Payroll systems that export the DIR eCPR XML file

Is there a DIR approved software list?

DIR publishes none on the pages we checked on October 16, 2026. On the Certified Payroll Reporting page, the section on XML files says to create your own template using CPR XML schema V1.3. It links guidelines and a sample file. The page shows a May 2026 date. DIR's Public Works FAQ, its Support Center, and the Upload eCPR guide list none either.

The law requires an electronic format and leaves the manner to the Labor Commissioner. Labor Code section 1771.4(a)(3)(A)(i) has you furnish certified payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner at least once every 30 days while work is being performed and within 30 days after the final day of work, or more often if your contract with the awarding body says so. Section 1771.4(a)(3)(A)(ii) requires an electronic format, in the manner the Labor Commissioner prescribes, on DIR's website. The FAQ gives two ways to file: the online form, or an XML upload. DIR's Upload eCPR guide tells you to attach an XML file exported from your payroll system. DIR's July 2016 user guide says the file can come from the schema template or vendor software. The 2016 guide's screens and button names, such as "Submit Payroll in XML File," differ from the current Upload eCPR guide, which has you pick Submit, then XML, next to your project. The FAQ says logins for the old PWC-100, PWCR, and eCPR systems no longer work after the move to DIR's modernized Public Works Website Services.

What DIR does publish

DIR publishes the CPR.xsd schema, whose header comment says Version 1.3, and a sample file to start from. The Upload eCPR guide lists what a valid file must hold: the Project ID, employee names, SSNs, addresses, days and hours worked, rates, and total hours worked.

Two guideline PDFs, one schema

The guidelines link on the Certified Payroll Reporting page opens the January 2016 guidelines (Version 1.10). The Support Center links a different PDF, eCPR XML Guidelines, dated March 2026, Version 2.0. Those are document versions. The schema file still says 1.3.

DIR's Upload eCPR guide links the March 2026 PDF in its XML section, both for full instructions on how to set up an XML file and for details on the mandatory information if you get an error. The Certified Payroll Reporting page still links the January 2016 PDF.

One rule conflicts and two were relaxed in 2026. The July 2016 user guide repeats all three of the 2016 rules.

1. Other project fields (the conflict). The 2016 guidelines say all other fields under the project info element must be empty. The 2026 PDF says to provide any project details that are available. CPR.xsd fixes the awardingBody and projectName elements, and the project location description, street, city, county, state, and zip elements, to an empty value, which supports leaving them blank.
2. Mandatory project fields (relaxed). The January 2016 guidelines make the contract agency and the Project ID mandatory under the project info element. The 2026 PDF says the Project ID is the only mandatory project field. A file that fills in both meets both texts.
3. File name (relaxed). The 2016 guidelines name files by the last four digits of the FEIN, the Project ID, and the week ending date, joined by underscores, and say the file must end in .xml. The 2026 PDF says the file name only has to end in xml. A name in the 2016 pattern meets both texts.

The 2026 PDF also adds steps the 2016 PDF does not have: include address information for each employee, begin the day id at 1 and increase it for each day in the payroll, include hourly amounts for fringe benefits, and enter deductions as lump sums. The 2016 PDF has one instruction the 2026 PDF drops: enter NA in the PWCR field if you have not registered.

DIR publishes no statement about which document the portal enforces. Its Upload eCPR guide points to the 2026 PDF for XML setup, so start there and add the 2026-only steps above. If you build a file yourself, fill in the Project ID and the contract agency, which meets the mandatory items in both PDFs. The schema also needs the contract agency: CPR.xsd sets the contractAgency element to a minimum length of 1, so an empty contract agency fails validation against the schema. The other project details are the one real conflict, since the 2016 PDF says to leave them empty and the 2026 PDF says to provide what you have. Test one real week before you rely on any file. Our XML upload errors guide covers what bounces a file.

Systems whose own pages say they write a California DIR file

"Yes" means the vendor's own page says the system produces a DIR XML file. "Says compliant" means the page says its export formats are compliant with DIR XML, without saying the system writes the file. "Says XML auto-filled" means the page uses that wording for California DIR, without saying the system creates or exports the file. "Names DIR" means the page lists California DIR without saying what the output is. Checked October 16, 2026.

We also have pages for QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Sage, ADP, Paychex, Gusto, and others on the payroll systems hub. A system missing from the table is not a no. We found no page of its own that settles the question.

Sending payroll to a portal is usually not filing with DIR

LCPtracker's public agencies page describes software for agencies to standardize how they collect certified payroll reports from prime contractors. Its prime contractors page describes software for primes to collect certified payroll reports from subcontractors electronically. Neither page says anyone must use it.

LCPtracker's DIR export instructions tell you to download the DIR XML file, then go to an older DIR eCPR web address, upload it, and click to load the xml into the online eCPR form. That article still points to the older eCPR address and steps, so follow DIR's Upload eCPR guide for the current steps. eMars says on its home page that it supports automatic XML uploads for agencies, including California DIR. Miter says it enables direct submission to state portals in California. Ask any vendor whether its system sends the file to DIR or hands you the file to upload.

DIR's Public Works FAQ says submitting certified payroll records to a union, prime contractor, awarding body, or Labor Compliance Program does not fulfill the requirement to submit them to the Labor Commissioner/DIR. Under that answer, sending payroll to a prime's or agency's portal does not count as filing with DIR, unless your project is in an exempt category.

The FAQ lists three exempt categories: projects monitored by four legacy Labor Compliance Programs, projects covered by a qualifying project labor agreement, and projects covered by the small project exemption. DIR's exemptions page lists only the first two, and it says only projects monitored and enforced by an approved labor compliance program, or covered by a qualifying project labor agreement, may be exempted from submitting certified payroll records to DIR. The two DIR pages differ on small projects.

The small-project figures in the FAQ trace to statute. Labor Code section 1725.5(f) says the contractor registration section does not apply to a public works project of $25,000 or less for construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work, or $15,000 or less for maintenance work. Labor Code section 1771.4(a)(4) says an unregistered contractor on a project that needs no registration because of that subdivision does not have to furnish payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner, but must keep them for at least three years after the work is complete.

A project in an exempt category may need no DIR filing. Check the FAQ wording and the statute for your project before you rely on an exemption. See general contractor portals and DIR and LCPtracker vs DIR.

How to check any vendor before you pay

1. Look for a page that says DIR and XML together. A California report is not the DIR file. Miter lists a California CA A-131 report among its state reports and lists DIR XML separately among its export formats. eBacon lists CA-A131 as its own export option, apart from CA DIR. Form A-1-131 is DIR's suggested payroll reporting form under 8 CCR 16401, not the upload.
2. Set up what the file needs. LCPtracker's export instructions list the DIR Project ID, your PWCR number, your FEIN, an uppercase state abbreviation, and your license number. Trimble's page asks for the first two. See how to find your DIR Project ID.
3. Upload one real week and read the result. DIR's Upload eCPR guide says the system takes several minutes to process your XML and links the March 2026 eCPR XML Guidelines for details on mandatory information if you get an error. DIR's July 2016 user guide shows screens that differ from the current Upload eCPR guide, so it may not match what the current system checks. DIR publishes no statement about which version of its XML guidelines the portal enforces, so a real week is the test. Compare any error with the upload errors guide.
4. Ask how the vendor keeps up. Quantum says DIR told it the XML format did not change, yet an April 5, 2025 update was still needed for how employee names appear in the file.
5. Plan the signature. In its XML section, DIR's Upload eCPR guide says "Enter your Signature and click Submit." The certification is the contractor's. Labor Code section 1776(a) requires each payroll record to contain or be verified by a written declaration, made under penalty of perjury, that the record is true and correct. The certification wording in 8 CCR 16401(b) has the signer state authority to act for and on behalf of the contractor. See who signs certified payroll.

If your payroll system is not on the list

You do not have to switch payroll. WellStanding prepares the WH-347 and the eCPR from the payroll export you already run, and a person reviews every filing. You review the finished filing and sign the certification in one step, and nothing is filed until you have signed. The certification is always yours; we never sign for you. Labor Code 1776(a) and 8 CCR 16401 place the certification with the contractor. Setup is $995 one time, then $249 per month for crews up to 25 workers or $449 for 26 to 50. First filing free. Weighing a system against a service? Read software or a service or the California comparison.

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