Where do I find the wage determination for my bid?

In the solicitation. The contracting officer must incorporate the appropriate wage determinations and may not include them by reference. Wage determinations are also published on SAM.gov.

Can I pay more than the wage determination rates?

Yes. The rates are minimums: workers must be paid at rates not less than those in the wage determination. On Form WH-347 you report the rate the worker was actually paid if it is higher.

Do I have to use Form WH-347 for certified payroll?

No. Use of WH-347 is optional and payroll information may be submitted in any form, but you must still submit payrolls weekly with a signed Statement of Compliance.

What if my trade is not listed on the wage determination?

The contracting officer must require that the classification be conformed to the wage determination, and approves an added classification and rate only when set criteria are met. The Department of Labor says to contact the contracting officer immediately.

Guide

What is a Davis-Bacon wage determination, and how does it affect a veteran-owned trade contractor's first federal bid?

Updated October 23, 2026

A wage determination is a set of wages, fringe benefits, and work rules that the Department of Labor has ruled to be prevailing for a given labor category in a given locality. [SAM.gov, Wage Determinations] Federal contracts over $2,000 for construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings or public works must require that laborers and mechanics on the site be paid no less than those prevailing rates. [FAR 22.403-1, Construction Wage Rate Requirements] The contracting officer puts the wage determination into the solicitation, so it sets the floor for every labor rate in your bid. [FAR 22.404-2, Wage determination general requirements]

What Davis-Bacon is and when it applies

The FAR now calls it the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute, formerly known as the Davis-Bacon Act. It covers contracts in excess of $2,000 to which the United States or the District of Columbia is a party for construction, alteration, or repair, including painting and decorating, of public buildings or public works within the United States. [FAR 22.403-1, Construction Wage Rate Requirements] Those solicitations and contracts must include the Construction Wage Rate Requirements clause, along with clauses on payrolls, apprentices, and subcontracts. [FAR 22.407, Solicitation provision and contract clauses] The rules apply to construction work performed by laborers and mechanics at the site of the work. They do not apply to employees at your permanent home office, fabrication shop, or tool yard away from the site, except for the time those employees actually spend doing construction at the site. [FAR 22.402, Applicability]

A supply or service contract can still be covered when it calls for a substantial amount of construction work that is physically or functionally separate from the rest of the contract. [FAR 22.402, Applicability]

Who counts as a laborer or mechanic

Laborers and mechanics are workers whose duties are manual or physical, including those who use tools or perform the work of a trade. The term includes apprentices, trainees, and helpers, and every person doing that work regardless of any contractual relationship alleged to exist with the contractor. [FAR 22.401, Definitions (construction labor standards)] A working foreman who spends more than 20 percent of a workweek doing laborer or mechanic duties is covered for that time, unless the foreman meets the criteria of 29 CFR part 541. [FAR 22.401, Definitions (construction labor standards)] If you or your foreman work with the tools on site, plan for that time on your payroll.

Where to find the wage determination

Wage determinations are published on SAM.gov, where you can search by wage determination number or start with the Davis-Bacon category for public buildings or works. [SAM.gov, Wage Determinations] The Department of Labor describes SAM.gov as the single location contracting officers use to get Davis-Bacon and Service Contract Act wage determinations, and says the site is open to the public. [U.S. Department of Labor, Davis-Bacon and Related Acts] A general wage determination covers a geographic area, has no expiration date, and once incorporated in a contract normally stays in effect for the life of the contract unless an option extends the term. A project wage determination is issued at a contracting agency’s specific request and is used only when no general wage determination applies. [FAR 22.404-1, Types of wage determinations]

For your bid, the one that matters is the one in the solicitation. The contracting officer must incorporate the appropriate wage determinations in solicitations and contracts and designate the work each one applies to, and inclusion by reference is not permitted. [FAR 22.404-2, Wage determination general requirements] A wage determination can hold separate rate schedules for building, residential, highway, and heavy construction, so check which schedule the solicitation applies to your part of the work. [FAR 22.404-2, Wage determination general requirements]

How it changes your labor and fringe pricing

Laborers and mechanics on the site must be paid unconditionally and not less often than once a week the full wages and bona fide fringe benefits, or cash equivalents, at rates not less than those in the wage determination attached to the contract. [FAR 52.222-6, Construction Wage Rate Requirements] Each worker is paid the rate and fringe for the classification of work actually performed, without regard to skill. A worker who performs work in more than one classification may be paid the rate for each classification for the time actually worked in it, provided your payroll records accurately show the time spent in each one. [FAR 52.222-6, Construction Wage Rate Requirements] Without that breakdown, the worker must be paid for all hours at the highest applicable prevailing wage rate. [U.S. Department of Labor, Form WH-347 instructions]

You can meet the fringe benefit obligation through contributions to or reasonably anticipated costs of bona fide benefit plans, or by paying workers cash in lieu of fringe benefits. [U.S. Department of Labor, Form WH-347 instructions] If a class of worker you need is not listed in the wage determination, the contracting officer must require that it be classified in conformance with the wage determination, and approves an added classification only when set criteria are met. [FAR 52.222-6, Construction Wage Rate Requirements] On prime contracts in excess of $100,000, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act also requires at least one and one-half times the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. [U.S. Department of Labor, Davis-Bacon and Related Acts] For the rest of the bid, see our guide to pricing your first federal bid.

Certified payroll every week

You must keep payrolls and basic records during the work and preserve them for 3 years afterward, including each worker’s classification, hourly rates paid, fringe benefits, hours worked, deductions, and actual wages paid. [FAR 52.222-8, Payrolls and Basic Records] You submit a copy of all payrolls to the contracting officer weekly for each week any contract work is performed, with a signed Statement of Compliance. Full social security numbers and home addresses are left off the weekly transmittals. The prime contractor is responsible for the submission of copies of payrolls by all subcontractors. [FAR 52.222-8, Payrolls and Basic Records] Payrolls are due within 7 calendar days after the regular payment date of the payroll week covered, and if they are not submitted promptly, the contracting officer withholds approval of an amount from payments due to you. [FAR 22.406-6, Payrolls and statements]

Optional Form WH-347 is one way to meet the requirement, and the payroll information may be submitted in any form desired. [FAR 52.222-8, Payrolls and Basic Records] The Department of Labor says the form, properly completed, satisfies the certified payroll requirements in parts 3 and 5 of Title 29 of the CFR. [U.S. Department of Labor, Form WH-347 instructions] The regulation also lets an agency or prime contractor permit or require certified payrolls through an electronic system, as long as it requires a legally valid electronic signature. [29 CFR 5.5, Contract provisions and related matters] Falsifying the certifications can lead to civil or criminal prosecution. [FAR 52.222-8, Payrolls and Basic Records]

Posting on the job site

The wage determination and the Davis-Bacon poster (WH-1321) must be posted at all times by the contractor and its subcontractors at the site of the work, in a prominent and accessible place where it can be easily seen by the workers. [FAR 52.222-6, Construction Wage Rate Requirements] [29 CFR 5.5, Contract provisions and related matters]

Apprentices and trainees

An apprentice may be paid less than the wage determination rate only when individually registered in a bona fide apprenticeship program registered with the Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship or a recognized State Apprenticeship Agency. [29 CFR 5.5, Contract provisions and related matters] The ratio of apprentices to journeymen on the job site cannot be greater than the registered program allows, and any worker paid at an apprentice rate who is not registered must be paid the full rate for the work actually performed. [FAR 52.222-9, Apprentices and Trainees] If you classify employees as apprentices, trainees, or helpers without meeting those rules, the contracting officer rejects the classification and requires you to pay the rate for the work actually performed. [FAR 22.406-4, Apprentices and trainees]

Flow-down to your subcontractors

The prime contractor must insert the labor standards clauses, including Construction Wage Rate Requirements, Apprentices and Trainees, and Payrolls and Basic Records, in any subcontracts for construction within the United States, and is responsible for compliance by any subcontractor or lower tier subcontractor. [FAR 52.222-11, Subcontracts (Labor Standards)] Within 14 days after award, the prime delivers to the contracting officer a completed Standard Form 1413 for each construction subcontract, with the subcontractor’s signed acknowledgment that the clauses are included. [FAR 52.222-11, Subcontracts (Labor Standards)] The Department of Labor rule also requires the applicable wage determination to go into each subcontract, and makes the prime and the responsible subcontractor liable for unpaid wages owed to workers of lower-tier subcontractors. [29 CFR 5.5, Contract provisions and related matters] For how much of the job you may sub out, see our guide to limitations on subcontracting.

Before construction begins, the contracting officer informs the contractor of the labor standards clauses and wage determination requirements, and may send an explanatory letter or hold a conference promptly after award. [FAR 22.406-1, Labor standards enforcement policy]

Service contracts use a different law

Contracts whose principal purpose is to furnish services in the United States through service employees fall under the Service Contract Labor Standards rules in FAR subpart 22.10 instead. [FAR 22.1003-1, Service contract labor standards: applicability] Service contracts over $2,500 must contain provisions on minimum wages and fringe benefits, safe and sanitary working conditions, and notice to employees of the minimum allowable compensation. [FAR 22.1002-1, Service contract labor standards: general] SAM.gov lists Service Contract Act wage determinations separately from Davis-Bacon ones. [SAM.gov, Wage Determinations] Read the solicitation to see which clauses and which wage determination it includes.

Common questions

Does Davis-Bacon apply to small federal repair jobs?: It applies to federal contracts in excess of $2,000 for construction, alteration, or repair, including painting and decorating, of public buildings or public works within the United States. [FAR 22.403-1, Construction Wage Rate Requirements]
Where do I find the wage determination for my bid?: In the solicitation. The contracting officer must incorporate the appropriate wage determinations and may not include them by reference. Wage determinations are also published on SAM.gov. [FAR 22.404-2, Wage determination general requirements] [SAM.gov, Wage Determinations]
Can I pay more than the wage determination rates?: Yes. The rates are minimums: workers must be paid at rates not less than those in the wage determination. On Form WH-347 you report the rate the worker was actually paid if it is higher. [FAR 52.222-6, Construction Wage Rate Requirements] [U.S. Department of Labor, Form WH-347 instructions]
Do I have to use Form WH-347 for certified payroll?: No. Use of WH-347 is optional and payroll information may be submitted in any form, but you must still submit payrolls weekly with a signed Statement of Compliance. [FAR 52.222-8, Payrolls and Basic Records] [U.S. Department of Labor, Form WH-347 instructions]
What if my trade is not listed on the wage determination?: The contracting officer must require that the classification be conformed to the wage determination, and approves an added classification and rate only when set criteria are met. The Department of Labor says to contact the contracting officer immediately. [FAR 52.222-6, Construction Wage Rate Requirements] [U.S. Department of Labor, Form WH-347 instructions]

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Sources

Checked against these sources on October 23, 2026. Rules change, so always read the current solicitation and regulation. This guide is general information, not legal advice.