WH-347 example: a completed certified payroll form, explained
This is what a finished federal certified payroll looks like on the current form, with sample data, and what each block has to contain. The layout follows the Department of Labor's Form WH-347 as revised January 2025, OMB control number 1235-0008, expiring 01/31/2028. If your template still has a single rate column and boxes 4(a) through 4(c) on page two, it is the older layout.
Last reviewed against the sources it cites
The short answer
A completed WH-347 on the current January 2025 form has a header block, worker columns 1A to 9, and a six-box Statement of Compliance on page two that the contractor signs. On a California public works project it is not the state filing, which is the eCPR filed directly with DIR.
- The layout follows the Department of Labor's Form WH-347 as revised January 2025, OMB control number 1235-0008, expiring 01/31/2028, and a template with a single rate column and boxes 4(a) through 4(c) on page two is the older layout.
- Column 1E takes the last four digits of the social security number or any other number specific to the worker, and full social security numbers must not be included, per the instructions on the WH-347 page.
- Column 6A is the actual hourly rate paid without any cash in lieu of fringe benefits, column 6B is the total fringe benefit credit for the week, and column 6C is the total cash paid in lieu of fringe benefits.
- Per the instructions, boxes 1, 2, 3, and 6 of the Statement of Compliance must always be checked, while boxes 4 and 5 are checked when they apply.
- On a California public works project the state's certified payroll is the electronic eCPR filed directly with DIR, which carries the full social security number rather than the last four, so a federally assisted project needs both filings.
Wage and Hour Division
Form WH-347, Rev. January 2025, OMB No. 1235-0008
[x] 1. The payroll is correct and complete, and wage and fringe benefit rates paid are not less than the wage determination for the classifications actually performed.
[x] 2. Regular payrolls and basic records are complete and accurate and will be made available on request.
[x] 3. Classifications reported are the work each worker actually performed.
[x] 4. Apprentices are registered with OA or an SAA. Program: Sample Area Electrical Apprenticeship Program, [ ] OA [x] SAA, classification Electrician.
[x] 5. Fringe benefits paid in cash and/or to bona fide plans. Hourly credit for fringe benefits, entries 1 and 2: Sample Health Trust (health and welfare, plan SAMPLE-H-1, funded) $8.00; Sample Pension Fund (pension, plan SAMPLE-P-2, funded) $4.40; total hourly credit $12.40. Entry 3 is paid cash in lieu, reported in 6C.
[x] 6. Full weekly wages paid; no rebates or deductions other than permissible deductions as defined in 29 CFR part 3.
Additional remarks: none.
Sample data. Names, numbers, plans, and the project are invented. Real forms carry the last four digits of each worker's social security number or another worker-specific number, never the full number. Every figure above reconciles: hours times rate equals gross, deductions sum to the total, and gross for all work minus total deductions equals net. The two tables scroll sideways where the screen is narrower than the form.
Block by block
Everything below follows the form and the instructions the Department of Labor publishes on its WH-347 page. The column numbers are the form's own, and they are what a reviewer, and any software checking your file, keys off.
The header
Two checkboxes first: one marking the final payroll for the project, checked only on your last week, and one for prime contractor or subcontractor. Then the project name, the project or contract number assigned by the contracting agency, the certified payroll number (starting at 1 and counting up each week), the business's legal name, the project location (a full address, or at least the county and state), the wage determination number and revision, including every determination that applied to work in the period, the week ending date, and the business address. The payroll number is how an auditor spots a gap: payroll 6 and payroll 8 with nothing between them is a missing week.
Columns 1A to 3: who did the work
Column 1A is a worker entry number, starting at 1. A worker who worked in two classifications in the same week gets a separate row for each, with the same entry number on both. Columns 1B, 1C, and 1D split the name into last, first, and middle initial. Column 1E is an identifying number: the last four digits of the social security number or any other number specific to the worker. The instructions say full social security numbers must not be included. Column 2 is J for a journeyworker or RA for a registered apprentice in a program approved by DOL's Office of Apprenticeship or a State Apprenticeship Agency; for an apprentice, also list the level of progression, which is why Casey's cell reads "RA, level 3." Column 3 is the labor classification for the work actually performed, taken from the wage determination in the contract, not a job title. If the determination has no classification for the work, the instructions say to contact the contracting officer immediately. If no accurate breakdown of split hours was kept, all hours must be paid at the highest applicable rate.
Columns 4 and 5: hours
Column 4 has two header rows: the first letter of each day of your workweek on top, the date below. Each worker gets a straight time row and an overtime row. On contracts subject to the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, hours over 40 in the week go in the OT row, counting hours on and off the site. Blake's four Friday hours are overtime because the week total is 44. Column 5 is the total of column 4.
Columns 6A, 6B, and 6C: rate and fringe benefits
The current form separates what older versions combined. Column 6A is the actual hourly rate paid, straight time on the top row and overtime on the bottom, without any cash paid in lieu of fringe benefits; if you pay above the determination, show what you actually paid. Column 6B is the total fringe benefit credit for the week, the worker's total hours multiplied by the total hourly credit listed for that worker on page two. Alex's $496.00 is 40 hours at the $12.40 hourly credit; Blake's $545.60 is 44 hours at the same credit. Column 6C is the total cash paid in lieu of fringe benefits, hours multiplied by the hourly cash rate. Casey's employer pays the fringe in cash instead of into plans, so Casey shows $238.08 in 6C, 32 hours at $7.44, and nothing in 6B.
Columns 7A and 7B: gross
Column 7A is the gross earned on this project. For Alex that is 40 hours at $58.12. For Blake it is 40 hours at $58.12 plus 4 hours at $87.18. For Casey it is 32 hours at $34.88 plus the $238.08 paid in lieu of fringe benefits, since that cash is wages the worker received. Column 7B is the gross for all work in the week, including work on other projects and non-covered jobs. Casey spent Friday on a private job, eight hours at the same base rate, so Casey's 7B is $279.04 higher than 7A. Alex and Blake worked only this project, so their 7A and 7B match.
Columns 8 and 9: deductions and net
Column 8 covers deductions from the all-work gross in 7B, not pro-rated to the project: tax withholdings, FICA, other, and total. If "other" is one deduction, the instructions say to describe it under Additional Remarks on page two; if it is several, submit an addendum that itemizes each. All deductions have to comply with the Copeland Act regulations at 29 CFR part 3, and, except for the deductions listed in 29 CFR 3.5, need prior approval from the Department of Labor. The sample keeps "other" at zero. Column 9 is the actual amount paid to the worker for all work in the week, so 7B minus the total in column 8. There is no column for withholding exemptions on the current form.
Page two: the Statement of Compliance
Page two repeats the project, payroll number, business name, location, and week ending date, then names the certifying official and title. The certification opens with one sentence, that the signer paid or supervised the payment of the laborers or mechanics on the project during the period, followed by six checkboxes. Per the instructions, boxes 1, 2, 3, and 6 must always be checked; boxes 4 and 5 are checked when they apply.
- Correct and complete. The payroll information is correct and complete, and the wage and fringe benefit rates paid, including any credit for a bona fide plan, are not less than the determination for the classifications actually performed.
- Records. Regular payrolls and other required basic records are complete and accurate and will be made available on request.
- Classifications. The classifications reported are the work each worker actually performed.
- Apprentices. Anyone paid as an apprentice is registered with the Office of Apprenticeship or a State Apprenticeship Agency, and the program table below the box, program name, OA or SAA, and classification, has been verified. Three rows are provided, with an addendum for more. If no apprentices, leave the box unchecked and write "N/A" under the program name.
- Fringe benefits. Paid in cash and/or to bona fide plans, funds, or programs. Where 6B carries an amount, the "Hourly Credit for Fringe Benefits" table lists each worker by entry number and name, up to six plans with name, type, plan number, and funded or unfunded status, the hourly credit under each, and the total hourly credit. An unfunded plan needs prior DOL approval under 29 CFR 5.28 before any credit is claimed. If you pay all fringe as cash, check the box and leave the table blank, since 6C already reports it.
- Deductions. Full weekly wages have been paid, and no rebates or deductions have been or will be made other than permissible deductions as defined in 29 CFR part 3.
An "Additional Remarks" field follows for deduction descriptions, fringe explanations, or anything else. The certifying official then signs and adds the date, a telephone number, and an email address. The instructions accept a legally valid electronic signature with a method of verifying the signer's identity, and say photocopied or scanned signatures do not satisfy the requirement. The statement need not be notarized, but it is subject to 18 U.S.C. section 1001: a fine, imprisonment of up to five years, or both. The warning printed at the bottom says willful falsification may bring civil or criminal prosecution under section 1001 of title 18 and section 3729 of title 31, plus debarment from future federal and federally assisted contracts, and that certified payroll information may be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act. Whoever prepares the form, the signature is the contractor's.
The California difference
On a California public works project the WH-347 is not the state filing. The state's certified payroll is the electronic eCPR filed directly with DIR, in DIR's format, and it carries the full social security number rather than the last four. Federally assisted projects need both. The WH-347 vs eCPR page untangles them, and how to submit to DIR walks the state side.
What we send you every week
A completed WH-347 on the current form with the Statement of Compliance staged for your signature, the DIR eCPR file that validates, and a confirmation copy for your records, all produced from the payroll export you already run and reviewed by a person before anything goes out. The first weekly filing is free.