How to Report Apprentices on the WH-347 (Column by Column)

Published October 5, 2026

Apprentices are where a lot of certified payrolls go wrong, because the WH-347 asks about them in four places and the rules behind it are strict. Here is each place, using the current form, Rev. January 2025.

Column 2: J or RA

Column 2 says whether each worker is a journeyworker or a registered apprentice. The instructions:

Enter "J" if the worker is a journeyworker or "RA" if the worker is a registered apprentice... For registered apprentices, also list their level of progression within the approved program. (Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division: Form WH-347 (Rev. January 2025) and its instructions, instructions, column 2.)

Column 3: the classification

Column 3 is the labor classification for the work actually performed, taken from the wage determination. (Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division: Form WH-347 (Rev. January 2025) and its instructions, instructions, column 3.) For an apprentice, that is the classification of the work the apprentice actually did; the RA and the level in column 2 are what mark the worker as an apprentice. Page 2 of the form repeats the point: the person signing certifies that the classifications reported are the work each worker actually performed. (Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division: Form WH-347 (Rev. January 2025) and its instructions, page 2.)

The ratio rule

An apprentice can only be paid the apprentice rate when two things are true.

• Registered. The apprentice is individually registered in a bona fide apprenticeship program registered with the DOL Office of Apprenticeship (OA) or with a State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA) the OA recognizes. (Source: 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions (certified payrolls, apprentices, overtime), (a)(4)(i).) Someone in the first 90 days of probationary employment who is certified as eligible also qualifies. (Source: 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions (certified payrolls, apprentices, overtime), (a)(4)(i).)
• Within the ratio. The number of apprentices to journeyworkers on the job site, in each craft classification, cannot be greater than the ratio the registered program allows. (Source: 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions (certified payrolls, apprentices, overtime), (a)(4)(i).) Since the 2023 rule, it is the ratio and wage standards for the locality where the work is actually performed. (Source: DOL: Davis-Bacon final rule frequently asked questions.)

What happens when the ratio is exceeded

Any apprentice performing work on the job site in excess of the ratio permitted under this section must be paid not less than the applicable wage rate on the wage determination for the work actually performed. (Source: 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions (certified payrolls, apprentices, overtime), (a)(4)(i).)

In plain terms: the extra apprentice is owed the full journeyworker rate for those hours, not the apprentice rate. The same goes for anyone listed as an apprentice who is not registered. (Source: 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions (certified payrolls, apprentices, overtime), (a)(4)(i).) Underpaying them is a wage violation, and the payroll you certify would then be wrong.

Example: the program allows 1 apprentice for every 3 journeyworkers in the electrician classification. On a day with 3 electrician journeyworkers on site, 1 apprentice is within the ratio. If 2 apprentices worked that day, one of them is over the ratio and is owed the electrician journeyworker rate for that day's hours.

Page 2: box 4 and the program block

The Statement of Compliance on page 2 has six statements to check. One of them says that any workers paid as apprentices are registered in a bona fide program registered with the OA or a recognized SAA, and that the program information below it is accurate. (Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division: Form WH-347 (Rev. January 2025) and its instructions, page 2.) The instructions:

box 4 must be checked and each program name... must be listed, with the appropriate box checked to indicate whether the apprenticeship program is registered with DOL's Office of Apprenticeship (OA) or a State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA), and the name of the labor classification entered. (Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division: Form WH-347 (Rev. January 2025) and its instructions, instructions, page 2.)

So for every program with apprentices on the project that week: the program name, OA or SAA, and the classification.

A quick check before you sign

1. Every apprentice row has RA and a level in column 2.
2. Column 3 names the trade classification from the wage determination.
3. Each apprentice is individually registered, or is a certified probationary apprentice in the first 90 days.
4. For each classification and each day, apprentices on site are within the program's ratio for this locality.
5. Anyone over the ratio, or not registered, is paid the journeyworker rate.
6. Box 4 is checked and every program is listed with OA or SAA and the classification.