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Certified payroll

Pennsylvania certified payroll: how often, where to file, how long to keep

By the Public Works Desk Team · Last verified · How we check every number · Corrections

Source: 34 Pa. Code § 9.103 (Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage regulations) (retrieved 2026-11-13)

Under Pennsylvania's prevailing wage regulations, each contractor and subcontractor files a sworn statement every week,

and a final statement when the work ends, with the contracting agency,

certifying that workers were paid the contract rates.

Payroll records are preserved for two years from the date of payment.

  • State text quoted word for word
  • Checked November 13, 2026
A subcontractor's owner signs the certification on a weekly payroll sheet in a site trailer, with pines, a moss-draped oak and an excavated ditch outside.

Pennsylvania at a glance

How oftenWeekly, plus a final statement
Send toContracting agency (public body)
System / formatForm satisfactory to L&I (no state portal in the rule)
Keep recordsYou keep: 2 years from the date of payment
If you don'tUnder the Prevailing Wage Act of 1961

What the law says

“each contractor and each subcontractor shall file a statement each week and a final statement at

the conclusion of the work on the contract with the contracting agency,

under oath, and in form satisfactory to the Secretary”

34 Pa. Code § 9.103 (Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage regulations) · retrieved 2026-11-13

“The record shall be preserved for 2 years from the date of payment”

34 Pa. Code § 9.103 (Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage regulations) · retrieved 2026-11-13

“workmen employed or working on the public work shall be paid unconditionally,”

34 Pa. Code § 9.103 (Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage regulations) · retrieved 2026-11-13

“shall pay the monetary equivalent thereof directly to the workmen.”

34 Pa. Code § 9.103 (Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage regulations) · retrieved 2026-11-13

Step by step

  1. Read the contract's required provisionsPennsylvania public work contracts must include these conditions, including the weekly statement.
  2. Pay weeklyWorkers on the public work are paid at least once a week, without unauthorized deductions.
  3. File the weekly sworn statementWith the contracting agency, under oath, in a form the Secretary of Labor and Industry accepts.
  4. File the final statementWhen your work on the contract is complete.
Common mistakes
  • Assuming no filing is needed because Pennsylvania has no state upload portal.
  • Paying fringe to a plan not counted by the Secretary without paying the cash equivalent.
  • Throwing away payroll records before two years.
Federal money on the job? Pennsylvania files Weekly, plus a final statement, sent to Contracting agency (public body). Pennsylvania's 2-year rule is shorter than the federal one. On a federally funded job, keep payrolls for at least 3 years after all the work on the prime contract is completed (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)): the federal floor is the one that binds, and the weekly WH-347 goes in too.
Limits. Pennsylvania's filing and recordkeeping rules here are for state public works, quoted from the statutes cited below. They do not replace the weekly WH-347 or the federal 3-year retention period (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)) on a Davis-Bacon job. Penalty language is quoted, not computed.

Related

Other states

Sources