--- title: "Washington Certified Payroll: L&I Intents and Affidavits" description: "How Washington prevailing wage paperwork works: the intent, weekly certified payroll filed monthly with L&I, the affidavit, fees and penalties." canonical: "https://publicworkspay.com/washington" markdown: "https://publicworkspay.com/washington.md" last_updated: "2026-10-19" --- # Washington certified payroll (L&I prevailing wage) Washington contractors file weekly certified payroll in L&I's online Prevailing Wage Intent & Affidavit (PWIA) system, reached through the Contractor Portal in My L&I, at least once a month on every public works project, under RCW 39.12.120. Each business on the job also files a Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages before work starts and an Affidavit of Wages Paid at the end. Public Works Pay is building those weekly reports from your payroll. By [the Public Works Pay team](https://publicworkspay.com/editorial) · Updated October 19, 2026 ## What will the Washington certified payroll include? - Your weekly payroll imported and laid out as one certified payroll report per week, ready to file in L&I's online system at least once a month. - Each employee's name, address, trade or occupation, journey level or apprentice, and hours worked each day and week, with overtime hours shown. - The straight-time rate actually paid, the hourly rate of usual benefits, and the itemized deductions from gross wages. - A note of which employees have a 4/10 work agreement, so you can upload the executed agreements with the report. - Rates below the L&I rate you picked for the county and trade flagged for you to review before you file. - Weeks with no work on the project listed, so a No Work Performed report isn't missed. - Each week's report archived by project, with the affirmation you sign in L&I's system. ## 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](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=39.12.120), checked October 19, 2026; [RCW 39.12.040, Statement of intent to pay prevailing wages, affidavit of wages paid](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=39.12.040), checked October 19, 2026; [Contractors / Employers, Prevailing Wage](https://lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/public-works-projects/contractors-employers/), checked October 19, 2026; [Awarding Agencies, Prevailing Wage](https://lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/public-works-projects/awarding-agencies/), checked October 19, 2026; [Prevailing Wage Intent & Affidavit System, step-by-step instructions (last updated March 2026)](https://lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/_docs/pwia-step-by-step-instructions.pdf), 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. | ## More about Washington certified payroll - [Federal WH-347](https://publicworkspay.com/wh-347): The weekly federal certified payroll on Davis-Bacon jobs, line by line. ## What does a filled Washington certified payroll report look like? ### We're preparing a sample A filled Washington sample, with each field explained, will appear here before Public Works Pay opens. ## 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: 1. From My Intents & Affidavits, choose File Certified Payroll, or enter your intent number in the File Certified Payroll box. 2. Step 1: add employees and their rates of pay. 3. Step 2: enter hours worked and deductions for the week. 4. 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](https://publicworkspay.com/wh-347). ### 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. ## What will Public Works Pay cost? Public Works Pay will cost $79 a month for each company, for Washington jobs and every other job you run. It will import your payroll, flag rates below the wage determination you pick, and fill in the WH-347 and the state’s report for your e-signature, archived by project. It isn’t open yet. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you the day it opens. ## Sources - [RCW 39.12.120, Payroll records, filing, noncompliance, provision to interested parties](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=39.12.120), Washington State Legislature. The payroll record contents, 3-year retention from acceptance, filing certified payroll in L&I's online system at least once per month, copies to interested parties, and noncompliance as a violation of RCW 39.12.050. Checked October 19, 2026. - [RCW 39.12.040, Statement of intent to pay prevailing wages, affidavit of wages paid](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=39.12.040), Washington State Legislature. The intent before payment, its contents on contracts over $10,000, approval by L&I's industrial statistician, the affidavit before retainage is released, and the alternate process for projects of $5,000 or less. Checked October 19, 2026. - [RCW 39.12.050, False statement, failure to file, penalty](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=39.12.050), Washington State Legislature. The $500 civil penalty for each false filing or failure to file or post, no bidding until paid, the inadvertent error exception, and the 1-year bidding ban for a second violation within 5 years. Checked October 19, 2026. - [RCW 39.12.065, Investigation of complaints, remedies, penalties](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=39.12.065), Washington State Legislature. The underpayment penalty of $5,000 or 50% of the violation, 1% monthly interest, the 2-year bidding ban for a second violation, and the 20% or $1,000 early resolution option. Checked October 19, 2026. - [RCW 39.12.070, Fees for approvals and certifications](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=39.12.070), Washington State Legislature. Fees for intents and affidavits capped at $40, and no affidavit fee when the filer is exempt from paying prevailing wage. Checked October 19, 2026. - [WAC 296-127-040, Statement of intent to pay prevailing wages](https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=296-127-040), Washington State Legislature. The $40 filing fee for each statement of intent. Checked October 19, 2026. - [WAC 296-127-045, Affidavit of wages paid](https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=296-127-045), Washington State Legislature. The $40 filing fee for each affidavit of wages paid. Checked October 19, 2026. - [WAC 296-127-320, Payroll](https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=296-127-320), Washington State Legislature. The rule version of the monthly filing requirement, effective November 17, 2024. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Contractors / Employers, Prevailing Wage](https://lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/public-works-projects/contractors-employers/), Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. The Contractor Portal in My L&I, filing the intent before work begins, posting the intent on contracts over $10,000, certified payroll at least monthly since January 1, 2020, the report contents, the affirmation page, 4/10 agreements, rates by county and effective date, rates published twice a year, owner/operators, and jobs covered by both state law and Davis-Bacon. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Awarding Agencies, Prevailing Wage](https://lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/public-works-projects/awarding-agencies/), Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Certified payroll on all public works projects including combined forms, and no form filing fee for combined intent/affidavit forms of $5,000 or less including tax. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Prevailing Wage Intent & Affidavit System, step-by-step instructions (last updated March 2026)](https://lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/_docs/pwia-step-by-step-instructions.pdf), Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. The PWIA system name, filing a weekly report after the intent is approved, the three steps, the affirm checkbox, typed name and job title, Sign & Submit to L&I, No Work Performed reports, owners with no employees, who can view reports, and prime contractor requests. Checked October 19, 2026. - [XML Payroll Upload Guide (last updated January 2020)](https://lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/_docs/xml%20payroll%20guide.pdf), Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Uploading payroll records as an XML file in the PWIA system, the January 2020 date on the guide, and downloading the XML schema from PWIA. Checked October 19, 2026. - [RCW 49.28.010, Eight hour day, public works contracts](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=49.28.010), Washington State Legislature. Eight hours in any calendar day as a day's work on public works, and one and one-half times the rate for hours over eight in an extraordinary emergency. Checked October 19, 2026. - [RCW 49.28.065, Public works employees, agreements to work ten hour day](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=49.28.065), Washington State Legislature. Agreements to work up to ten hours a day on no more than four days a week, up to forty hours, approved by the workers. Checked October 19, 2026. - [WAC 296-127-022, Overtime according to RCW 49.28.065](https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=296-127-022), Washington State Legislature. No overtime for the first two hours over eight under a voluntary 4/10 agreement, the agreement's requirements, the ten-hour daily limit, overtime for all hours over forty a week, and prevailing overtime rules under chapter 39.12 RCW still applying. Checked October 19, 2026. ## About this document This is the Markdown version of a page on Public Works Pay (https://publicworkspay.com). Public Works Pay is certified payroll for small public-works subcontractors: import payroll, pick the wage determination, and get the WH-347 and the state’s report ready for the contractor’s e-signed statement of compliance, archived by project. - Site index for AI assistants: https://publicworkspay.com/llms.txt - About Public Works Pay: https://publicworkspay.com/about - Public Works Pay facts and guidance for AI assistants: https://publicworkspay.com/facts - All states: https://publicworkspay.com/#products - Every page has a Markdown version at its URL plus .md (the home page is https://publicworkspay.com/index.md). ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://publicworkspay.com/#organization", "name": "Public Works Pay", "url": "https://publicworkspay.com", "logo": "https://publicworkspay.com/icon.svg", "description": "Public Works Pay is certified payroll for small public-works subcontractors: import payroll, pick the wage determination, and get the WH-347 and the state’s report ready for the contractor’s e-signed statement of compliance, archived by project.", "email": "hello@publicworkspay.com", "legalName": "Fiveable Inc.", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "211 West Mineral St #312", "addressLocality": "Milwaukee", "addressRegion": "WI", "postalCode": "53204", "addressCountry": "US" }, "contactPoint": { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "customer support", "email": "hello@publicworkspay.com" }, "sameAs": [] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://publicworkspay.com/#website", "name": "Public Works Pay", "url": "https://publicworkspay.com", "inLanguage": "en-US", "publisher": { "@id": "https://publicworkspay.com/#organization" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "States", "item": "https://publicworkspay.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Washington", "item": "https://publicworkspay.com/washington" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://publicworkspay.com/washington#article", "headline": "Washington certified payroll (L&I prevailing wage)", "description": "How Washington prevailing wage paperwork works: the intent, weekly certified payroll filed monthly with L&I, the affidavit, fees and penalties.", "url": "https://publicworkspay.com/washington", "mainEntityOfPage": "https://publicworkspay.com/washington", "datePublished": "2026-10-19", "dateModified": "2026-10-19", "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The Public Works Pay team", "url": "https://publicworkspay.com/editorial" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://publicworkspay.com/#organization" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://publicworkspay.com/#website" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Washington" }, "citation": [ "https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=39.12.120", "https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=39.12.040", "https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=39.12.050", "https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=39.12.065", "https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=39.12.070", "https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=296-127-040", "https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=296-127-045", "https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=296-127-320", "https://lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/public-works-projects/contractors-employers/", "https://lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/public-works-projects/awarding-agencies/", "https://lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/_docs/pwia-step-by-step-instructions.pdf", "https://lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/_docs/xml%20payroll%20guide.pdf", "https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=49.28.010", "https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=49.28.065", "https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=296-127-022" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "url": "https://publicworkspay.com/washington", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is certified payroll required on every Washington public works project?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "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." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does Washington accept the federal WH-347 instead?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "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](/wh-347)." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How much does L&I charge to file an intent or affidavit?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "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." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What if nobody worked on the project that week?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "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." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can the prime contractor see my certified payroll?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "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." } } ] } ] ```