7 WH-347 Mistakes That Get Certified Payrolls Rejected

Published October 5, 2026

Agencies and the Department of Labor review certified payrolls to see whether workers got the wages and fringe benefits they were owed. (Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division: Form WH-347 (Rev. January 2025) and its instructions, page 1.) These seven mistakes are the kind that review catches. Each one is checkable before the payroll goes in.

1. Using an old version of the form

The current WH-347 is Rev. January 2025. It carries OMB control number 1235-0008 with an expiration date of January 31, 2028. (Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division: Form WH-347 (Rev. January 2025) and its instructions.) OMB approved this version on January 6, 2025. (Source: OMB Notice of Action for control number 1235-0008 (January 6, 2025).) DOL's notice for it said the revisions add fields to obtain more specific information about fringe benefits, and that the last substantive edits were made in 2011. (Source: Federal Register: WH-347 information collection notice (November 27, 2024).)

An older version is missing what the new one asks for, such as the per-worker fringe plan detail and the apprenticeship program block. Download the form from the DOL page each time you set up a project rather than reusing an old file. Using the WH-347 at all is optional, but whatever format you use has to carry the information the regulation requires. (Source: 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions (certified payrolls, apprentices, overtime), (a)(3)(ii).)

2. Overtime figured on the wrong base

Overtime under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act is at least 1.5 times the basic rate for hours over 40 in the workweek. (Source: 40 U.S.C. 3702, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act overtime, (a).) Fringe benefit contributions and costs can be left out of the rate overtime is figured on, as long as that does not take it below the basic hourly rate on the wage determination. (Source: 29 CFR 5.32, overtime payments.) One mistake is multiplying the fringe by 1.5 along with the wage, or figuring overtime on a rate below the determination. When one worker had two classifications that week, see weighted-average overtime.

3. Fringe entries that do not line up

On the January 2025 form, fringe is split three ways on page 1: the hourly rate in column 6A leaves out cash paid for fringe, column 6B is the credit for contributions to or costs of bona fide fringe benefit plans, and column 6C is cash paid in lieu of fringe benefits. (Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division: Form WH-347 (Rev. January 2025) and its instructions, instructions, columns 6A to 6C.) If 6B has an amount, page 2 must show the hourly credit under each plan's name, type and number for that worker, and whether the plan is funded or unfunded. An unfunded plan is one where the contractor provides the benefit directly. (Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division: Form WH-347 (Rev. January 2025) and its instructions, instructions, page 2.) A credit in 6B with no plan detail on page 2, or a funded box checked for a benefit the contractor pays directly, is a mismatch a reviewer will see.

4. An unsigned or wrongly signed statement

Each payroll needs the Statement of Compliance, signed by the contractor or the agent who pays or supervises payment, with an original handwritten or legally valid electronic signature. (Source: 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions (certified payrolls, apprentices, overtime), (a)(3)(ii).) See who can sign and what it certifies.

5. Not submitting every week

The contractor or subcontractor must submit certified payrolls weekly, for each week in which any covered work is performed. (Source: 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions (certified payrolls, apprentices, overtime), (a)(3)(ii)(A).) Skipping a slow week, or batching a month at once, misses that. Your contract or agency may set a more specific due date; follow it.

6. Missing or wrong worker identifiers

Column 1E is each worker's individual identifying number, such as the last four digits of the Social Security number or another number specific to that worker. The instructions are clear that full Social Security numbers must not be included. (Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division: Form WH-347 (Rev. January 2025) and its instructions, instructions, column 1E.) The regulation says the same about weekly submissions, and leaves out home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses too. (Source: 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions (certified payrolls, apprentices, overtime), (a)(3)(ii).) Both a blank and a full SSN are mistakes.

7. Apprentices over the ratio

An apprentice can be paid the apprentice rate only when registered and within the ratio the program allows for that craft on the job site. An apprentice over the ratio must be paid at least the wage determination rate for the work actually performed. (Source: 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions (certified payrolls, apprentices, overtime), (a)(4)(i).) See how to report apprentices.

Catch them before you sign

Every one of these can be checked from the payroll itself, the wage determination and your apprenticeship programs, before the statement is signed.