--- title: OCPS for City of Los Angeles Certified Payroll: Get Access url: https://wellstanding.com/guides/ocps-city-of-los-angeles-certified-payroll/ description: OCPS is the City of Los Angeles certified payroll system. Get the two forms, the help desk email, and what the DIR eCPR exemption still leaves you owing. updated: 2026-10-16 type: guide publisher: WellStanding Certified Payroll --- # OCPS for City of Los Angeles certified payroll: what it is and how to get access OCPS is the Online Certified Payroll System that the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Contract Administration runs for its public works projects. You get a login by emailing two signed forms to the OCPS help desk, as the City's [Quick Start Guide](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/pdf/Quick_start_guide_2026.pdf) explains. Projects the City monitors are [exempt from direct DIR eCPR filing](https://www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/FAQ-certified-payroll-reporting.html), but that changes where your payroll goes, not whether you owe it. Last reviewed October 16, 2026 against the sources it cites The short answer OCPS is the Online Certified Payroll System run by the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Contract Administration. Contractors and subcontractors of any tier get a login by emailing a signed Request for Access form and a signed E-Signature Authorization form to ocps.help@lacity.org. - The City's [OCPS Quick Start Guide](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/pdf/Quick_start_guide_2026.pdf) says contractors awarded a project, and their subcontractors and employers of any tier, are given access to submit certified payroll records, after two forms are emailed to ocps.help@lacity.org. - The City's [Labor Compliance Manual](https://bca.lacity.gov/Uploads/labor/LABOR%20COMPLIANCE%20MANUAL.pdf), last revised May 2014, says certified payrolls go to the City weekly through OCPS with a Statement of Compliance signed electronically there. - The PIN you set in OCPS is your electronic signature, and the [E-Signature Authorization](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/pdf/ESignatureAuthorization-Rev2026-Fillable.pdf) says you will not delegate it or share it with anyone. - [DIR's certified payroll FAQ](https://www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/FAQ-certified-payroll-reporting.html) lists projects monitored by the City of Los Angeles legacy Labor Compliance Program as exempt from submitting certified payroll records to the Labor Commissioner. - The exemption is a power the Labor Commissioner holds under [Labor Code section 1771.4(b)(1)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB§ionNum=1771.4), and it applies to the project, not to your company. ## What OCPS is OCPS is the Online Certified Payroll System of the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Contract Administration (BCA). The [Quick Start Guide](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/pdf/Quick_start_guide_2026.pdf) says BCA developed a web-based application for submitting certified payroll records electronically. It says the contractor awarded a project, along with its subcontractors and employers of any tier, gets access, and can enter and store payroll records from any computer with internet access. The BCA Office of Contract Compliance runs the City's Labor Compliance Program. Its [program description](https://bca.lacity.gov/labor-compliance-program-description) says the Labor Compliance Section monitors Public Works projects and projects for Recreation and Parks, Harbor, Los Angeles World Airports, General Services, Library, Convention Center, Police, Fire, and the LA Zoo. If your project is for one of them, confirm in writing that the City is monitoring it, as the section below explains. For any other department, ask which channel applies. ### What the City requires through it The City's [Labor Compliance FAQ](https://bca.lacity.gov/labor-compliance-frequently-asked-questions) says certified payrolls are signed under penalty of perjury and are due weekly from the prime and from every subcontractor, owner-operator, vendor, and supplier who provides personnel to the job site. The [Labor Compliance Manual](https://bca.lacity.gov/Uploads/labor/LABOR%20COMPLIANCE%20MANUAL.pdf) adds that subs of any tier submit through OCPS, with a Statement of Compliance signed electronically there, and that the City may withhold contract payments from the prime if sub payrolls are missing. It also says to be ready to produce hard copies signed in ink. The manual was last revised in May 2014, so treat your contract as the final word. ## How to get access: two forms, one email The Quick Start Guide says you must submit two forms before you can log in. Use the copies on the [OCPS home page](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/). | Form | What it does | Who signs | | --- | --- | --- | | [Request for Access to Online Certified Payroll System](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/pdf/RequestForAccess-Rev2026-Fillable.pdf) (OCC3) | Gets each person you list a login ID and temporary password | Owner, partner, or executive officer on the contractor license | | [E-Signature Authorization](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/pdf/ESignatureAuthorization-Rev2026-Fillable.pdf) (OCC4) | Lets you certify payrolls electronically with a PIN | Same person | 1. **Collect the numbers the Request form asks for.** They include the project's OCPS work order number, the project's DIR registration number, the awarding department, your company's DIR registration number, your license number, and your Business Tax Registration Certificate number. For anything about the project you are unsure of, the form says to ask your prime contractor. See [how to find a DIR Project ID](https://wellstanding.com/guides/find-dir-project-id/) and [DIR contractor registration](https://wellstanding.com/guides/public-works-contractor-registration-dir/). 2. **Complete the Request for Access form.** Mark prime or sub, describe your scope of work, and list the employees you authorize, with their emails. 3. **Complete the E-Signature Authorization.** It asks for company details, a prime or subcontractor checkbox, and the signer's name and title. 4. **Sign both and email the scans together** to ocps.help@lacity.org, the help desk on the City's [OCPS contact page](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/contact.cfm). 5. **Wait for your login ID and temporary password.** The guide gives no turnaround time, so send the forms before your first payroll week. 6. **Log in and finish setup** at [ocps.bca.lacity.gov/login.cfm](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/login.cfm). The temporary password expires after your first successful login. The new password needs 8 or more characters with upper and lower case letters, a number, and a special character, and you pick a PIN of 4 to 6 digits. If the PIN field is missing, the guide says to submit the E-Signature Authorization, or to contact the Office of Contract Compliance if you already did. **One wrinkle on who signs.** The Quick Start Guide says an owner, partner, or executive officer listed on the license must sign both forms. The E-Signature form also allows an authorized employee with proof of authorization. If your owner cannot sign, ask the help desk first. ## Your PIN is your signature The E-Signature Authorization says the PIN you set in OCPS is your electronic signature, and you are as legally bound by it as by a handwritten one. You agree to keep it confidential, use it only yourself, not delegate or share it, and tell the BCA right away if it is lost or compromised. You also agree your company will use OCPS exclusively on City public works projects where certified payroll must be submitted electronically. Access stays live until you cancel it in writing, and the Request form makes updating it when a listed employee leaves your job. For signing across systems, see [who signs certified payroll in California](https://wellstanding.com/guides/who-signs-certified-payroll-california/). ## Exempt from eCPR does not mean exempt from certified payroll [Labor Code section 1771.4(a)(3)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB§ionNum=1771.4) generally requires each contractor and subcontractor to furnish payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner, electronically, through DIR's website. Subdivision (b)(1) lets the Labor Commissioner exempt a project when its awarding body has enforced an approved labor compliance program on all its public works projects, with limited exceptions, continuously since December 31, 2011. [DIR's certified payroll FAQ](https://www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/FAQ-certified-payroll-reporting.html) lists four legacy programs whose monitored projects are exempt: Caltrans, the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the County of Sacramento. DIR's [Labor Compliance Programs page](https://www.dir.ca.gov/lcp.asp) also names the City as one of the four, and DIR's [eCPR exemptions page](https://www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/eCPR_exemptions.html) says only projects monitored and enforced by an approved program can be exempted on that basis. | On a project the City monitors | Where it stands | | --- | --- | | Direct eCPR filing with DIR | Exempt, per DIR's FAQ | | Weekly certified payroll | Still owed, through OCPS, per the City's FAQ and manual | | DIR numbers | Still needed: the Request form asks for both | | Federally assisted work | Federal rules apply on top. The City's manual says weekly certified payroll reports are required. The federal form is the [WH-347](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/forms/wh347), covered in our [WH-347 guide](https://wellstanding.com/guides/wh-347/) | The exemption does not follow you to other work. DIR's FAQ says every contractor and subcontractor on a public works project outside the listed exemptions must still submit electronic certified payroll records to the Labor Commissioner, and that sending records to a union, the prime, the awarding body, or a Labor Compliance Program does not satisfy that. Outside the listed exemptions (the four legacy programs, qualifying project labor agreements, and the small project exemption), you file with DIR yourself. Work a City job and a job outside those exemptions, and you owe OCPS on the first and a direct DIR eCPR on the second. Our [exemptions guide](https://wellstanding.com/guides/who-is-exempt-from-certified-payroll-california/) covers all three kinds of exempt project. ### How to tell whether the City is monitoring your project The City's [program description](https://bca.lacity.gov/labor-compliance-program-description) lists the departments whose projects the Labor Compliance Section monitors, and your awarding department may be on that list. Confirm it in writing with the prime, or write to labor.compliance@lacity.org, listed on the [BCA home page](https://bca.lacity.gov/), and keep the reply. Our [City of Los Angeles requirements page](https://wellstanding.com/requirements/city-of-los-angeles/) tracks recent project registrations. ## Where we fit OCPS access and the PIN stay with you. The City's agreement says the PIN is not to be shared, and we do not ask for it. From your own payroll export we prepare the federal WH-347 and file the California DIR eCPR, so projects that owe a direct DIR filing do not pile up behind your City weekly entries. A person reviews every filing, and you sign. New customers get the first filing free. See [how awarding body portals and DIR fit together](https://wellstanding.com/guides/gc-portals-and-dir/). ## Questions Who can get an OCPS login?** The City's Quick Start Guide says the contractor awarded a project, along with its subcontractors and employers of any tier, are given access. You request it by emailing the signed Request for Access and E-Signature Authorization forms to ocps.help@lacity.org. How long does it take to get a login?** The Quick Start Guide gives no turnaround time. The Request form takes effect on receipt by the BCA, but the login ID and temporary password come from City staff. Send the forms before your first payroll week. Can I use LCPtracker or another tool instead of OCPS on a City job?** The City's manual calls for payrolls through OCPS, and the E-Signature form commits you to use OCPS exclusively on City projects where you must submit certified payroll electronically. The City pages we read do not discuss third party tools, so ask the Labor Compliance section in writing before using anything else. Do I still file with DIR on a City of Los Angeles project?** Generally not directly, if the City's Labor Compliance Program monitors the project, because DIR's FAQ lists those projects as exempt. You still submit weekly certified payroll in OCPS and still need your DIR registration number and the project's for the Request form. Outside the listed exemptions (the four legacy programs, qualifying project labor agreements, and the small project exemption), you file with DIR yourself, as [DIR's certified payroll FAQ](https://www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/FAQ-certified-payroll-reporting.html) explains. ## Sources Every figure on this page links to its source where it first appears. The full list, in order: 1. [Quick Start Guide](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/pdf/Quick_start_guide_2026.pdf) ocps.bca.lacity.gov 2. [exempt from direct DIR eCPR filing](https://www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/FAQ-certified-payroll-reporting.html) dir.ca.gov 3. [Labor Compliance Manual](https://bca.lacity.gov/Uploads/labor/LABOR%20COMPLIANCE%20MANUAL.pdf) bca.lacity.gov 4. [E-Signature Authorization](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/pdf/ESignatureAuthorization-Rev2026-Fillable.pdf) ocps.bca.lacity.gov 5. [Labor Code section 1771.4(b)(1)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1771.4) leginfo.legislature.ca.gov 6. [program description](https://bca.lacity.gov/labor-compliance-program-description) bca.lacity.gov 7. [Labor Compliance FAQ](https://bca.lacity.gov/labor-compliance-frequently-asked-questions) bca.lacity.gov 8. [OCPS home page](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/) ocps.bca.lacity.gov 9. [Request for Access to Online Certified Payroll System](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/pdf/RequestForAccess-Rev2026-Fillable.pdf) ocps.bca.lacity.gov 10. [OCPS contact page](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/contact.cfm) ocps.bca.lacity.gov 11. [ocps.bca.lacity.gov/login.cfm](https://ocps.bca.lacity.gov/login.cfm) ocps.bca.lacity.gov 12. [Labor Compliance Programs page](https://www.dir.ca.gov/lcp.asp) dir.ca.gov 13. [eCPR exemptions page](https://www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/eCPR_exemptions.html) dir.ca.gov 14. [WH-347](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/forms/wh347) dol.gov 15. [BCA home page](https://bca.lacity.gov/) bca.lacity.gov ## Related - [Certified payroll requirements for City of Los Angeles projects](https://wellstanding.com/requirements/city-of-los-angeles/) - [Who is exempt from certified payroll in California](https://wellstanding.com/guides/who-is-exempt-from-certified-payroll-california/) - [How to find a DIR Project ID](https://wellstanding.com/guides/find-dir-project-id/) - [DIR contractor registration: fees and lapse penalties](https://wellstanding.com/guides/public-works-contractor-registration-dir/) - [Who signs certified payroll in California](https://wellstanding.com/guides/who-signs-certified-payroll-california/) - [GC rejected your certified payroll: what to do next](https://wellstanding.com/guides/gc-portals-and-dir/)