Pennsylvania certified payroll: who gets it, how often, and what a late or false one costs
This page works from L&I's prevailing wage FAQ, the Prevailing Wage Act, 34 Pa. Code Subchapter E, PennDOT Publication 408, Change No. 1, and a PDF copy of the Philadelphia Code.
Last reviewed against the sources it cites
The short answer
On a Pennsylvania job under the state prevailing wage act, each contractor and subcontractor submits a sworn payroll statement every week, plus a final one, to the contracting agency. PennDOT contracts let after April 10, 2026 add PPCC and a 7 day clock, while Philadelphia City work has its own LCP Tracker and WH-347 copy rule. The job owner decides your channel, and more than one rule can apply to the same job.
- Each contractor and subcontractor files a sworn statement every week and a final statement when the work ends, with the contracting agency (34 Pa. Code 9.103(12)).
- L&I's FAQ says contractors and subcontractors submit certified payrolls to the public body, while L&I sets the rates and enforces the Act (L&I prevailing wage FAQ).
- L&I's FAQ says falsifying certified payrolls may be prosecuted as a criminal misdemeanor, and a sworn statement known to be false carries, upon conviction, a fine up to $2,500 or up to five years in prison, or both (L&I FAQ; 34 Pa. Code 9.110(c)).
- For PennDOT projects let after October 9, 2026, Publication 408 section 107.22(c) requires a weekly statement and a final statement on Department forms, with the 7 days running from the regular payment date of the payroll period and no separate clock stated for the final statement. Item 1 says to furnish payrolls through PPCC, although the same paragraph also says to submit the forms to the District Executive. Estimates and the final settlement are withheld if the certification is not submitted in time (Publication 408, Change No. 1).
- In the City's PDF copy of section 17-107, whose file address is dated 2019, a second or later late or incomplete payroll carries a $300 fine, while a notice of violation sets $100 as the amount to remit (section 17-107(9)(c) and (9)(e)).
- If the Secretary of Labor and Industry finds, after notice and hearing, that a contractor failed to pay prevailing wages and that the failure was intentional, no public contract may go to that contractor for 3 years from the date L&I notifies public bodies (Act section 11(e)).
Who gets your payroll depends on who owns the job
L&I sets the rates and enforces the Act, but its FAQ says contractors and subcontractors submit certified payrolls to the public bodies, such as counties, cities, boroughs and school districts.
| Who owns the job | What you submit | To whom | The clock |
|---|---|---|---|
| A public body under the state Act | A sworn weekly statement and a final statement (9.110(a)) | The awarding public body | Weekly. The regulation gives no day count |
| PennDOT, for contracts let after April 10, 2026 | A weekly and a final statement on Department forms (Pub. 408, 107.22(c)) | PennDOT Project Collaboration Center (PPCC), or the District Executive, see below | Weekly statements: 7 days after the regular payment date of the payroll period. No separate clock is stated for the final statement |
| City of Philadelphia | Weekly certified payroll with a WH-347 copy (Code 17-107(4)) | Through the prime. The City page says LCP Tracker | 7 days after the workweek ends |
| A federal-aid highway job with Davis-Bacon-covered work | Weekly certified payroll under the Davis-Bacon clauses (29 CFR 5.5) that Form FHWA-1273 carries, at section IV.3.b(1) of the version Pub. 408 prints as DSP8 and at section III.3.b(1) of the June 25, 2026 form. Both cover Federal-aid construction over $2,000 and exempt local roads and rural minor collectors | The contracting agency (PennDOT on a PennDOT contract). The prime is responsible for submitting subcontractor payrolls | Weekly. Read your contract's payroll clause, and see our WH-347 guide |
These rows can overlap. The Act's section 2(4) defines a public body to include the Commonwealth, its agencies and its political subdivisions, and the FAQ list of public bodies includes cities. Pub. 408 107.22(c) invokes the Prevailing Wage Act together with "various applicable Federal acts," and 107.22(g) says federal-aid projects are subject to the implementing rules and regulations of the various Federal departments, with the contract provisions set forth in the proposal and the contract for each project. The City page says City contractors must meet the Davis-Bacon Act and Chapter 17-107. The sources read do not settle whether the state Act also applies to Philadelphia City work, or how 107.22(c) and FHWA-1273 combine on a federal-aid PennDOT job. The contract's payroll clause settles it, and if the clause names more than one rule, ask the awarding body which governs.
The state Act has carve-outs for some federal work. Section 15 excludes public works subject to the Walsh-Healey Act or the Davis-Bacon Act, and the FAQ excludes projects where the U.S. Government requires Federal prevailing wages and the cost exceeds $2,000.
On federal-aid highway work, FHWA removed and reserved 23 CFR Part 633 effective June 10, 2026 (91 FR 25492), and section I.1 of its form revised June 25, 2026 makes attaching Form FHWA-1273 optional for the contracting agency. Pub. 408 Change No. 1 still prints the October 23, 2023 revision as DSP8, and its section I.1 cites 23 CFR 633.102(b) as requiring the form to be physically incorporated in each Title 23 construction contract. The weekly certified payroll comes from the Davis-Bacon clauses (29 CFR 5.5), and section III.3.b(1) of the current form keeps it. Check whether your contract includes the form. On other federal jobs, read your contract's payroll clause. See our FHWA-1273 page.
Under the state Act: who files, how often, on what form
Who files and how often
Each contractor and subcontractor files, weekly plus a final statement. Section 9.110(a) makes the officer who disburses the funds require the statements. Under 9.103(12) each certifies pay in conformity with the contract or lists wages owed. Neither the regulation nor the Act gives a day count, so get your due day from the awarding body in writing.
On what form
Section 9.103(12) wants the statement "under oath, and in form satisfactory to the Secretary." L&I's prevailing wage page links a Certified Payroll Form, the LLC-25, a form marked REV 10-03. See our LLC-25 guide.
The LLC-25 says the notarization must be completed on first and last submissions only, with all other information completed weekly. Section 9.103(12) calls for the weekly and final statements "under oath," and the sources do not say how the two fit together for weekly submissions. They also do not say whether a public body accepts a WH-347 in place of the LLC-25, so confirm both with the public body.
PennDOT contracts: PPCC and a 7 day clock
PennDOT's Publication 408 applies by letting date. Its preface says Change No. 1 covers projects let after October 9, 2026, and the Initial Edition projects let after April 10, 2026. Earlier lettings fall outside both, so read the edition your contract names. This page did not read them.
Section 107.22(c) reads the same in both. It requires a weekly and a final statement on Department forms, within 7 days after the regular payment date. If the certification is not submitted on the proper form in time, the Department withholds the current and semifinal estimates and the final settlement certificate. Item 1 says to furnish payrolls through PPCC, titled with the company name and week ending date as YYYYMMDD.
The same paragraph says to submit forms to the District Executive, while Publication 75 (edition 5-25) has the Inspector-in-Charge confirm PPCC submission. Ask the Inspector-in-Charge.
Philadelphia City work: LCP Tracker and City fines
The City's prevailing wage page says contractors on City public works submit weekly payroll through LCP Tracker. The City's PDF copy of section 17-107 has a 2019 date in its file address, and the City's online Code could not be read, so check the current text before relying on a dollar figure.
In that copy, subsection (1)(b) defines City-work as building or construction work under a City contract for more than $2,000, plus offsite fabrication of non-standard HVAC sheet metal products for that work, and non-professional service contracts above $200,000, or $100,000 for building service contracts. Subsection (1)(h) lists those services, including mechanical/HVAC maintenance and repairs. Subsection (4) sends payrolls through the prime within 7 days after the workweek, with a WH-347 copy to the Labor Standards Unit, signed in original by the company president or an officer with power of attorney. The sources do not say how that works with LCP Tracker, so ask the Office of Labor Standards.
What happens when a payroll is late, false, or wrong
| Problem | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Late or missing, state Act | The Act sections and regulations read name no fine for a late statement. Act section 10(a) has the officer who disburses public funds require the sworn statement before final payment, but adds that nothing in it impairs a contractor's right to final payment because of a subcontractor's failure to comply with the Act. Section 9.110(a) applies the requirement to weekly and final statements. The FAQ lists failure to provide requested payroll information to L&I investigators as an intentional violation |
| Late or missing, PennDOT | Estimates and the final settlement are withheld (107.22(c)). Failure to comply with the Act means withholding money due, termination of the right to proceed and/or other penalties (107.22(f)) |
| Philadelphia | $300 for each second or later late or incomplete payroll, each a separate violation ((9)(c)(.1), (9)(d)). Notices of violation follow section 1-112 procedures, and the amount to remit in response is $100 ((9)(e)). The copy read does not say how the $100 relates to the $300. In that copy, subsection (9)(a) also bars City-work awards, for three years from the determination, to a contractor or subcontractor, or its principal, affiliate, successor or assignee, found to have intentionally violated the Section or to have violated it on more than one City-work contract or subcontract within the past three years, unless the Procurement Commissioner or, on appeal, the Board of Labor Standards fixes a shorter period in view of extenuating circumstances. After an underpayment finding, the Unit's Director may withhold sums the Director believes appropriate, which may include all sums still due on the contract, the amount owed to employees, or 150 percent of that amount ((8)(b)) |
| False statement | A statement filed under section 10 of the Act, verified under oath and known to be false, is a misdemeanor. On conviction the fine is up to $2,500, or up to five years in prison, or both (9.110(c), Act section 10(c)). The FAQ says falsified certified payrolls may be prosecuted as a criminal misdemeanor |
| Underpayment | The officer holding the funds must hold up final payment if rates were not paid or classifications were not maintained (9.104(b)). If unintentional, a chance to pay or give security (Act 11(d)). If intentional, after notice and hearing, no public contract for you or a firm in which you have an interest for 3 years, plus liquidated damages equal to the underpayment (Act 11(e), (f)), and possible termination (Act 12) |
The FAQ says you can contest a finding at a hearing, where L&I bears the burden, and appeal. L&I's debarment list shows individuals, marked "individually," alongside their companies.
Act 101 of 2026 takes effect December 21
The General Assembly lists Act 101 of 2026 as enacted from Senate Bill 908 on October 22, 2026, but its page says the document is not available. L&I's prevailing wage page says the Governor signed it on October 22, 2026, that it goes into effect on December 21, 2026, and that L&I is assessing enforcement and compliance requirements and will provide more information.
This page does not say what Act 101 changes, because the enacted text was not available to read and the sources describe it differently. The Act 101 page is headed "Specifications and Duty of Secretary," with no mention of definitions, while the Senate Bill 908 page describes the bill as further providing "for definitions, for specifications and for duty of secretary." Read Act 101 itself once the General Assembly posts it, and watch L&I's page for its guidance, before you assume anything about how it affects coverage or payroll on a job that runs past December 21.
Find your channel in three steps
- Read the payroll clause for the form, recipient and due day.
- Identify the owner: a school district points to the state Act, PennDOT to PPCC and Pub. 408, Philadelphia to Code 17-107 and LCP Tracker. More than one can apply to the same job, so read what the contract names.
- Check for federal money, then get the due day in writing.
See the state by state table and prevailing wage versus certified payroll.
Questions
Do I send Pennsylvania certified payroll to L&I?
Is there a fine for filing the LLC-25 late?
Does the LLC-25 have to be notarized every week?
Which Pennsylvania projects need certified payroll?
Sources
Every figure on this page links to its source where it first appears. The full list, in order:
- prevailing wage FAQ pa.gov
- Prevailing Wage Act palegis.us
- 34 Pa. Code Subchapter E pacodeandbulletin.gov
- PennDOT Publication 408, Change No. 1 pa.gov
- Philadelphia Code phila.gov
- contracting agency pacodeandbulletin.gov
- PPCC and a 7 day clock pa.gov
- LCP Tracker phila.gov
- 34 Pa. Code 9.103(12) pacodeandbulletin.gov
- June 25, 2026 form fhwa.dot.gov
- 91 FR 25492 federalregister.gov
- prevailing wage page pa.gov
- LLC-25 pa.gov
- Publication 75 pa.gov
- 9.104(b) pacodeandbulletin.gov
- debarment list pa.gov
- Act 101 of 2026 palegis.us
- Senate Bill 908 page palegis.us
- 9.109 pacodeandbulletin.gov