What will the Washington certified payroll include?
What paperwork does a Washington public works job need?
Washington has three filings. The Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages comes first, then weekly certified payroll reports filed with L&I at least once a month, then the Affidavit of Wages Paid when the work is done. RCW 39.12.120 requires the certified payroll on all public works projects, and L&I says that has applied since January 1, 2020. The table below is the short version, checked October 19, 2026.
Sources: RCW 39.12.120, Payroll records, filing, noncompliance, provision to interested parties, checked October 19, 2026; RCW 39.12.040, Statement of intent to pay prevailing wages, affidavit of wages paid, checked October 19, 2026; Contractors / Employers, Prevailing Wage, checked October 19, 2026; Awarding Agencies, Prevailing Wage, checked October 19, 2026; Prevailing Wage Intent & Affidavit System, step-by-step instructions (last updated March 2026), checked October 19, 2026.| Item | Washington |
|---|---|
| What it's called | Certified payroll report (weekly), plus the Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages and the Affidavit of Wages Paid |
| Online system | L&I's Prevailing Wage Intent & Affidavit (PWIA) system, reached through the Contractor Portal in My L&I |
| Who files | Each contractor, subcontractor or employer on a public works project. Owner/operators with no employees still file the paperwork. |
| How often | A report for each week, filed with L&I at least once a month, on all public works projects |
| Who sees it | The awarding agency, the prime contractor and L&I can view a report in their L&I accounts once it's affirmed |
| Checked against | L&I's prevailing wage rates for the county where the work is done, using the prime's bid due date as the effective date |
| Signature | Check "Yes, I AFFIRM the following," type your name and job title, then Sign & Submit to L&I |
| Record retention | 3 years from the date the awarding agency accepts the project |
| Filing fees | $40 for each intent and $40 for each affidavit. No filing fee for a combined intent/affidavit on projects of $5,000 or less including tax. |
| Not filing or false filing | $500 civil penalty for each false filing or failure to file, and no bidding until it's paid. A second violation within 5 years adds a 1-year bidding ban. |
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Which forms does a Washington public works job need?
Three, filed in order:
| Form | When | What RCW 39.12.040 and L&I say |
|---|---|---|
| Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages | Right after the contract is awarded, before work begins | Filed online through the Contractor Portal and approved by L&I's industrial statistician. On contracts over $10,000 it lists your contractor registration number, the rate for each classification and the estimated number of workers in each. The agency can't pay you until it's approved. |
| Certified payroll report | One per week, filed at least once a month | Filed in L&I's online system under RCW 39.12.120 |
| Affidavit of Wages Paid | After the agency accepts the project | States the work you did and the rates paid. Certified by L&I before the agency releases retainage. |
L&I's contractor page says the approved intent goes up on the job site on contracts over $10,000. Until it's approved, the full list of applicable rates is posted instead. On projects of $5,000 or less, RCW 39.12.040(2) allows a combined intent/affidavit, and L&I's awarding agency page says it's filed online with no form filing fee.
What does the Washington certified payroll report ask for?
L&I's contractor page lists what each report includes:
- Employee name and address
- Trade and occupation, including journey level and apprentice workers
- Straight-time rate (the actual rate of wage paid)
- Hourly rate of usual benefits
- Hours worked, including overtime hours, each day and week
- All executed 4/10 work agreements, uploaded with the report
- All itemized deductions taken from gross wages
RCW 39.12.120(1) also requires the payroll records to show the Social Security number, classification, overtime rate, and actual gross wages, withholdings and net wages paid. L&I's PWIA instructions list the Social Security number as a report field and say it shows as asterisks once saved.
L&I says a report is certified only when it includes the state affirmation page, a signed statement that the contractor is following the state prevailing wage law and the information is correct and complete.
How do you file certified payroll in PWIA?
L&I's step-by-step instructions, last updated March 2026, describe the flow once your intent is approved:
- From My Intents & Affidavits, choose File Certified Payroll, or enter your intent number in the File Certified Payroll box.
- Step 1: add employees and their rates of pay.
- Step 2: enter hours worked and deductions for the week.
- Step 3: review each employee, the benefits distribution and the trade summary. Check "Yes, I AFFIRM the following," type your name and job title, and select Sign & Submit to L&I.
You can download each filed report as a PDF for anyone else who asks for it. L&I also publishes an XML payroll upload guide for sending payroll records as a file instead of keying them in. The guide is dated January 2020, and it says the XML schema itself downloads from inside PWIA. The awarding agency or prime may still ask for certified payroll directly, in addition to the L&I filing, according to the PWIA instructions.
Which rates is the Washington report checked against?
L&I's prevailing wage rates for the county where the work is done. Off-site fabrication uses the county where that work is performed. L&I's contractor page sets the effective date as the prime contractor's bid due date, or the award date if the contract isn't awarded within six months of bids. Subcontractors use the prime's effective date. L&I publishes rates twice a year.
L&I says the work performed, not the job title, decides the classification. State-registered apprentices can be paid apprentice rates, and other trainees get the journey-level rate. RCW 49.28.010 makes 8 hours in a calendar day a day's work on public works. Under RCW 49.28.065 and WAC 296-127-022, a voluntary 4/10 agreement for the project lets workers go up to 10 hours a day, four days a week, without the first two extra hours counting as overtime. The same rule says overtime is paid for all hours over 40 in a week, and the trade's own overtime and holiday rules on the rate still apply.
How long do you keep the records, and who can see them?
Three years from the date the awarding agency accepts the project, under RCW 39.12.120(1). L&I must give a copy of an employer's certified payroll to an interested party on request, under RCW 39.12.120(3).
What are the penalties in Washington?
| Violation | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|
| False statement, or failing to file a required statement or record | $500 civil penalty for each, and no bidding on public works until it's paid | RCW 39.12.050(1) |
| A second filing violation within 5 years | The same, plus no bidding on public works for 1 year | RCW 39.12.050(2) |
| Not filing certified payroll monthly | A violation of RCW 39.12.050 | RCW 39.12.120(4) |
| Not paying the prevailing rate | Civil penalty of $5,000 or 50% of the violation, whichever is greater, plus 1% a month interest on wages owed. A second violation within 5 years adds a 2-year bidding ban. | RCW 39.12.065(3) |
The filing penalty doesn't apply to an error the director finds was an inadvertent filing or reporting error. The contractor carries the burden of proving that, under RCW 39.12.050(1).
Common questions about Washington certified payroll
Is certified payroll required on every Washington public works project?
Yes. RCW 39.12.120(2) requires each contractor, subcontractor or employer to file certified payroll records using L&I's online system at least once per month. L&I's awarding agency page says this applies on all public works projects regardless of contract type, including combined intent/affidavit forms.
Does Washington accept the federal WH-347 instead?
No. L&I's contractor page says that on jobs covered by both the state law and Davis-Bacon, contractors meet the higher pay requirement of the two and complete the required paperwork for each law. The state certified payroll still goes to L&I's online system under RCW 39.12.120. The federal form is covered on our WH-347 page.
How much does L&I charge to file an intent or affidavit?
WAC 296-127-040 and WAC 296-127-045 set a $40 filing fee for each Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages and each Affidavit of Wages Paid. L&I's awarding agency page says there's no form filing fee for a combined intent/affidavit on projects of $5,000 or less, including tax.
What if nobody worked on the project that week?
L&I's PWIA instructions describe a No Work Performed report you file from the same certified payroll screen. Owners with no employees use a paper form from the system and upload it.
Can the prime contractor see my certified payroll?
Yes. L&I's PWIA instructions say that as soon as a weekly report is affirmed, the awarding agency, the prime contractor and L&I can view it in their online systems. Prime contractors can also request reports from their subcontractors in the system.