Oregon certified payroll: who you file with, how often, and what a missed month costs

If an agency or prime is holding back 25 percent of your money, or a WH-347 was not enough, three rules matter. Statements go to the public agency, not BOLI (ORS 279C.845). They are due monthly. And per the handbook, the federal WH-347 does not satisfy BOLI's filing requirements.

Who you file with: the public agency, not BOLI

Section 279C.845(1) has every contractor and subcontractor, or its surety, file certified statements with the public agency, and subsection (4) says to deliver or mail them there. BOLI's WH-38A instructions (Rev. 05/2020) say statements are only required to be submitted to the public agency. On a public/private project under paragraph (B), (C), (D), (E) or (F) of section 279C.800(6)(a), the handbook says to file with the public agency that provided funds, will occupy or use the project, or allowed it on its property.

Which channel applies to which owner

The statute names no portal, so read your contract for the channel. Compare other states in our state-by-state table.

The county's older labor compliance page (reviewed January 8, 2026) still names LCPtracker; the update (reviewed September 25, 2026) says access was revoked. The update describes eComply as serving contractors working with both the County and the City of Portland, but it does not state which system governs a City contract, so confirm with the City.

How often: a statement every week, filed once a month

You complete a certified statement for each week you employ a worker on the project. Section 279C.845(4) has them submitted once a month, by the fifth business day of the following month. BOLI's prevailing wage FAQ says more frequent submissions are not required but are allowed. The sources word it differently: chapter 19 says the 5th, and the WH-38A instructions say to submit the signed statement with each weekly payroll. Treat the statute as your deadline and check your contract for anything stricter.

Keep statements for three years from contract completion (section 279C.845(5)). Chapter 19 tells ODOT's Resident Engineer to return any payroll showing a full Social Security number, so report only the last four digits or another employee identifier.

Which form to use

Section 279C.845(1) has statements filed in writing on a form the BOLI Commissioner prescribes. BOLI's FAQ and handbook say BOLI does not require the WH-38 itself: you can use your own layout if it carries everything the WH-38 asks for and has the WH-38 certified statement attached. An unsigned report does not satisfy the filing requirement. See our Oregon WH-38 guide.

Per the handbook, submitting the federal WH-347 on a project subject to Oregon's law does not satisfy BOLI's filing requirements. If you use the revised (January 2025) WH-347 on a job covered by both Davis-Bacon and Oregon law, BOLI's WH-38F (updated September 14, 2026) is the supplement, and the form says to include it with each WH-347. On ODOT contracts awarded before January 7, 2025, chapter 19 lets contractors keep the older WH-347 and WH-38 as the special provisions provide. See our WH-347 guide and the FHWA-1273 changes.

ODOT's chapter 19 says the signer is a company official or agent who pays the wages or supervises their payment. The statute has the contractor or its surety verify the statement by oath (section 279C.845(2)). The signature is yours, whoever prepares the payroll.

What happens if you miss it

Does the $50,000 line exempt you?

Section 279C.810(2)(a) exempts projects for which the contract price does not exceed $50,000 and has the agency count the work of every person paid by a contractor or subcontractor. BOLI's handbook reads the line as the cost of the entire project, not individual contracts, and includes materials and supplies bought specifically for it. If change orders push the project past $50,000, the handbook says the entire project is subject to the law, including all work already performed.

Only paragraph (D) of section 279C.800(6)(a) overrides the $50,000 line. It covers solar heating, cooling or electrical devices built or installed on land, premises, structures or buildings a public body owns, with or without agency funds. BOLI's handbook describes it as solar on public property, whatever the project cost. Three other paragraphs are separate ways into coverage:

• Public university land. Paragraph (E) covers construction on property a listed public university owns, with or without agency funds. It sets aside section 279C.810(2)(b) and (c), not the $50,000 line.
• $750,000 of agency funds. Paragraph (B) covers a project that uses $750,000 or more of agency funds. It does not mention the $50,000 line.
• Off-site fabrication. Paragraph (G) covers bespoke fabrication, assembly, preconstruction or construction done off site specifically for a project that is itself public works of a type in paragraphs (A) to (F). It reaches eight kinds of systems, including mechanical, plumbing and boiler systems. Under section 2 of the enrolled HB 2688, the change applies to procurements a contracting agency solicits on or after July 1, 2026, and, if the agency does not solicit the procurement, to public contracts it enters into on or after that date. The handbook words it the same way. BOLI's HB 2688 FAQ says only that public works contracts entered into on or after July 1, 2026 are subject, which is looser shorthand.

If you cannot tell whether a job is covered, BOLI issues coverage determinations on request.

BOLI's 35 day report is a different filing

BOLI's labor contractor payroll page says construction labor contractors send BOLI a certified true copy of their payroll records for work done as a labor contractor when they pay employees directly, due 35 days after starting work on each contract and every 35 days after that. Per BOLI's labor contractor page, that means people paid to recruit, solicit, supply or employ workers to perform construction labor for another. You are not one if you have a construction contract with the owner of the property, have obtained the building permits, or supply building materials or machinery other than manual or hand-operated power tools. The supplier exclusion applies only to a substantial investment in the project: drywall panels, lumber and concrete count, while screws, nails and drywall mud do not. That page says a contractor that is not a bona fide staffing agency and sends workers for pay to another's job site, without those ties, would likely need the license. Every contractor and subcontractor on a covered job still files the monthly statement with the agency. BOLI's pages do not say whether a subcontractor that does its own scope with its own employees is a labor contractor, or how the 35 day report fits with the monthly statement if you hold both. Ask BOLI.

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