Washington certified payroll: intents, affidavits, and why your payment is held
Sources: L&I's pages for contractors and for awarding agencies, its PWIA guide (updated March 2026), and chapter 39.12 RCW, all read November 4, 2026.
Last reviewed against the sources it cites
The short answer
On the standard track in Washington you file three things with L&I online: a Statement of Intent, certified payroll at least once a month, and an Affidavit of Wages Paid when the work is done. The agency cannot pay you until L&I approves the Intent. A lower tier's missing filing, or missing release certificates, also holds a payment. A false or missing filing can carry a $500 penalty each under RCW 39.12.050.
- On the standard track, the agency that administers the contract cannot pay until L&I approves your Statement of Intent (L&I contractor page), while on a job of $5,000 or less an agency may instead choose the alternate combined form, which the agency approves before it pays (RCW 39.12.040(2) and L&I's awarding agencies page).
- Certified payroll goes to L&I's online system at least once per month, and noncompliance is a violation of RCW 39.12.050 (RCW 39.12.120(2) and (4)).
- RCW 39.12.050(1) sets a $500 civil penalty for each false filing or failure to file or post, after a hearing, with no bidding until it is paid, and it does not apply to an inadvertent filing or reporting error.
- L&I's September 14, 2016 determination letter requires a separate Intent for each contract and subcontract, but it predates the 2019 and 2023 amendments to RCW 39.12.040, and the March 2026 PWIA guide words the rule per business, so confirm with L&I before you file more than one.
- The contractor or subcontractor that has the contract with a subcontractor that ceased operations or failed to file may file that subcontractor's affidavit, but then accepts responsibility for its unpaid prevailing wages (RCW 39.12.040(1)(b)).
- Owner/operators who meet L&I's requirements need not pay themselves the prevailing wage but must still complete the Intent and Affidavit, says L&I's awarding agency page.
Five reasons a Washington payment is held
Your pay depends on filings that you and every tier below you make with the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), mostly through PWIA, its online Prevailing Wage Intent and Affidavit system.
| What you see | What to check |
|---|---|
| No progress payment yet | Your Statement of Intent is not approved. On the standard track, L&I says the agency cannot pay until it is. On a job of $5,000 or less using the alternate combined form, the agency approves that form instead. |
| Intent approved, but the agency has nothing | The guide says you submit the approved forms to the agency, and RCW 39.12.040(1)(b) requires approval first. Confirm the agency holds your approved copy. |
| The prime or agency says a subcontractor is missing | RCW 39.12.040(1)(a) has the agency require an Intent from the contractor and each subcontractor before paying. |
| Retainage stays held after the job | L&I says every contractor at every tier needs an approved Affidavit of Wages Paid, and the agency needs release certificates from DOR, ESD and L&I. |
| Money is withheld after a wage complaint | After a violation finding the agency withholds retainage, then bonds, then progress payments allocable to the violator, never to a contractor not in violation (RCW 39.12.065(2)). |
Who files what, with whom, and when
| Filing | Who files | When |
|---|---|---|
| Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages | The prime and every subcontractor at every tier | At award. L&I's contractor page says before work begins; its awarding agency page says so "if possible". |
| Certified payroll | Every contractor | At least once per month (RCW 39.12.120(2)) |
| Affidavit of Wages Paid | Every contractor | Standard track: before retainage is released, or before final acceptance if none is held (RCW 39.12.040(1)(b)). Combined-form alternate on a job of $5,000 or less: at final acceptance (RCW 39.12.040(2)(b)) |
One Intent for each contract
L&I's September 14, 2016 determination letter reads RCW 39.12.040 to require a separate Intent and Affidavit for each contract and subcontract. It predates the 2019 and 2023 amendments to that section. The March 2026 PWIA guide says each business files an Intent, and an Affidavit for each Intent it files. If you hold more than one contract on a project, confirm the filing count with PW1@lni.wa.gov first.
Posting, and contracts of $5,000 or less
On contracts over $10,000, you post the approved Intent where jobsite workers can readily see it, with the address and phone of L&I's industrial statistician (RCW 39.12.020). While approval is pending, L&I says to post the full list of applicable rates.
For a job of $5,000 or less including tax, L&I describes an "alternate filing process": one combined online Intent and Affidavit form, with no subcontractors, one payment and no splitting. L&I says payroll is still required.
RCW 39.12.040(2) says an awarding agency may authorize it as an alternate to the standard procedure, for projects of $5,000 or less "as allowed under" RCW 39.04.152, the uniform small works roster section. It is the agency's choice, so ask which process your contract uses.
- L&I says no payment may be made until the agency approves the combined form.
- Under (2)(a), the agency may take the Intent without the industrial statistician's approval.
- Under (2)(b), at final acceptance the agency may pay in full, retained funds included, but must send the affidavit to the industrial statistician for approval within 30 days of receiving it.
Owner/operators
An owner/operator who meets L&I's requirements need not pay themselves the prevailing wage but still files the Intent and Affidavit (L&I).
Certified payroll in PWIA
L&I's contractor page says the monthly filing covers every public works project.
- Open File Certified Payroll. The guide offers it once your Intent shows Approved. RCW 39.12.120(2) sets no approval condition on the monthly filing, so if approval runs past a month end, email PW1@lni.wa.gov and keep the reply.
- Pick the week-ending date. Your first report fixes it. For a week with no work, file a No Work Performed report.
- Enter employees, hours and deductions.
- Affirm and submit. Check "Yes, I AFFIRM," type your name and job title, and Sign & Submit to L&I. The affirmation states that you follow the state prevailing wage law and the information is correct and complete (L&I).
No cited source names a day of the month for the filing, so ask PW1@lni.wa.gov. The guide says payroll is filed monthly on all public works projects, yet a note says reports are required only if the contract, prime or L&I asks. The statute has no such condition, so file monthly.
4/10 agreements
L&I says contractors must upload all executed 4/10 work agreements with their certified payroll reports. Without a valid agreement, overtime starts after 8 hours a day; with one, after 10. The templates are F700-176-000 (annual) and F700-177-000 (one project). Under WAC 296-127-022(4), a missing record is deemed evidence the employee never agreed.
Retainage and the end of the job
L&I says that on projects costing $35,000 or more before tax, the agency withholds 5 percent until all contractors are shown to have paid wages and state taxes. The statute caps retainage at five percent with no dollar line, so ask the agency where the $35,000 line comes from. RCW 39.04.152(5) requires none on small works contracts under $5,000 and lets an agency reduce or waive it above that. Contracts funded in whole or in part by federal transportation funds rely on the contract bond for claims and state taxes (RCW 60.28.011(1)(b)). Check your contract's retainage clause.
- Notice of Completion. L&I says the agency may file F215-038-000 to request release.
- Certificates. DOR, ESD and L&I each issue one. After the 45-day lien period and those certificates, the agency pays the balance but keeps back unpaid taxes and filed lien claims (RCW 60.28.021).
RCW 60.28.011(3)(b) calls for release 60 days after all work is complete, subject to chapter 39.12 RCW, which requires every affidavit first, and to chapter 60.28 RCW.
Penalties and bid bars
| Problem | Penalty | Bid bar |
|---|---|---|
| False filing, failure to file, or failure to post | $500 each, after a hearing, and not for an inadvertent error, which you must prove (RCW 39.12.050(1)) | Until paid; a second violation within five years adds one year |
| Unpaid prevailing wages found | The greater of $5,000 or 50 percent of the violation, plus 1 percent monthly interest; not for an inadvertent filing or reporting error (RCW 39.12.065(3)) | Until paid; a second violation within five years adds two years |
RCW 39.12.010(5) defines an inadvertent error as a mistake made despite due care, including reliance on an L&I written determination.
Under RCW 39.12.065(3), relying on L&I's written information keeps you from a bid bar on an unpaid-wage violation.
Which channel applies to your owner
| Your owner | Where the paperwork goes |
|---|---|
| A state or local public agency | PWIA. L&I's list of awarding agencies includes state and local governments, port districts and housing authorities. |
| WSDOT | WSDOT's wage rates page sends federal-aid projects to Davis-Bacon and other projects to L&I's instructions. Ask the Project Engineer's office whether PWIA filings are also needed on a federal-aid job. |
| Federal or Davis-Bacon job | Where both Washington prevailing wage law and Davis-Bacon apply, L&I says to meet the more demanding pay requirement and complete the paperwork for each law. The page does not say which federal jobs also fall under Washington law, so ask the awarding agency which laws your contract names. See the WH-347 guide. |
| Housing authority | Seattle Housing Authority says its contractors enter certified payrolls weekly in LCPtracker, and its page does not say which contracts that covers. On a Washington public works job, the L&I Intent, monthly payroll and Affidavit still apply on top of that. See Seattle and King County. |
Compare other states in our state-by-state table.
What we do
We prepare certified payroll for public works contractors. Tell us about your project.
Questions
Why has the agency not paid my first invoice?
How often is Washington certified payroll due?
Does a missing monthly payroll hold my payment?
Can I file the affidavit for a subcontractor that vanished?
Sources
Every figure on this page links to its source where it first appears. The full list, in order:
- for contractors lni.wa.gov
- for awarding agencies lni.wa.gov
- PWIA guide lni.wa.gov
- chapter 39.12 RCW app.leg.wa.gov
- RCW 39.12.050 app.leg.wa.gov
- RCW 39.12.040 app.leg.wa.gov
- RCW 39.12.120 app.leg.wa.gov
- September 14, 2016 determination letter lni.wa.gov
- RCW 39.12.065 app.leg.wa.gov
- RCW 39.12.020 app.leg.wa.gov
- RCW 39.04.152 app.leg.wa.gov
- F700-176-000 lni.wa.gov
- F700-177-000 lni.wa.gov
- WAC 296-127-022 app.leg.wa.gov
- statute app.leg.wa.gov
- RCW 60.28.021 app.leg.wa.gov
- RCW 39.12.010 app.leg.wa.gov
- WSDOT's wage rates page wsdot.wa.gov
- enter certified payrolls weekly seattlehousing.org