How much does certified payroll cost?

If you searched this because a general contractor or a project just handed you certified payroll to deal with, the number you want is the done for you price, and the one we can state is WellStanding's. WellStanding, a done for you certified payroll service for California public works, charges $995 one time for setup and then $249 a month flat for a crew of up to 25 workers, or $449 a month for 26 to 50 workers. It fills out the federal WH-347 where your job calls for it and files the California DIR eCPR for you. First filing free. That is WellStanding's own published price, and it is the number the rest of this page is built around. Other done for you options exist, such as the managed service that Points North describes, and the page we read for it shows no price.

The WH-347 is the Department of Labor's weekly certified payroll form for Davis-Bacon (federal or federally assisted) construction work, and DOL says use of the form itself is optional. If your job is not federal or federally assisted, the DOL requirement does not apply to it, and the California payroll record under Labor Code section 1776(a) is the one you keep.

Two other things share the same search term and cost something different: a personal payroll credential called Certified Payroll Professional from PayrollOrg, which does not file anything for your project, and compliance software you run yourself, where five of the seven vendors we checked showed no price on the pages we read. The table below sorts out which one you are actually asking about. To weigh outsourcing against doing it yourself or hiring, go to the worksheet below.

Three different costs, one search term

What WellStanding's done for you service costs, in full

WellStanding's $995 setup fee covers mapping your payroll export, your crafts, and your active projects once. After that, $249 a month is flat for a crew of up to 25 workers: every project, every weekly filing, the federal WH-347 and the California DIR eCPR, included. A crew of 26 to 50 workers is $449 a month, still flat, still everything. There is no per-project add on charge. The full breakdown of what is included each week is on the certified payroll service page.

Running more than one public works project at a time does not add a monthly charge; the flat fee covers your whole crew across every active project. If you are starting behind, behind on certified payroll covers how catching up works.

Worker count does move the price. The two tiers are up to 25 workers and 26 to 50 workers. A crew over 50 workers, or a prime contractor rolling up several subcontractors' filings, is quoted separately.

Doing it yourself: how long certified payroll takes

The only agency time estimate we found is the Department of Labor's. The Public Burden Statement on the current WH-347 (revised January 2025) reads: "We estimate that it will take an average of 55 minutes to complete this collection, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information."

Read that number with care. It is an average across everyone who files, not a measure of your crew, and more workers means more lines to enter and check. It covers the federal form only, and that form is for federal or federally assisted construction work, so the figure is a starting point only if you file the WH-347. DIR's pages on certified payroll reporting and the eCPR give no time estimate for the California side.

Your do-it-yourself worksheet

Where the break-even sits

This table fills in lines A through C with 55 minutes, 4 weeks a month, and no extra minutes. The 55 minute figure applies only when you file the WH-347, so the table fits federal or federally assisted jobs and not a state-only job. The last two columns give the hourly cost above which the flat price is cheaper.

With one project and the average WH-347 time, doing it yourself is cheaper unless an hour of your time is worth more than about $68. The flat fee does not change when you add a project and your hours do, so each added project, and each extra minute on line B, pulls the break-even down. The table leaves out the one time $995 setup. Missing a submission also has a price: $100 per day, up to $5,000 per project, levied once records are 14 days past due (Labor Code 1771.4(a)(3)(B) and (C); see the penalties guide).

Hiring someone instead

A hire turns the worksheet into a fixed cost: their loaded pay is due every month, whether or not you have public works payroll to file. Compare that number with WellStanding's $249 or $449 a month, not with the hours table. Neither Labor Code section 1776(a) nor the WH-347 asks for a payroll credential. And hiring does not move the signature. On a federal or federally assisted job, the WH-347 Statement of Compliance begins "I paid or supervised the payment of the laborers or mechanics," so the person who signs should be able to say that. A hire can prepare the record, and the contractor still signs, as it does when WellStanding prepares and files. See who signs certified payroll.

Certified payroll software cost, if you want to run it yourself

Buying software instead of a service is a real option, and it is covered in full on outsourcing certified payroll: your four options. On price specifically, we checked seven vendors on October 16, 2026. Two showed a price on the pages we read: one a company license for QuickBooks Desktop, another a per-report or per-plan fee for a contractor-side report generator. The other five showed no price on the pages we read, and some of those pages point to a demo or a quote form. The pricing roundup has per-vendor pages, and software vs service covers who produces, uploads, and signs.

The price on a software page is not the whole picture either. Vendor pages describe what the tool does: Miter says its reports generate "straight from payroll data, pre-filled and ready for submission," and LCPcertified describes "built-in validations and mathematical checks." Whichever tool you use, you still sign the certification yourself, and which one depends on the job. On a California public works job, each payroll record must contain or be verified by a written declaration made under penalty of perjury that the information is true and correct and that you have complied with Labor Code sections 1771, 1811, and 1815 (Labor Code section 1776(a)). On a federal or federally assisted job you also sign the Statement of Compliance on the WH-347 or on a document with identical wording. DOL's instructions say that statement need not be notarized and is subject to the penalties in 18 U.S.C. 1001, a fine, possible imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, and that the person signing should have knowledge of the facts represented as true. A done for you service has a person review every filing before you review it.

In house, software, or done for you, side by side

What a copy of your certified payroll records costs

This charge is not a filing fee, and it runs the other way: a requester pays you. A request from the public goes through the awarding body or the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, and if the records were not already furnished to one of them, the requester reimburses the cost of preparation before getting them (Labor Code section 1776(b)(3)). DIR's rule, 8 CCR 16402, sets the amounts: $1 for the first page of the payroll record and 25 cents for each page after that, plus $10 to the contractor or subcontractor for handling, paid in advance in cash, by check, or by certified money order.

A 12 page record is $1 plus $2.75 for the 11 added pages plus $10, or $13.75. The clock costs more: you have 10 days after a written request, and missing it forfeits $100 per worker per calendar day (section 1776(h)). From January 1, 2027, SB 909 raises this to $140 (what SB 909 changes). See the 10 day records request guide.

The other cost this is not: public works contractor registration

Certified payroll is not the only cost of being on a California public works job. Under Labor Code section 1725.5, a contractor, which includes a subcontractor, has to be registered with DIR to bid on, be listed in a bid proposal for, or work on a public works contract covered by that chapter. Subdivision (f) says the section does not apply to a project of $25,000 or less for construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work, or to a project of $15,000 or less for maintenance work. Registration is a separate fee: $400, $800, or $1,200 for one, two, or three fiscal years, according to DIR's own contractor registration page. That fee is separate from filing the certified payroll report itself. Details, renewal timing, and what a lapse costs are in our DIR contractor registration guide. Filing the eCPR itself carries no separate DIR charge that the agency's own eCPR FAQ describes.

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