New Mexico certified payroll on public works over $60,000

If DWS or an agency has already contacted you

On probable cause of a violation, 11.1.2.15(C) NMAC has the director request or subpoena payroll and financial records from the prime or the subcontractor. You owe copies within 10 business days of receiving the written request or subpoena. If the director receives none, the director may suspend your LEF registration and order funds withheld from the prime; to reinstate it, submit a new registration and fee once you comply. Once DWS notifies the agency that records were not provided or a violation was not rectified, the agency must withhold enough payment to pay the workers until compliance is secured (11.1.2.16(A)).

How New Mexico certified payroll works, in order

The Act covers every contract or project over $60,000 that the state or a political subdivision is a party to for construction, alteration, demolition or repair, including painting and decorating, of public buildings, public works or public roads that use mechanics or laborers (section 13-4-11(A)). DWS's requirements sheet, printed in a 2020 Santa Fe County solicitation, says every subcontractor and tier, whatever its contract size, must pay prevailing wages and be listed, excluding professional services.

1. Register with DWS before you bid. Section 13-4-13.1 NMSA (2011 text) requires a contractor, prime or not, to be registered with the DWS division to bid over $60,000 or be considered for part of a project over that amount. An agency may not accept a prime's bid without proof of registration, and vocational classes in public schools and post-secondary institutions are exempt. 11.1.2.9(C)(7) calls this the "LEF registration" and requires it from the bid due date through the project; the statute sends the fees to the labor enforcement fund. DWS's sheet sends you to its Public Works and Apprenticeship Application (PWAA) to register.
2. Submit the statement of intent within 3 days of the award. 11.1.2.9(B)(6) has the agency write into your contract that you submit a signed statement of intent to pay prevailing wages and fringe benefits to the director, on a DWS form. The prime also gives the agency a subcontractor list and a statement for every tier.
3. Keep a numbered payroll every week, and submit it monthly and on request. 11.1.2.9(B)(7), (8) have the agency require every tier to keep certified weekly payrolls, numbered from one. Under 11.1.2.9(C)(3), you submit them, with a signed statement showing disbursement of all fringe benefits, to the contracting agency monthly, and to the director within 10 business days of a request by the director for an investigation or audit. The prime is responsible for submitting its subcontractors' copies.
4. Send the apprentice contribution record monthly (details below), and attach the contractor's certification of each apprentice's registration status to the first full payroll on which the apprentice appears (11.1.2.19(A)(4)).
5. Submit the affidavit of wages paid to the agency before final payment. That is your duty under 11.1.2.9(C)(5). The (B)(15) form covers wages, fringe benefits and subsistence and zone payments, is sworn under penalty of perjury, and is notarized. Keep payrolls and fringe benefit records at least 3 years from final payment (11.1.2.9(C)(6)).

Where the payroll goes, by job owner

What goes on the payroll, and which form

11.1.2.9(B)(8) has the agency require numbered payrolls showing classification, wage, fringe, subsistence and zone rates, daily and weekly hours by classification with actual overtime, itemized deductions, net wages and the state wage decision number. It also lists a statement of compliance, a fringe benefit statement when it applies, and an annualization of fringe benefit worksheet.

The rule says bid documents need not require a particular payroll form. The Santa Fe bid attached a Weekly Payroll form and a Payroll Statement of Compliance. DWS's website refused every request made for this page, so no DWS form numbers appear. For the federal form, see the WH-347 guide and which version to use.

Statement of intent: 3 days or 10?

A bid document is one contract only, so Santa Fe's 10 days binds that bidder, not every New Mexico contractor. Use the shortest deadline in your documents and ask the agency in writing where to send the form.

Apprentice contributions and the monthly statement

Under section 13-4D-4(B), the employer must agree to contribute to an approved apprentice program it participates in, or to the DWS public works apprentice and training fund, at the wage decision's rate. 11.1.3.9 NMAC (2014) requires a monthly record of contributions (project, wage decision number, week ending, employee name, hours and rate). If you pay into an approved program, send it to the DWS Public Works Unit by the 15th of the following month, with a copy of the check. If not, send a monthly check and the compliance statement to the DWS apprenticeship and training fund; the rule states no due day.

HB 270 (signed March 4, 2026) took effect July 1, 2026. The Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) analysis says the bill removes the exclusion that had exempted street, highway, bridge, road, utility and maintenance contracts from contributing. The 11.1.3 NMAC copy read predates HB 270.

What happens when something goes wrong

Before final enforcement action, the director must give notice of contemplated action at least 15 days ahead, and you may respond in writing (11.1.2.16(F)). Subsection J is an exception: with probable cause, the director may immediately certify to the contracting agency under section 13-4-14 NMSA and exercise the release of any assurance of payment. For the LEF suspension in 11.1.2.15(C), the rule states no notice period.

Appeal to the Labor and Industrial Commission: send a notice of appeal to the director within 15 days after the action and notice, then a statement and brief within 10 days after filing the appeal (11.1.2.17(B)(1), (2), amended June 21, 2022).

NMDOT federal-aid projects are a separate track

NMDOT's Labor Compliance Program page says LCPtracker is a paperless online system for entering certified payroll reports on federal-aid projects. State road contracts over $60,000 fall within section 13-4-11(A), so read your contract for which submissions it requires. See the FHWA-1273 guide and the state-by-state table.

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