Everything You Need to Know About the New WH-347

If you or your team fill out the WH-347, you've probably muttered some version of "I hate this form."

Well, we've got good news and bad news for you. The good news: the Department of Labor is retiring the old WH-347 on September 30, 2026. The bad news: that means you'll need to be squared away on an entirely new version of the form — new fields, new layout, the works — before then.

Here's the short version: in January of 2025, the DOL combined the old WH-347 and WH-348 into one two-page form and now requires a lot more detail than before — especially on fringe benefits and on whether each worker is a journeyworker or a registered apprentice. Using this specific form has always been optional — but if you're still running the 2008 version, you've got a real deadline coming, and we'll get to that. Let's get into it.

What is Form WH-347, and is it actually required?

Form WH-347 is the Department of Labor's standard certified payroll form for contractors and subcontractors working on federal or federally assisted construction projects covered by the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA).

If you want to get needlessly technical about it: using this specific form has never been mandatory. What is mandatory is submitting accurate weekly certified payroll reports that contain the required information. The DOL's own instructions put it plainly: while use of Form WH-347 is optional, covered contractors and subcontractors are required by DBRA regulations and their contract clauses to submit payroll information on a weekly basis, and that requirement traces back to the Copeland Act. (DOL, Instructions for Completing Form WH-347)

So WH-347 isn't the law. It's the DOL's way of making sure you satisfy the law without having to invent your own paperwork from scratch. And even if you build your own report instead of using DOL's form, it'll need to contain the same information laid out the same way — which means it'll end up looking a whole lot like the WH-347 anyway. Most contractors just use the form itself, which is exactly why the new version matters.

What changed in the 2025 revision?

The short answer: the form got bigger, more detailed, and more explicit about fringe benefits and apprenticeship status. Here's the side-by-side:

Source for both versions: DOL's official WH-347 form (Rev. Jan 2025) and the prior WH-347/WH-348 (Rev. Dec 2008), OMB No. 1235-0008. (DOL, Form WH-347 Rev. Jan 2025 and prior WH-347/WH-348 Rev. Dec 2008)

Field-by-field: what's actually new

A few fields are genuinely new territory, not just reshuffled boxes. Here's what to know about each one, straight from DOL's instructions: (DOL, Instructions for Completing Form WH-347)

• Column 1A – Worker Entry No.: Every worker gets a sequential number starting at 1. If a worker performed work under more than one labor classification during the week, they keep the same entry number across every row they appear in — but get a separate row per classification.
• Column 1E – Worker Identifying No.: Still a partial ID (like the last four digits of a Social Security number) — DOL is explicit that full Social Security numbers must not be included.
• Column 2 – Journeyworker / Registered Apprentice: Enter "J" for journeyworker or "RA" for registered apprentice. If it's "RA," you also need to note the apprentice's level of progression in the program.
• Columns 6B and 6C – Fringe Benefit Credit vs. Payment in Lieu: These are now separate line items. 6B is your contribution to (or reasonably anticipated cost of) a bona fide fringe benefit plan; 6C is cash paid directly to the worker instead of a fringe benefit. If you're doing a mix of both for a given worker, both columns get filled in.
• Columns 7A and 7B – Project Gross vs. Total Gross: 7A is what the worker earned on this federal or federally assisted project. 7B is their total gross for all work that week, including any non-DBRA jobs. If the worker only worked on this project, these numbers match. If not, they won't — and DOL wants both.
• Page 2 Apprenticeship Section: If any worker on the payroll is an apprentice, this section is no longer optional — you check the box, name the apprenticeship program, confirm OA (Office of Apprenticeship) or SAA (State Apprenticeship Agency) registration, and list the labor classification.
• Page 2 Hourly Credit for Fringe Benefits table: If you entered anything in column 6B on page 1, this table on page 2 now requires you to itemize it — plan name, type, plan number, funded or unfunded status, and the hourly credit claimed, per worker, per plan. DOL caps this table at six benefit plans per worker before you need to attach an addendum.

What is the fringe addendum? When do i have to fill it out?

Short answer: it's the extra page you attach when your fringe benefit reporting doesn't fit on page 2 of the WH-347 anymore.

When you look at page 2 of the new WH-347, the "Hourly Credit for Fringe Benefits" table gives you room to itemize up to six fringe benefit plans — name, type, plan number, funded or unfunded status, and the hourly credit claimed. If you're only claiming credit for six or fewer bona fide fringe benefit plans across your workers, that table is all you need — no addendum required.

If you're claiming credit for more than six bona fide fringe benefit plans, the DOL requires you to submit an addendum containing that same plan-by-plan information for anything past the sixth.1 It only applies if you're actually claiming an hourly fringe benefit credit in the first place (box 5 on page 2) — if you're covering your fringe obligation entirely in cash, that gets reported in column 6C on page 1 instead, and this section doesn't apply to you at all.

How will the new WH-347 affect my payroll process?

Let's be real though: this is more form to fill out, not less.

The new WH-347 asks for more granular information per worker, per week, than the old one did — particularly on fringe benefits and apprenticeship status. Page 2 now does double duty as both your legal Statement of Compliance and a full fringe-benefit ledger, worker by worker, plan by plan.

If your team was fast and accurate on the old form, don't assume that speed carries over automatically. Budget extra time — for the first few weeks, at least — while everyone gets used to where things live now.

Why this is more of a headache than it might sound like

DOL published an annotated guide alongside the new form — essentially a form-shaped diagram with call-out boxes explaining what goes where. (DOL, WH-347 Annotated Guide) That guide runs several pages to explain a form that, in its previous version, mostly explained itself. That's a fair signal that the complexity here is real, not cosmetic.

DOL's own annotated guide to the new WH-347. We counted the arrows so you don't have to. There are 23 arrows in this section alone.

A few things worth knowing as you plan for this:

• Your payroll software may not support it yet. Rebuilding a certified payroll template — validation logic, exports, everything — takes vendors real development time. Don't assume your current tool has already made the switch. Ask directly, and get a straight answer on the timeline.
• The fringe benefit and apprenticeship sections are where most reporting errors will happen. They're the most detailed, most restructured parts of the form, and the parts furthest from muscle memory if you've been filling out the old version for years.
• This is a good moment to audit your actual fringe benefit documentation — plan names, types, plan numbers, funded/unfunded status — since the new form requires you to have that on hand in a way the old one didn't as explicitly.

55 min to manually complete the WH-347? Is that what passes for a joke at the DOL?

Do I actually have to use the new WH-347?

Short answer: yes, and there's a real date attached to it.

The pre-2025 version of Form WH-347/WH-348 carries an OMB control number — 1235-0008 — with an approval that expires September 30, 2026. (Prior Form WH-347/WH-348, OMB No. 1235-0008, expiration date as printed on the form) Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, federal agencies generally can't require submissions on a collection whose OMB approval has lapsed. In plain terms: once that date passes, the old format's authorization runs out, and the federal government stops accepting certified payroll submitted in the pre-2025 format.

So: you don't have until the last minute on this one. Start the switch now, while you've still got runway, instead of scrambling in September 2026 with everyone else.

What contractors and subcontractors should do now

1. Ask your payroll or certified-payroll software provider whether — and when — they support the new WH-347 format. Don't assume.
2. Update your internal templates and SOPs to reflect the new fields, especially the fringe benefit and apprenticeship sections.
3. Train whoever fills out or reviews certified payroll on the new columns, particularly Journeyworker/RA status and the 6A/6B/6C fringe split.
4. Pull your fringe benefit plan documentation together now — names, types, plan numbers, funded/unfunded status — so you're not hunting for it under deadline pressure.
5. Set a firm internal cutover date well ahead of 9/30/2026, not on it.

Need more help? WagePath keeps certified payroll templates current with DOL's latest format and flags common fringe benefit and apprenticeship reporting errors before you submit. If you want a second set of eyes on your transition, we're here.

What should payroll software providers be doing about the new WH-347?

If you’re a payroll software provider, the information we’ve provided above is designed to help you too. However, if you have no plans to support the new form you should already be actively communicating with your clients about how to adapt. If you didn’t know it already, certified payroll reporting on public works projects is a big deal to the contractors that work on them. A big complicated deal.

Fortunately, with WagePath, your clients can generate an up-to-date, compliant WH-347 in a few seconds. And yes, we’re set up to work with any payroll software. Reach out and learn how we can support your team.

Sources

All information in this post is sourced directly from the U.S. Department of Labor:

1. Instructions for Completing Form WH-347 — U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
2. Form WH-347 (Rev. January 2025) — OMB No. 1235-0008, Expires 01/31/2028
3. WH-347 Annotated Guide — U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
4. Prior Form WH-347/WH-348 (Rev. December 2008) — OMB No. 1235-0008, Expires 09/30/2026