Davis-Bacon Statement of Compliance: who signs and what it certifies

The Statement of Compliance is the signed promise that makes a weekly payroll “certified.” Under the Department of Labor’s rules, each certified payroll must be accompanied by a Statement of Compliance, signed by the contractor, the subcontractor, or their agent who pays or supervises the payment of the workers. Without it, the payroll is just a spreadsheet.

This guide explains who can sign, what the signature says, and where offices get it wrong. The main source is the Davis-Bacon contract clause in 29 CFR 5.5, a Department of Labor regulation published in the eCFR.

What is the Statement of Compliance?

It is a short certification that goes with every weekly certified payroll on a Davis-Bacon or related-acts job. The rule says the contractor must submit certified payrolls weekly for each week in which any covered work is performed. The Statement of Compliance rides along with each one.

The payroll lists the facts: workers, classifications, hours, rates and deductions. The statement is where a responsible person says those facts are true and that the workers were paid what the contract requires.

What does the signature certify?

According to the same section of the regulation, the statement certifies three things, the second of which has two parts:

1. The payroll and records are correct and complete. The payroll contains the information the rule requires for that pay period, and the basic records are being maintained.
2. Full wages were paid, with proper deductions. Each laborer or mechanic, including helpers and apprentices, was paid the full weekly wages earned, without rebate, either directly or indirectly. No deductions were made from the wages earned other than those the rules permit. Permitted deductions are listed in 29 CFR part 3.
3. Rates were met. Each worker was paid not less than the applicable wage rates and fringe benefits, or cash equivalents, for the work performed.

Notice what this means in practice. Item 3 only works if the classifications on the payroll match the wage determination attached to the contract. The deduction promise only works if every deduction code in your payroll system fits a permitted category. The signer is vouching for all of it.

Who can sign it?

The regulation says the statement is signed by the contractor or subcontractor, or by their agent who pays or supervises the payment of the workers. The signature must be an original handwritten signature or a legally valid electronic signature.

Two points follow from that wording:

• The signer should be someone who actually knows how the crew was paid. A person who signs a stack of forms without looking at the payroll register is not in a good position to make these promises.
• Typing a name into a box is not enough on its own. An electronic signature has to be legally valid.

If your company has an owner and an office manager, decide in writing who signs and what they check first. Do not leave it to whoever is in the office on Friday.

Do you have to use the WH-347?

No. The rule lets you submit weekly payroll information on the DOL’s Optional Form WH-347 or in another format. But if you use the WH-347, a properly executed certification on the reverse side of the form satisfies the Statement of Compliance requirement.

If you use another format, such as an agency portal or the general contractor’s own system, make sure the statement is still there, and ask the prime contractor how they collect it.

The prime contractor is responsible for submitting all certified payrolls from its subcontractors, according to 29 CFR 5.5. In practice, a subcontractor sends its payroll and signed statement to the prime, and the prime passes them on to the contracting agency or the project owner, depending on the contract.

Also note that full Social Security numbers must not appear on weekly submissions. 29 CFR 5.5 says the payroll needs only an individually identifying number for each worker, such as the last four digits. Keep the full numbers in your own records, since the rule lets the agency ask for them.

What happens if the statement is wrong?

The regulation warns that falsifying these certifications may subject the contractor or subcontractor to civil or criminal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 31 U.S.C. 3729, the False Claims Act, which carries civil liability. The federal false statements law covers knowingly and willfully making a materially false statement, and generally sets a maximum prison term of 5 years.

Many errors are honest ones: a wrong classification, a fringe credit that was miscalculated, or a deduction that was not allowed. The signature is what turns a mistake into something that someone certified, so it pays to check before signing, not after.

A check to run before you sign

1. Do the project name and week-ending date match the contract?
2. Does every classification appear on the wage determination for this contract?
3. Does base rate plus fringe meet the determination for every hour?
4. Does each deduction fit a category allowed under part 3, with consent on file where needed?
5. Do gross pay, deductions and net pay tie to your payroll register?
6. Is the signer the contractor, subcontractor or an agent who pays or supervises the payment of the workers?
7. Is the signature handwritten or a legally valid electronic one?

Keep the signed statements with your payrolls. The same section requires you to keep certified payrolls for 3 years after all the work on the prime contract is completed.

Where Payrung fits

Payrung is being built to turn your payroll export into submission-ready certified payroll, with the totals carried over so the person who signs can check them against your register. It is not built yet. Join the waitlist.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Certification duties depend on your contract and the facts, so check with a qualified professional.