How do you read a Davis-Bacon wage determination?

Where do you find the wage determination for your job?

Start with the contract or the bid documents. The contracting agency is responsible for picking the right wage determination and putting it in the solicitation and the contract, and when a job spans more than one area or construction type, the contract carries one for each (29 CFR 1.6(b)(1)). The regulation also says the contractor has its own obligation to make sure its pay practices comply (29 CFR 1.6(b)(2)).

To read the WD itself, go to SAM.gov's Wage Determinations search. If you have the number, search by WD number. Uncheck "Show active only" when the mod in your contract is older than the current one, because a revised WD becomes inactive and stays on the site for reference (29 CFR 1.6(a)(2)(iii)). If you don't have a number, Davis-Bacon WDs are under the "Public Buildings or Works" category. Every WD names its state, its counties and its construction types (building, residential, heavy or highway, or a combination).

What do the WD number and modification number mean?

The WD number identifies the schedule, and the modification number tells you which version of it you're looking at. The top of the WD lists every modification with its publication date. For example, OH20260033 covers building construction in Athens County, Ohio. It was published as modification 0 on January 2, 2026, and modification 1 on May 18, 2026. Each year's WD can replace the prior year's under a new number: OH20250033, dated January 3, 2025, lists OH20240033 as the general decision it superseded, so a contract signed in 2025 can cite a different number than the one SAM.gov shows as active today.

A general wage determination has no expiration date. It stays valid until DOL revises, supersedes or cancels it. A project wage determination, issued for one job, is good for 180 days unless it's put into a contract in that time (29 CFR 1.6(a)).

The WH-347 (Rev. January 2025) has a "Wage Determination No." box in the page 1 header, so the number on your payroll should match the one in your contract.

Which modification applies to your contract?

The modification in effect when the contract locks in, not whatever is newest on SAM.gov the week you run payroll. The rules are in 29 CFR 1.6(c)(2):

After award, a newer mod comes in only in specific cases: the contract is changed to add substantial work outside its original scope, an option extends the term, or the contract is the kind of open-ended construction contract (such as an IDIQ) that takes the latest WD on each anniversary of award (29 CFR 1.6(c)(2)(iii)). DOL can also correct clerical errors at any time, and a correction applies back to the start of construction (29 CFR 1.6(d)). Questions about which WD applies go to the Wage and Hour Administrator (29 CFR 1.6(b)(3)).

What do the rate identifiers mean?

Each group of classifications sits under a rate identifier that tells you where the rate came from. DOL explains them at the end of every WD:

How do you read one line of a wage determination?

Here's the electrician line from OH20260033, modification 1, as published on SAM.gov:

Read it this way: for work in the electrician classification on a building job in Athens County under this mod, the WD sets a minimum of $40.00 an hour in basic wages plus $33.32 an hour in fringe benefits, paid as plan contributions, cash or both. The DOL says workers are paid the rate for the classification of work actually performed. A worker who splits time between classifications can be paid each classification's rate for the hours in it, as long as the payroll records show the time in each (29 CFR 5.5(a)(1)(i)).

What's the difference between the base rate and the fringe column?

The "Rates" column is the basic hourly rate. The "Fringes" column is the hourly amount for bona fide fringe benefits. The statute lets the contractor meet the total with cash, contributions to fringe benefit plans, or any combination, as long as the total isn't less than the basic hourly rate plus the fringe amount (40 U.S.C. 3142(d)).

On the WH-347, the DOL's instructions put the hourly rate actually paid in column 6A, plan contributions in column 6B (total fringe benefit credit), and any cash paid in lieu of fringes in column 6C. Column 6A doesn't include cash in lieu of fringes. Our statement of compliance page covers how page 2 reports fringes.

What do the footnotes and notes on a WD mean?

Some lines carry extra terms inside the classification text. On OH20260033, the elevator mechanic line lists eight paid holidays and a vacation pay credit of 8% of the regular hourly rate for employees with more than 5 years of service, 6% for less. Those are part of the fringe obligation for that classification. When a fringe benefit isn't expressed as an hourly rate, the regulation lets the contractor pay the benefit as stated, another bona fide fringe benefit, or an hourly cash equivalent (29 CFR 5.5(a)(1)(iv)). Other WDs label these as footnotes (A, B and so on) at the end of the classification.

Notes at the bottom apply to the whole WD. OH20260033 says welders receive the rate for the craft performing the operation that the welding is incidental to.

What do the Executive Order notes on a WD say in 2026?

The WD we opened, OH20260033 modification 1, carries two Executive Order notes:

• EO 13706, paid sick leave. The note says it applies to Davis-Bacon contracts awarded (and solicited) on or after January 1, 2017, and covered employees earn 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 56 hours a year.
• EO 13658, minimum wage. The note says it generally applies to Davis-Bacon contracts awarded from January 1, 2015 through January 29, 2022 that haven't been renewed or extended on or after January 30, 2022, and not to contracts covered only by the Related Acts. The note lists at least $13.65 an hour, or the WD rate if higher, from May 11, 2026 through December 31, 2026. In the Federal Register, DOL set the $13.65 rate to take effect on May 11, 2026 (91 FR 5783, February 9, 2026), and its October 8, 2026 notice raises it to $14.05 on January 6, 2027 (91 FR 64403).

There's no Executive Order 14026 note on this WD. DOL's page says EO 14236 revoked EO 14026 on March 14, 2025, and that DOL no longer enforces EO 14026 or its rule at 29 CFR part 23. Older, inactive WDs still show it: OH20250033, modification 0 (January 3, 2025), the earlier Athens County building WD, opens with an EO 14026 and EO 13658 note.

What if a classification isn't on the wage determination?

It gets added through conformance after award. Every WD carries this note, and the process is in the contract clause at 29 CFR 5.5(a)(1)(iii). The DOL's WH-347 instructions say to contact the contracting officer or agency representative right away when the WD has no classification for work a worker performed.

The request goes on Standard Form 1444, Request for Authorization of Additional Classification and Wage Rate, or a similar form or letter. The agency signs it and emails it to DBAconformance@dol.gov, and DOL won't act on a request the agency hasn't signed. DOL approves a conformance only when all three are true (29 CFR 5.5(a)(1)(iii)(A)):

1. The work isn't performed by a classification already on the WD.
2. The classification is used in the area by the construction industry.
3. The proposed wage and fringe bear a reasonable relationship to the rates on the WD.

Conformance can't be used to split or subdivide a classification that's already listed. DOL responds within 30 days or says it needs more time, and DOL's guidance says no answer within 30 days isn't an approval. The approved rate applies from the first day anyone worked in the classification on the contract (29 CFR 5.5(a)(1)(iii)(E)).

Errors in a WD go to DOL's Branch of Construction Wage Determinations at BCWD-Office@dol.gov, per the WD and SAM.gov.