Rhode Island certified payroll: weekly form, usually monthly delivery, and what a missed month costs
This page reads R.I. Gen. Laws 37-13-13 and the Department of Labor and Training (DLT) prevailing wage rules, 170-RICR-30-05-08, with DLT's Prevailing Wage FAQ. DLT's website blocks automated readers, so each DLT link here is an archived copy from June 2025 to January 2026. The rules PDF has no revision date and its forms are marked Rev. 10/14, so it may predate later amendments to the statute (section 37-13-13 in 2021, section 37-13-7 in 2024 and 2025).
Last reviewed against the sources it cites
The short answer
Sign Rhode Island payroll forms weekly and deliver them to the awarding authority monthly (section 37-13-13), but federal-aid RIDOT contracts can add a weekly clause, so confirm with RIDOT. A missed month means a held payment and $100 to $500 a day (DLT's minimum, the statute's cap). On other road work the statute allows the federal form but DLT's FAQ says DOT only, so ask DLT, and use the state form if unanswered.
- Section 37-13-13(a) has every contractor and subcontractor furnish certified payroll records to the awarding authority monthly, for all work completed in the preceding month, on the uniform form the director prescribes.
- Section 37-13-13(e) makes the awarding authority withhold the next scheduled payment after a missed submission or a late DLT records response, and lets DLT impose up to $500 for each calendar day. DLT's Prevailing Wage page says the penalty will be at least $100 a day, so plan for $100 to $500.
- Section 37-13-13(a) lets road, highway and bridge payroll go on the federal form, but DLT's FAQ says federal forms may be used for Department of Transportation projects only, so the sources conflict on other road work: ask DLT, and use the state form if you cannot get an answer.
- Section 37-13-14.1(h) sets a civil penalty of $2,000 to $15,000 per representation for a willfully false certified payroll, with referral to the attorney general.
- Section 37-13-7(b)(2)(ii) bars cash in place of required healthcare benefits from July 1, 2024 and of retirement benefits from July 1, 2025, with a civil penalty of $1,000 to $3,000 per violation.
- A daily log is required on a general or primary contract of $1,000,000 or more but not on road, highway or bridge work (section 37-13-13(c)), and DLT's rule 8.9 also has you furnish it to the awarding authority with the payroll.
If a monthly payroll is late or missing
Under section 37-13-13(e), when a contractor, subcontractor, vendor or provider misses its monthly payroll or a DLT records request, the awarding authority must withhold the next scheduled payment, notify DLT, and keep withholding until you comply. DLT may also impose up to $500 for each calendar day of noncompliance.
DLT's Prevailing Wage page and proposed State Contract Addendum (Rev. 7/2025) state a minimum of $100 per calendar day, and the statute and rule 8.8 cap the penalty at $500. The two fit together: DLT states a floor inside the statute's cap, so plan for $100 to $500 for each day. Each day or part of one is a separate violation (37-13-14.1(c)).
| What went wrong | What the statute provides |
|---|---|
| Payroll or records not delivered on time | Withholding as above, plus up to $500 a day (37-13-13(a), (b), (e)). |
| No daily log on a covered job | Up to $500 a day. Mere errors or omissions in the log are not grounds. Withholding applies to failures under (a) and (b), not the log. |
| Willfully false certified payroll | Attorney general referral. First violation: misdemeanor, up to one year in prison, a $1,000 fine, or both. Second or later: felony, up to three years in prison, a $3,000 fine, or both. Civil penalty of $2,000 to $15,000 per representation (37-13-14.1(h)). |
| Wages underpaid | Wages plus 12 percent interest and a civil penalty up to three times the amount due (37-13-14.1(a), (b)). |
| A violation found by DLT, an awarding authority or a hearing officer | Ineligible to bid or work for 18 to 36 months (37-13-14.1(d)), or 60 months after two or more willful violations in 18 months (37-13-14.1(e)). |
| Cash instead of a required healthcare or retirement benefit | $1,000 to $3,000 per violation (37-13-7(b)(2)(ii)(D)). |
Weekly or monthly: the clocks on a Rhode Island job
You sign weekly and deliver monthly.
| Clock | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Sign | One Rhode Island Certified Weekly Payroll form for each week of work (rule 8.8). |
| Deliver | To the awarding authority monthly, covering all work completed in the previous month (37-13-13(a); rule 8.8). RIDOT federal-aid contracts carry the weekly clause in RIDOT's copy of Form FHWA-1273 (see below). |
| DLT request | Payroll records to DLT within 10 days (37-13-13(b)). |
| Daily log | On a general or primary contract of $1,000,000 or more, a log of employees working each day, kept on site (37-13-13(c)). Road, highway and bridge work is excluded. Rule 8.9 and paragraph 9 of the State Contract Addendum also have you furnish the log to the awarding authority with the payroll, a duty beyond the statute's on-site and inspection language. |
| July 1 | Each year until the contract ends, contact DLT on or before July 1 for the current prevailing rate and adjust pay (37-13-8). DLT's FAQ ties the adjustment to updated Davis-Bacon determinations. |
The statute and rules name no delivery day, so take the date from your contract. No DLT page read names a state payroll portal, so ask the authority how to send the forms.
Which owner gets your payroll
| Your contract | Who receives the payroll, and on what form |
|---|---|
| State agency, city, town or quasi-public agency | The awarding authority, monthly, on the Rhode Island form. Section 37-13-7(d) says quasi-public agency includes, among others, the bodies it lists. |
| School transportation provider | Same duty (37-13-7(c)(2); 37-13-13(a)). |
| Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) project | The awarding authority, monthly. The statute, rule 8.8 and DLT's FAQ all allow the federal form here. A federal-aid RIDOT contract also carries the weekly FHWA-1273 clause (last row), so a RIDOT federal-aid subcontractor may owe both a monthly and a weekly delivery. Check your contract. |
| Other road, highway or bridge work, such as a city paving job | The awarding authority, monthly. The sources conflict. The statute extends the federal form to "other road, highway, or bridge public works" (37-13-13(a)), but DLT's FAQ says "Federal forms may be used for Department of Transportation projects only." Ask DLT which form it accepts, and use the Rhode Island form, DLT-WRS-1, if you cannot get an answer. |
| RIDOT federal-aid contract with Form FHWA-1273 | The contracting agency, weekly, in any form with the required information (RIDOT's copy, section IV.3.b). |
On the federal form, the statute and DLT disagree. The FAQ, rule 8.8 and the Prevailing Wage page all tie the federal form to DOT work; the statute alone reaches further. Where it is allowed, a condition applies: in a complaint investigation, section 37-13-13(a) says the director or designee "may require" the Rhode Island form or actual payroll records. DLT's FAQ says it "will require" the form for all hours on that DOT project, and rule 8.8 gives you 10 days. Plan on the stricter reading.
RIDOT's posted FHWA-1273 (Revised May 1, 2012) has the contractor submit payrolls weekly and makes the WH-347 optional, while the statute asks for monthly delivery. FHWA's current form, revised June 25, 2026, still has the weekly submission at paragraph 3.b.(1) of its Section III, and the copy in your contract may be either version. Confirm the schedule with the RIDOT contact in your contract. See our WH-347 guide and FHWA-1273 changes.
The Rhode Island form
The state form is DLT-WRS-1. DLT's forms page links a weekly payroll form marked Rev. 7/25 in the copy archived in January 2026 (the rules PDF shows Rev. 10/14), so check the revision on the form you download. Each subcontractor completes its own form for its own workers. DLT's FAQ says other states' forms, naming Massachusetts and Connecticut, are not acceptable. See our Connecticut and Massachusetts guides.
| Field | What the form and DLT's instructions require |
|---|---|
| Header | The wage decision number and date from the Davis-Bacon rate schedule for the project. |
| Hours | P.S. and P.O.: straight and overtime hours on this project. A.P.S. and A.P.O.: hours on another Rhode Island prevailing wage project. R.H. and R.O.: hours on other projects. List all hours. |
| Who is listed | Owners, supervisors and foremen doing manual work, at the trade's rate (rule 8.18). The FAQ says there is no supervisor rate. |
| Statement of Compliance and signature | The DLT-WRS-1 form includes a Statement of Compliance, where you list the types of any bona fide fringe benefits paid to plans, funds or programs. The owner or an officer of the corporation signs it. The form warns of civil penalties or attorney general referral for inaccurate information. |
Rates and overtime
For construction, DLT adopts the federal Davis-Bacon wage determinations. Rule 8.1 sets the prevailing wage at the amount in the General Wage Decisions, and DLT's rate schedule instructions say "Rhode Island adopts the Davis Bacon Rate Schedule." Overtime is owed after 8 hours a day or 40 a week, unless DLT has found a different prevailing overtime practice for that type of work in the city, town or other subdivision (37-13-10). Overtime is figured on the base rate with the full fringe amount added back (rule 8.19).
No cash in place of healthcare or retirement
Under section 37-13-7(b)(2)(ii), from July 1, 2024 a contractor may not pay the cash equivalent of a required healthcare benefit and must buy it from a licensed third-party provider. From July 1, 2025 it may not pay cash in place of actually purchasing a retirement or pension benefit. Employees employed 90 days or less are exempt, as are some healthcare cases the statute lists.
DLT's temporary enforcement policy, signed October 28, 2025, says a waiver by agreement or employee consent is void, that you must keep proof of purchase for DLT, and that where an exemption applies (90 days or less for either benefit, or dependent, military or VA coverage for healthcare), you must still meet the full prevailing wage with other bona fide fringe credits or cash wages.
If DLT contacts you
- Count 10 days from the request (37-13-13(b)).
- Use the Rhode Island form. If you used the federal form, DLT may require you to resubmit on the state form or produce actual payroll records.
- Know when a hearing applies. A records request alone does not start one, but 37-13-14.1(a) requires a hearing before any order or determination. The notice gives you at least 5 days, and the hearing is held within 10 days of the order setting it.
To compare Rhode Island with other states, use our state-by-state table. We prepare certified payroll for public works contractors. Tell us about your project.
Questions
Can I use the WH-347 in Rhode Island?
Do I send my payroll to DLT?
Does a subcontract under $1,000 owe prevailing wage?
How long do I keep the records?
Sources
Every figure on this page links to its source where it first appears. The full list, in order:
- R.I. Gen. Laws 37-13-13 webserver.rilegislature.gov
- prevailing wage rules, 170-RICR-30-05-08 web.archive.org
- Prevailing Wage FAQ web.archive.org
- weekly clause dot.ri.gov
- DLT's minimum web.archive.org
- Section 37-13-14.1(h) webserver.rilegislature.gov
- Section 37-13-7(b)(2)(ii) webserver.rilegislature.gov
- State Contract Addendum web.archive.org
- 37-13-8 webserver.rilegislature.gov
- revised June 25, 2026 fhwa.dot.gov
- DLT's forms page web.archive.org
- Rev. 7/25 web.archive.org
- instructions web.archive.org
- rate schedule instructions web.archive.org
- 8 hours a day or 40 a week webserver.rilegislature.gov
- temporary enforcement policy web.archive.org
- Section 37-13-3 webserver.rilegislature.gov