Late or missed New Jersey certified payroll: exposure and how to catch up
This page reads the Prevailing Wage Act and its regulations as NJDOL's compilation prints them, with NJDOL's Wage Hub page and contractor user guide (March 6, 2026). Checked November 4, 2026. This is not legal advice.
Last reviewed against the sources it cites
The short answer
New Jersey requires each certified payroll within 10 days of the date wages were paid, to the public body and to NJDOL online. The Act's general criminal and administrative penalty clauses reach any violation on their face, but no source states a penalty schedule or dollar amount specific to a late payroll. Submit every missed period now, then ask the contracting body and NJDOL how to handle the gap. Nothing published says catching up avoids a penalty.
- N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.29(b)(2) requires certified payroll records each payroll period within 10 days of the date wages were paid to a worker, sent to the public body and to NJDOL through its website.
- Section 56.35(a) makes failing to keep records or otherwise violating the Act a disorderly persons offense (fine of $100 to $1,000, 10 to 90 days in jail, or both), while N.J.A.C. 12:60-8.2(b) limits the same range to a "knowingly and willfully" violation of its chapter.
- The stop-work provision in section 56.35(d) is written around paying less than the applicable rate, while Local Finance Notice 2024-18 of November 22, 2024 reminds public bodies that stop work orders may be issued on any prevailing wage project that is not compliant.
- N.J.A.C. 12:60-7.4(e) sets debarment at three years, and 12:60-7.3(b) ties it to failing or refusing to pay the prevailing wage rate, while NJDOL's public works FAQ says contractors who violate the Act "may be prohibited from engaging in future public works projects."
- N.J.A.C. 12:60-8.3 caps administrative penalties at $2,500 for a first violation and $5,000 for later ones and lists the factors for setting one, so no amount for one late payroll is stated.
- N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.56(b) lets the commissioner deny renewal, revoke or suspend a contractor's registration for not more than five years after notice and a chance to request a hearing, and N.J.A.C. 12:62-2.6(b) gives 10 business days from receipt of that notice to request one.
The rule: 10 days from payday
N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.29(b)(2) requires certified payroll records to go to the public body and to NJDOL through its website "each payroll period within 10 days of the date on which the wages were paid to a worker." The clock runs from payday, not the week ending date. N.J.A.C. 12:60-5.1(c) (Subchapter 5) and item 5 of Form MW-562 repeat the 10 days.
Two copies are due. Under section 56.29(b)(3), online submission "does not relieve the contractor" of submitting to the public body, and per NJDOL's public works FAQ, giving payroll to the prime does not meet a subcontractor's duty.
Online submission became mandatory on August 15, 2024, per NJDOL's July 17, 2024 press release and Local Finance Notice 2024-18 (November 22, 2024). NJDOL's Wage Hub page says P.L. 2023, c.138 was enacted on August 16, 2023 and took effect 365 days after enactment, so the "As of August 2023" on NJDOL's public works page matches the enactment month, not the effective date. Section 56.29 states no grace period.
What the Act says can happen
The consequences below come from general penalty clauses, regulations and a state notice, and some target underpayment, not late filing.
| Consequence | Where | What the text says |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal charge | 56.35(a) and 12:60-8.2(b) | An employer who "fails to make, keep, and preserve any records as required" or "otherwise violates any provision of this act" commits a disorderly persons offense: a fine of $100 to $1,000, 10 to 90 days in jail, or both. The regulation limits that range to an employer who "knowingly and willfully violates any provision of this chapter"; the records and catch-all clauses of 56.35(a) carry no "knowingly and willfully" qualifier, though its first clause, on hindering or delaying the commissioner, uses "willfully." |
| Administrative penalty | 56.35(b) and 12:60-8.3 | Up to $2,500 for a first violation and $5,000 for each later one, weighing past violations, seriousness, good faith and business size. |
| Stop-work order | 56.35(d) and LFN 2024-18 | The statute's text covers an employer found paying less than the applicable rates. The notice reminds public bodies that stop work orders "may be issued on any prevailing wage project that is not compliant with either law": the Prevailing Wage Act and the Public Works Contractor Registration Act (the "Registration Act"). |
| Debarment, three years | 12:60-7.4(e), 12:60-7.3 and 56.56(a) | The regulation says debarment "shall be for a period of three years" and allows it after a finding that a person failed or refused to pay the prevailing wage rate. NJDOL's summaries read broader than that trigger: its public works FAQ says contractors who violate the Act "may be prohibited from engaging in future public works projects," and its public works page lists "debarment from bidding and working on public works projects for three years for those contractors determined to be serious offenders." Among the factors for deciding whether to debar, 12:60-7.3(c)(6) lists "Failure to respond to a request to produce records, forms, documents, or proof of payments." For failing to "make, keep, and preserve any records" the Prevailing Wage Act requires, the Registration Act's section 56.56(a) sets, on conviction, a $2,500 to $25,000 fine and up to three years' disqualification from public work. |
| Registration action | 56.56(b) and 12:62-2.4 (Subchapter 2) | After notice and a chance to request a hearing, the commissioner may "Deny renewal, revoke or suspend the registration of a contractor for a period of not more than five years." The regulation lists "Failed to respond to a request to produce records, forms or documents" as a ground, and allows action, "depending on the nature and severity of the violation," for violating the Registration Act or its rules or for having "failed to comply with the labor laws of New Jersey," other states' or federal labor law, or an order of the Commissioner. |
| Workplace Accountability in Labor List (the WALL) | LFN 2024-18 | The notice says the list covers any person "found in violation of any State wage, benefit, and tax laws and against whom a final order has been issued," and that a person on it "is prohibited from contracting with any public body" until the liability is resolved to NJDOL's satisfaction. The notice does not say a late payroll leads to a final order. |
What no source states
As of November 4, 2026, no late-filing penalty schedule or amount for one late certified payroll appears in the Act, the regulations, or the NJDOL pages and state notice read for this page. Section 56.35(b) refers to a "schedule of penalties" set by rule, but 12:60-8.3 gives two ceilings and factors, not a schedule.
Nothing published says whether each late payroll is its own violation, whether a payroll made and kept but submitted late counts as failing to "make, keep, and preserve" records, or that catching up avoids a penalty.
How to catch up, in order
- List every pay date since the project began. Compare it with the Certified Payroll Submission History table in your Wage Hub account (user guide). NJDOL can't manually confirm submissions and says successful ones "will be listed in your dashboard," so keep your dashboard and confirmation emails as your record.
- Find out why the gap exists. NJDOL's April 14, 2026 update says subcontractors cannot add themselves to a project, so ask the prime to add it and you. The Wage Hub FAQ says that if the prime does not register the project, you submit payrolls to the public body "in the same manner which was used prior to the establishment of the Wage Hub." That answer is undated and does not mention the NJDOL copy that section 56.29(b)(2) requires, and the same FAQ says submitting to both the Wage Hub and the public body "is required by statute." Do not rely on a public body submission alone. Email NJDOL at njwagehubinfo@dol.nj.gov to ask how to file the department copy.
- Rebuild each period from your own records, which the Act requires you to keep for two years from payment. Prepare one MW-562 per week ending date, certify what the records support and no more, and use the real signing date.
- Mark idle weeks. The MW-562 (2/25) has a No Work Week box, and the user guide and FAQ treat a no-work week as a payroll you submit with the box ticked: "To report a 'No Work Week', check the box." No source read states a rule requiring one, so ask in step 6.
- Submit each period. A submitted payroll cannot be edited and is time and date stamped, so correct one by resubmitting with the same week ending date. See our Wage Hub guide, MW-562 guide and login troubleshooting.
- Contact the contracting body and NJDOL. Say which periods you are submitting late and ask how to handle the gap. Ask the public body what format and signature it wants, because the sources differ. The press release says hard copy. Section 56.29(b)(3) says the public body and the department "shall be entitled to original, unredacted certified payroll submissions," without saying paper. The MW-562 header says you "must also submit this form to the appropriate public body or lessor, either via the NJ Wage Hub or other methods," which treats the Wage Hub as one route to the public body copy, and the user guide says a submitted payroll is "visible to the contracting agency" and that an email notification goes to the prime contractor and the public body. NJDOL's undated public works FAQ says an original signature "is required on the payroll filed with the public body," yet Form MW-562 item (6) and the user guide (March 6, 2026) have you check a box stating that an electronic signature "has the same legal effect as a written signature." NJDOL's Public Contracts Section: (609) 292-2259, wage.hour@dol.nj.gov (public works page).
If you receive a notice or a records request
Deadlines differ by notice type, and some are short. If your notice prints a different deadline, act on the earlier date and ask the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance to confirm.
| Notice | Time limit |
|---|---|
| Administrative penalty, by certified mail | The sources differ: 15 days after receipt (56.35(b)), 15 working days (12:60-8.3(b)) or 15 business days (12:60-8.6(a)). For a penalty on a registered contractor, 12:62-2.6(b) gives 10 business days from receipt, and 12:62-2.6(d) calls that a "10 day time limit." Use the shortest period the notice prints. If it prints none, count 10 days from receipt. |
| Registration denial, suspension or revocation | "10 business days from the date of receipt of the notice" to request a hearing (12:62-2.6(b)). |
| Immediate registration suspension, or suspension pending debarment | 72 hours from receipt to ask for a hearing or contest it (56.56(c), 12:60-7.3(e)). |
| Notice of intent to debar | Appeal "within 15 days of the date of the notice of intent to debar," counted from the notice date, not receipt (12:60-7.4(a)). |
| NJDOL records request | Produce the records within 10 days of receipt (56.31(d)). If you do not, NJDOL may direct the public body to withhold up to 25% of what it owes you, up to $100,000, until you do (12:60-5.1(b)). |
Talk to a New Jersey attorney if rebuilding your payroll shows a worker paid below the rate, which the section 56.35(d) stop-work provision and the debarment regulation are written around (LFN 2024-18 and NJDOL's FAQ read broader), or if a notice mentions a hearing, suspension, debarment, stop-work, the WALL or an Attorney General referral (section 56.35(c)).
Help with the paperwork
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Questions
Is there a fine for one late payroll?
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The Wage Hub does not show my project. What do I do?
The job is also federal. Does this page cover that payroll?
Sources
Every figure on this page links to its source where it first appears. The full list, in order:
- Prevailing Wage Act and its regulations nj.gov
- Wage Hub page nj.gov
- contractor user guide nj.gov
- 10 days of the date wages were paid nj.gov
- general criminal and administrative penalty clauses nj.gov
- N.J.A.C. 12:60-8.2(b) nj.gov
- Local Finance Notice 2024-18 nj.gov
- N.J.A.C. 12:60-7.4(e) nj.gov
- 12:60-7.3(b) nj.gov
- public works FAQ nj.gov
- N.J.A.C. 12:60-8.3 nj.gov
- N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.56(b) nj.gov
- N.J.A.C. 12:62-2.6(b) nj.gov
- Form MW-562 nj.gov
- NJDOL's July 17, 2024 press release nj.gov
- public works page nj.gov
- can't manually confirm nj.gov
- Wage Hub FAQ nj.gov
- 12:60-8.6(a) nj.gov
- 56.31(d) nj.gov