How to fill out Form WH-347, column by column (2025 revision)

Header: identify the contractor, the project and the week

The top of the form identifies who is reporting and for what: contractor or subcontractor business name and address, whether you are the prime contractor or a subcontractor, the project name and location, the project or contract number, the certified payroll number, and the week-ending date. The 2025 revision also asks for the wage determination number(s) and revision(s) that apply to the work and adds a checkbox to mark the final payroll for the project.

Number payrolls consecutively from the first week of work on the project. If no covered work happened in a week, most agencies expect either a payroll marked “no work” or a statement of non-performance; ask the recipient which they want so the sequence stays unbroken.

Columns 1–3: who worked and as what

Column 1 lists each worker: entry number, last name, first name, middle initial and a worker identifying number. The identifying number is a number your business assigns — an employee number, for example — not a Social Security number. Full SSNs and home addresses do not go on the form submitted to the agency.

Column 2 marks journeyworkers or registered apprentices (J / RA) and, for apprentices, the level or period in the program. Column 3 is the labor classification as it appears in the wage determination. If a worker performed work in more than one classification during the week, use a separate line for each classification with the hours and rate for that work; do not blend the rates.

Columns 4–5: hours by day

Column 4 has a box for each day of the week, with separate rows for straight time (S) and overtime (O). Enter the hours worked on this project only. Hours on other jobs are not listed, but they matter for overtime: under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, hours over 40 in the workweek on covered contracts are overtime, and a worker who reaches 40 hours across several jobs earns overtime on the covered project from that point.

Column 5 totals the hours for the row. Straight-time and overtime totals are kept separate.

Columns 6–7: rates and gross earnings

Column 6A is the actual hourly rate paid for straight time and for overtime. Column 6B records the fringe benefit credit taken per hour for contributions to bona fide plans, and 6C the amount paid in cash in lieu of fringe benefits. Together, cash wages plus credited fringe must reach the basic hourly rate plus fringe listed in the wage determination for that classification.

Column 7A is gross earned on this project; 7B is gross earned for all work in the week, which is the base for the deductions and net pay that follow. When a worker was on only this project, the two are the same.

Columns 8–9: deductions and net pay

Column 8 itemises deductions from the all-work gross: federal withholding, FICA, and other deductions with a total. Only deductions permitted under the Copeland Act regulations (29 CFR Part 3) may be taken — legally required withholdings, court-ordered payments, and voluntary deductions the worker authorised in writing for their own benefit. Anything unusual belongs in an explanation on the Statement of Compliance.

Column 9 is net pay for all work: gross earned all work minus total deductions. Agencies check this arithmetic first because it is the fastest way to spot a payroll that was retyped rather than produced from records.

Page 2: the Statement of Compliance

The second page is the certification. A person with authority to bind the contractor — an owner, officer, or an employee formally delegated the responsibility — signs it, stating that the payroll is correct and complete, that wages were paid without unlawful rebates or deductions, that classifications conform to the wage determination, that apprentices are registered, and how fringe benefits were provided: paid to approved plans, paid in cash, or a mix explained in the exceptions section. Falsifying the statement is a federal offence, which is why the signature should come after review, not before.

Use the current statement text from the official form. Agencies reject payrolls whose certification language has been paraphrased or shortened.

The errors that get payrolls returned

Most rejections are mechanical: a classification spelled differently from the wage determination; overtime paid on the base rate without the required premium; fringe shown as paid in cash but not actually added to the hourly rate; net pay that does not reconcile to gross minus deductions; a worker listed on one line with two rates; gaps in the payroll numbering; and a statement signed by someone without authority. A review pass that checks each of these before signing removes most of the back-and-forth.

• Classification names copied exactly from the wage determination
• One line per worker per classification per rate
• Overtime premium on the basic hourly rate for hours over 40 in the workweek
• Cash + fringe credit ≥ basic rate + fringe in the determination
• Gross − deductions = net for all-work columns
• Consecutive payroll numbers, including no-work weeks
• Statement of Compliance signed by an authorised person