Oregon certified payroll: 4 rules before you bid

Key takeaways

• file WH-38 certified payroll records with the public agency on each covered project where you work as a contractor or subcontractor.
• do not count federal Form WH-347 as the Oregon filing, because it does not satisfy BOLI's filing requirements.
• price a 25 percent withholding for a prime or first-tier subcontractor whose monthly reports are not turned in.
• plan cash for the withheld amount to be paid within 14 days after certified payroll reports are submitted.
• set a monthly WH-38 filing task for yourself and each subcontractor before the bid goes in.

Estimators pricing that work should treat the filing as a priced line item with its own admin time.

Who the Oregon PWR law covers

Coverage starts with the project rather than with your company. The rule applies to a covered project, so the first estimating step is to confirm that the job you are pricing is a covered project before you assign any filing work. Ask the public agency for that answer through the bid questions process if one is offered, and file the reply with your bid package. A short written answer keeps the filing task, the withholding exposure and the payment timing tied to the right job.

Identify that agency from the bid documents and record its filing contact next to your project number. Use the same contact for every monthly submission, so the file for each month sits in one place and nobody searches for the right office.

When you price a subcontract package, add the sub's filing time to your own administration line rather than assuming the prime covers it. Keep that line separate so the reviewer can see which firm carries which filing.

Owners pricing public work should write the filing chain into the bid documents. List which firms must file WH-38 records, who receives them, and the monthly date, so every bidder prices the same obligation. Owners who leave this unstated push the guessing onto each bidder, and the bids then differ for reasons unrelated to the work itself. A clear statement in the solicitation gives every estimator the same starting point.

Read the prevailing wage section of each solicitation for the terms covered project and public agency. Mark those terms on your bid checklist and write the agency name beside them, so the estimator and the admin team use the same definitions. If the terms are unclear, put the question to the agency before the bid closes and log the answer. Keep the checklist in the estimate file after award. Review the wider public construction bid requirements alongside that checklist.

Rule 1: file WH-38 payrolls

Budget filing time for each firm

Price that duty for the prime and for every subcontractor on the job. Your estimate should show a filing line for your own company and a separate line for each sub, so the duty is visible when the bid is reviewed. Separate lines also show the admin cost of each tier.

Build a filing calendar with one WH-38 due point each month for the prime and for each subcontractor. Assign an owner name to each line, and include the date the packet leaves your office. A calendar of this kind turns a monthly obligation into a task with a named person responsible for it. Review the calendar at each progress meeting, and carry any packet still open into the next meeting's agenda.

Under the BOLI page, according to Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, contractors and subcontractors using their own forms or reports can comply with the certification requirement by completing and attaching the certified statement from the WH-38 form to their filing. If your accounting system generates its own payroll report, check whether you can attach the certified WH-38 statement to that report before the first monthly submission. Confirm the format with the agency before you rely on it.

Test the packet once with a sample set of records before the first monthly deadline. Look for the certified statement and the report period on each sub's packet, and correct any gaps while the job is still early. Catching gaps early gives the admin team time to fix them before the deadline arrives. Record each gap found and each fix, so the next month's packet starts from a cleaner baseline.

Budget admin hours for the WH-38 packet every month, including time to collect, check and store the packets that subcontractors send you. Treat that time as a recurring line in the estimate rather than a one-time setup cost. Review the line against actual hours after the first few months, and adjust the estimate for the next job using what the records show.

Rule 2: federal WH-347 does not substitute

Check your payroll system's output

Under Oregon's PWR law, according to Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, a DOL payroll report on federal Form WH-347 does not satisfy BOLI's filing requirements on projects subject to that law. Read the Oregon requirement as separate from any federal reporting on the same job. Keep both in view when you set up the admin plan.

Estimators who run one payroll system for every job may export only the federal format. If your system does that, add a step that produces the Oregon WH-38 packet as a separate deliverable. Name the output file differently so the two packets are never confused in the job folder. A separate output step makes the Oregon packet a deliberate task rather than a by-product of the federal export.

Keep the two packets in separate folders, with the WH-38 folder labeled for the Oregon agency. Use the agency's name in the folder title so anyone on the admin team can find it quickly. Add the folder name to the job checklist so the handoff between estimating and admin is clear.

Owners reviewing bids should ask each bidder which form it will file for the Oregon job. Owners can add that question to the bid questionnaire, so the answer is in writing before award. A bidder who answers with the federal form alone has not shown the Oregon filing in its plan. Treat that gap as an open question for the bid review rather than a minor detail. Check other public bid mistakes before award during the same review.

When the bid is in, record the filing form as a line in the award checklist, next to the monthly date. That line keeps the form question visible after award, when the first monthly packet is due. Review it with the admin team before the first submission. Confirm the form with the agency if anyone on the team is unsure which one applies to the job.

Rule 3: 25 percent withheld from the prime

Track the prime's reporting exposure

Under the PWR law, according to Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, the public agency must withhold 25 percent of any amount earned by a prime contractor when its certified payroll reports are not turned in each month. The trigger is the missing monthly report, so the holdback follows the reporting record rather than the progress schedule. Track each prime's monthly reports against that holdback exposure in the job file.

Put the withheld share in your cash-flow plan as money that waits on the filing record, not as money that arrives with the progress billing. Show the withheld amount as a separate line in your monthly cash forecast, so the timing is visible to the owner. Give the finance contact a copy of the filing calendar, so each month's packet date sits next to the expected release date.

The public agency's pay date for the withheld share, according to Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, falls within 14 days of submission. Write the submission date on the job calendar so you can check the release against that window. If payment arrives later, raise it with the agency with the submission date in hand. Keep a copy of the submission record with the job file.

Owners carrying the withheld share should confirm their own payment timing to primes. Put the release window in the contract schedule so the prime's cash plan and the owner's payment plan match. Note the 25 percent amount next to the schedule so both parties see the same figure. Shared figures keep payment questions on the progress meeting agenda rather than in dispute.

Estimators should list the withholding as a risk line in the bid review rather than burying it in general overhead. The line should name the agency, the prime, the monthly report and the 25 percent amount, so the reviewer sees each element. Keep the risk line open until the withheld amount is paid. Review the line after each monthly submission so the file shows that the reports were turned in on time.

Rule 4: 25 percent withheld from a first-tier sub

Track the prime's payment duty

Under the PWR law, according to Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, prime contractors must withhold 25 percent of any amount earned by a first-tier subcontractor when that subcontractor does not turn in its certified payroll reports each month. The duty sits with the prime at this tier, not with the agency. Price it as a cash-flow item on the prime's own books. Note the first-tier sub's monthly date beside the prime's own date.

If your subcontract chain goes deeper than one tier, confirm the treatment with the agency before you price it. Ask for the answer in writing so the admin team can point to it later. Keep the subcontract tier chart with the bid file, so the reviewer can match each firm to its tier.

The prime contractor, according to Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, must pay the 25 percent withheld within 14 days after the certified payroll reports have been submitted. This is the prime's payment duty to the sub, and the prime's cash plan should show it. Give the sub a written schedule that shows the monthly submission date and the 14-day window. A written schedule lets both firms check the same dates.

Subcontractors should confirm their own monthly WH-38 date. Ask the prime to confirm in writing which monthly reports it has received from you. A written confirmation lets the sub match each withheld amount against the reports it actually submitted. Keep that confirmation with your own packet copies for the month.

Owners should check that subcontract terms carry the first-tier withholding and its release window. Include the 25 percent figure, the monthly report requirement and the 14-day release in the prime's payment terms. Compare the terms across bidders so every prime prices the same withholding obligation. Consistent terms make the bids easier to review side by side.

Records to keep and the 2026 handbook

The BOLI page, according to Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, describes the Prevailing Wage Rate Laws Handbook as new for 2026 and as a helpful resource guide for contractors and public agencies. Read the handbook alongside the bid documents rather than in place of them. Note the handbook's 2026 label in the job file so the version used is clear to the next reviewer.

Keep a monthly record for each firm that shows the WH-38 packet, the date it was sent to the public agency, and the period it covers. Store each packet with its transmittal date in the same folder as the subcontractor's packets. A single folder per month makes it easier to answer an agency question about one period. Keep the folder structure the same across jobs, so the admin team does not relearn it each time.

Label each packet by form so a federal WH-347 copy cannot be mistaken for the Oregon filing. Run a spot check at each month end, comparing the form names in the folder against the filing calendar. Note any mismatch and correct it before the next submission. A spot check takes little time and catches a wrong form before it reaches the agency.

Keep the 14-day release windows in a payment log, with the submission date, the expected release date and the amount withheld. Record each actual payment against that log so unpaid amounts stand out. Owners and primes can use the same log when they discuss a withheld amount. Review the log at each monthly reporting date so open items stay visible.

Ask the public agency for the handbook and the filing contact at the start of the job, and keep the answers with the contract file. When the agency changes its contact or form, update the calendar and the packet folder the same day. Each month, confirm that every firm's WH-38 packet sits in the folder and that any withheld amount appears in the payment log.

Illustrative example: a missing monthly report

In the payment log, keep the amount earned and the withheld amount distinct, so the cash forecast does not treat held money as available. Show the withheld amount separately in the cash forecast, then record the submission date and actual payment in the payment log. Keep the submission record beside the payment entry so the admin team can check the timing without searching another folder.

Next step before you bid

Add a monthly WH-38 filing task for you and each sub, and note the 25 percent withhold in your cash-flow plan.

Questions and answers

Which form must Oregon covered projects use?

Use WH-38, or attach its certified statement to your own payroll report. Check with the agency before you rely on an own-form packet.

Does Form WH-347 satisfy Oregon's filing requirement?

No; prepare the Oregon packet separately. Confirm the required form with the agency before the first monthly submission.

How much is withheld if reports are late?

The withheld share is 25 percent for the prime or first-tier subcontractor whose monthly reports are missing. Carry the withheld share in your cash-flow plan for the tier that applies.

How soon is the withheld amount paid?

Payment is due within 14 days after the certified payroll reports are submitted. Log each submission date so you can check every payment against its window.