR posts it (effective July 23, 2018), and the DAGS Public Works Division forms page.
Last reviewed against the sources it cites
The short answer
On Hawaii State or county public works jobs over $2,000, send certified payroll for each week of work to the contracting agency (not DLIR), except possibly special purpose revenue bond projects, which older DLIR guidance sends to DLIR. DLIR requires no standard form but each payroll needs a signed Statement of Compliance and every required item. The general contractor is responsible for subcontractors' payrolls. DAGS contracts may add a seven-day deadline plus electronic filing and no-work-week payrolls.
- HAR 12-22-10(d) has the contractor submit a copy of all certified payrolls to the contracting agency for each week in which construction work is performed, and makes the general contractor responsible for its subcontractors' payrolls.
- DLIR's FAQ (Publication H104-2, 2/2026) says no standard form is required for certified payrolls: any form works if it has all the required information and is certified.
- DAGS's Interim General Conditions, 1999 edition, which DAGS still lists on its forms page, set a seven-calendar-day deadline in section 7.9.1 for a certified copy of each weekly payroll after the weekly payroll period ends.
- DLIR's Chapter 104 summary (Rev. 05/24) sets a penalty of $10,000 per project plus $1,000 per day for interference or delay, which includes not providing requested records within 10 days.
If a payment is held or DLIR wants your records, start with what a miss costs.
Who gets the payroll
The contracting agency gets it, and in most cases not DLIR. HAR 12-22-10(d) has the contractor submit certified payrolls to that agency for each week in which construction work is performed, and makes the general contractor responsible for every subcontractor's payroll. The rules define the term only by pointing to HRS 104-1 and 104-2, which this page could not read. DLIR's own FAQ uses it for a State or county body, and the table below follows that usage. One older DLIR source, the Act 10 guidance, sends projects funded by a special purpose revenue bond (SPRB) to DLIR instead. DLIR's summary says Chapter 104 covers every public works construction project over $2,000. For other states, see the state-by-state table.
| Job owner | Where the payroll goes | What the sources say |
|---|---|---|
| DAGS Public Works Division | DAGS, as the project engineer instructs | DLIR's Act 10 guidance (text headed November 2009; the file name reads rev-02-11-13) says DAGS accepts only electronic filing, with filing instructions from the project engineer, and that subcontractors send theirs to the general contractor. The same guidance (Q7) says the first Statement of Compliance filed electronically must also go in hard copy, and the DAGS form asks, if you sign electronically, for inked and electronic signatures on the initial submittal. This page cannot tell if DAGS still requires that; ask the project engineer. |
| Another State agency, or a county | The agency named in your contract | HAR 12-22-10(d) names the contracting agency as the recipient, and the Act 10 guidance (Q1c) says, for other contracting agencies, ask the agency. HDOT's Highways forms page carried no payroll instruction when read for this page; it lists the FHWA 1391 EEO report. |
| A project funded by a special purpose revenue bond (SPRB) | Unclear: older DLIR guidance says DLIR by email; the current FAQ gives no SPRB instruction | The Act 10 guidance (text headed November 2009), Q1b and Q2b, says payrolls for projects funded by a special purpose revenue bond (SPRB) go to DLIR by email. It says nothing about projects funded by other bonds. The current FAQ (2/2026) sends payrolls to the contracting agency and is silent on SPRB projects, though its definition of public work lists special purpose revenue bonds. The one rule found that addresses SPRB payroll records, HAR 12-22-76(b)(1), requires SPRB construction agreements to say the project party or its contractor is responsible for payroll records and Chapter 104 compliance. It names no recipient. The sources do not settle it. Ask DLIR's Wage Standards Division at (808) 586-8777 and keep the answer in writing. |
| Federal construction | Federal rules, not Chapter 104 | The FAQ says Davis-Bacon covers federal projects, and Chapter 104 still applies when the State or a county is the contracting agency. For the federal form, see the WH-347 guide; for highway work, the FHWA-1273 page. |
| Service contracts under HRS 103-55 | Not stated | A State Procurement Office circular of March 31, 2021 says Act 219 (2019) added certified payroll reporting requirements and sends questions to DAGS. It gives no destination or frequency. |
How often, and which clock applies
Weekly. HAR 12-22-10(d) and DLIR's FAQ set no day count for getting the payroll in. DAGS sets one in its documents, and the two documents differ:
- The Interim General Conditions, 1999 edition (first printed March 2000), section 7.9.1, if your contract incorporates them, require a certified copy of each weekly payroll within seven calendar days after the end of the weekly payroll period. A late payroll is cause for disqualification from bidding.
- The DAGS payroll form (instructions sheet marked revised 06/01/10; payroll sheet stamped v20210224) says payroll affidavits must be submitted on time and gives no day count. Its one waiver covers monthly estimates for payment, where submission up to a month in arrears is allowed; later pay requests carry a deduction for affidavits not submitted on time.
On a DAGS job, work to the seven-day clock in your contract. On other jobs, ask the contracting agency for its cutoff.
A week with no work
The rule asks for a payroll for each week in which construction work is performed. On a DAGS job, the DAGS form and the Act 10 guidance conflict on the Statement of Compliance for a week with no work:
- The DAGS form (instructions revised 06/01/10) asks for a numbered payroll with no employee payments for a non-working week. It also says a Statement of Compliance is submitted from the time you start work on the project until you leave it, whether or not work was done in a given week.
- The Act 10 guidance (text headed November 2009), Q8, says that for DAGS projects you submit a payroll anyway and follow DAGS's instructions, and that DAGS requires only a payroll, without a Statement of Compliance, for weeks of non-performance.
Neither document is clearly newer, and HAR 12-22-10(e) says each certified payroll submitted is accompanied by a Statement of Compliance. Get the project engineer's instruction on a no-work week in writing before you leave the statement off. On other jobs, ask the agency.
Do not confuse this with the pay clock: workers must be paid weekly, within five working days after the cutoff date. DLIR's March 2026 overview words the same deadline as five working days after the end of the pay period.
What a Hawaii payroll must show
DLIR's FAQ says any form works if it carries every required item and is certified. DLIR's Chapter 104 page links the DAGS "Statement of Compliance & DAGS-ECP for Payroll Affidavits" and calls it optional.
| Item | Hawaii detail |
|---|---|
| Hours, pay, deductions | Hours each day and week, straight-time, overtime and gross earnings, each deduction, net wages, and date paid (HAR 12-22-10(a)). |
| Classification | The title as the wage rate schedule lists it, such as Laborer I. The DAGS form (instructions revised 06/01/10) rejects a general title such as "Electrician" where the schedule says "Electrician, Wire Installer". If nothing fits, DLIR's FAQ (Q8) says to use the closest existing class and consult the contracting agency; for the federal route see our SF-1444 guide. |
| Fringe benefits | A form itemizing health and welfare, pension and annuity, vacation, training and other costs (Act 10, effective October 1, 2009), each as an hourly dollar rate. The same guidance (Q14), on the DAGS form, counts fringe paid in cash directly to an employee as basic hourly rate. |
| Apprentices | HAR 12-22-10(a)(4) lists a copy of the apprentice's DLIR registration among the required records. DLIR's March 2026 overview says it should be attached to the payroll, with the indenture date and current step given. |
| Numbering | Number payrolls from the first week, label the last one "final", and label corrections "amended" with a detailed reason (HAR 12-22-10(f), (g)). |
| Vendor code | The DAGS form calls it required in one place and optional in another. The Act 10 guidance (text headed November 2009) says it is for DAGS projects, assigned to the general contractor; subcontractors enter "not applicable". |
A Statement of Compliance goes with every payroll (HAR 12-22-10(e)); see the no-work week conflict above for DAGS jobs. It certifies correct and complete information, full weekly wages paid without rebate beyond lawful deductions, and at least the prevailing wage and fringe for the classification of work performed, as specified in the wage rate schedule applicable to the project at the time the work was performed. DLIR's FAQ (Q27) also has the signer attest that classifications conform with the work performed; the DAGS form says that too and adds that apprentices are registered. A wage rate increase the director issues in the schedule is "applicable during the performance of the contract", and rate changes are not retroactive: the effective date is the date of publication in the wage rate schedule (HAR 12-22-3(d), (f)).
Who signs, and where addresses and SSN digits go
The contractor or its designated representative signs the Statement of Compliance (HAR 12-22-10(e)). DLIR's overview says an authorized official, such as the owner, partner or corporate officer, should sign. On the DAGS form it is a certification under penalty of perjury. The certification stays the contractor's, whoever prepares the payroll.
The rules require each worker's home address and last four Social Security digits in your payroll records, and say the certified payrolls you submit must set out all the information required to be maintained (HAR 12-22-10(a)(2), (3), (d)). DLIR memo WSD 2017-01, dated July 10, 2017, says certified payrolls on public works contracts are open to public inspection except Social Security numbers and home addresses, which are confidential. It recommends that you submit those two items on a separate sheet from the payroll. The DAGS form requires it: names only on the payroll, with the address and last four digits on its Employee Information worksheet. On a non-DAGS job, ask the agency which layout it wants.
Owners who work with their hands go on the payroll. A DLIR memo of April 30, 2014, restating a 1987 policy, says an owner-operator doing laborer or mechanic work must be classified by that work, paid that wage, and listed weekly.
What a miss costs
DLIR issues a notice of violation when it finds a violation of Chapter 104 (HAR 12-22-25(a)). The agency can also act under the contract.
| What happened | What can follow |
|---|---|
| A DAGS payroll is late | The Engineer may retain payment, with no interest, for work whose payroll affidavits are late (general conditions 8.4.2). Settling the contract requires complete certified weekly payrolls from you and your subcontractors (7.33.1.2). |
| Requested records not produced, or employee interviews blocked | $10,000 per project, plus $1,000 for each day after that the contractor fails to comply, and immediate three-year suspension (HAR 12-22-26(a), (b), (d)). DLIR's summary counts failing to provide requested records or information within ten days as delay, and says the contracting agency withholds further payments until the delay ends. HAR 12-22-10(i) lets the director act to suspend further payment. |
| Records falsified | $10,000 per project and immediate three-year suspension (HAR 12-22-26(c), (d)). HAR 12-22-1 defines falsification as submitting inaccurate, misleading or incorrect payment information on a payroll, fringe benefit form or other required document that the contractor or its representative has certified as true and correct. The definition as written does not mention intent. Ask DLIR how it treats a good-faith error, and use an amended payroll under HAR 12-22-10(g) to correct one. The rule adds no daily amount for falsification, though DLIR's summary lists falsification among acts of interference or delay, so ask DLIR whether it will add one in your case. HAR 12-22-10(h) adds that falsification may bring civil penalties including suspension, or criminal prosecution, or both. |
| A required payroll is not submitted or kept | If a contractor fails to submit required records, the director may act to suspend further payment, and noncompliance may also be grounds for immediate suspension (HAR 12-22-10(i)). DLIR's summary says a contractor who fails to keep any required record is assessed a penalty including suspension (HRS 104-22(b), 104-25(a)(3)) but gives no separate amount for a missing payroll alone. Ask DLIR. |
| Workers underpaid, or another Chapter 104 violation | The agency may withhold payments, end your right to proceed, and hold you and your sureties for excess completion cost (DLIR's FAQ, Q31). The notice ladder in DLIR's summary, each tier whichever is greater: 25 percent of back wages or $250 per offense up to $2,500; then, within two years, the back wages or $500 per offense up to $5,000; then, within three years of the second, twice the back wages or $1,000 per offense up to $10,000, plus three years off new public work. The summary applies the ladder to any violation of the law, not only underpayment, and HAR 12-22-25(b) defines a first violation as a finding of failure to comply with Chapter 104. Neither says what a payroll-only violation with no back wages draws; ask DLIR. |
| A notice of violation arrives | It is final and conclusive 20 days after mailing unless you file a written appeal with the director, and penalties are due and payable within 20 days of the mailing (HAR 12-22-25(c), 12-22-26(e), 12-22-27(c)). The rules read for this page do not say whether an appeal stops that payment clock, and the appeal statute, HRS 104-23, could not be read. Ask DLIR before assuming an appeal pauses payment. |
| Who is named | Both the person and the firm are listed on each notice of violation, and DLIR orders the person or firm in violation to be jointly and severally liable for the penalty (Act 51, SLH 2023, as described in DLIR's March 2026 overview). "Person" includes a sole proprietor and the principal responsible managing employee that holds the firm's contractor license. |
| Suspension | DLIR's list as of April 20, 2026 names 14 persons or firms, for falsified records, delayed investigation, or unpaid back wages and penalties. |
Old copies still online show old penalties
HDOT hosts a copy of DLIR's summary marked Rev. 12/04 that shows a first-violation penalty of 10 percent of back wages or $25, and $1,000 per project for delay. Both differ from the current figures above, so check the revision line.
What this page could not read
The Hawaii legislature's statute site refused automated requests, so Chapter 104 section numbers here come from DLIR's publications and the rules, not the statute text. The Maui County and Hawaii County sites refused too, so no county procedure appears here.
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Sources
Every figure on this page links to its source where it first appears. The full list, in order:
- Chapter 104 summary labor.hawaii.gov
- Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 12-22 labor.hawaii.gov
- DAGS Public Works Division forms page ags.hawaii.gov
- older DLIR guidance labor.hawaii.gov
- no standard form labor.hawaii.gov
- seven-day deadline ags.hawaii.gov
- DAGS form ags.hawaii.gov
- Highways forms page hidot.hawaii.gov
- State Procurement Office circular of March 31, 2021 spo.hawaii.gov
- March 2026 overview labor.hawaii.gov
- Chapter 104 page labor.hawaii.gov
- DLIR memo WSD 2017-01 labor.hawaii.gov
- A DLIR memo of April 30, 2014 labor.hawaii.gov
- list as of April 20, 2026 labor.hawaii.gov
- Rev. 12/04 hidot.hawaii.gov