- What: Certified payroll records (CPRs) are filed electronically through the DIR's online eCPR system, not mailed to the agency.
- Register first: You need an active Public Works Contractor Registration (PWCR) — about $400/year — before you bid or work.
- How often: Submit to the DIR at least monthly; keep records weekly. After a written request, you have 10 days to produce them.
- Records penalty: $100 per worker, per day for missing the 10-day window.
- Underpayment penalty: Up to $200 per worker, per day for paying under the prevailing wage — plus back wages and possible 1–3 year debarment.
What eCPR filing actually is
California has required certified payroll to be filed electronically since 2016, and eCPR filing is that process. Instead of mailing forms to the awarding body, contractors and subcontractors on most public works projects submit their certified payroll records directly to the Labor Commissioner through the DIR's online system — "Enter Payroll Online" at the DIR Public Works site. The records are then searchable by the public through the CPR Public Search (with confidential details like SSNs stripped out).
The practical effect for a small sub: your payroll is visible to the state and to anyone checking, every reporting period. There's no quiet paper trail anymore. Accuracy matters because mistakes are easy to spot.
Register before you touch the job
This is the step that catches people. Before you bid on or perform any work on a covered public works project, you must hold a current Public Works Contractor Registration (PWCR) under Labor Code 1771.1. It's an annual registration — roughly $400 per year as of 2026 — and it applies to both prime contractors and subcontractors. It has to be renewed every year you do public work.
Working a covered job without active registration isn't a paperwork slip. It can trigger stop-work orders, forfeiture of payments, and debarment from public works for one to three years. If your registration lapsed and you took a job, fix it before you file anything.
What you file, and how often
You keep certified payroll on a per-payroll (weekly) basis — the same worker, classification, hours, rate, and fringe detail you'd track for a federal WH-347. What changes in California is the cadence of submission to the state: certified payroll records must be furnished to the DIR at least monthly (within a month after the payroll period ends), or more often if your contract with the awarding body requires it. Many awarding bodies and GCs do require weekly, so check your contract.
Separately, if the DIR or the awarding body makes a written request for your records, the clock is tight: you have 10 days to produce them. Miss that, and it's $100 per worker, per day under Labor Code 1776 until you comply. That single rule is one of the most common ways small subs rack up real money.
How to submit
Two paths into the eCPR system:
- Manual online entry — log in and key each worker's hours, classification, rate, and fringe. Fine for a small crew on one job.
- XML upload — submit a file built to the DIR's CPR XML schema (currently V1.3). Useful at volume, but your data has to validate against the schema or it bounces.
Either way, your classifications and rates have to match the applicable prevailing wage determination for the county and craft. Get the classification or fringe wrong and you've created an underpayment — which is the expensive category, not the records category.
How to file eCPR in California, step by step
Once you're registered, the eCPR filing itself is a short sequence. Here's the whole flow for a small crew on a single job:
- Confirm your PWCR is active. Your Public Works Contractor Registration has to be current before you file — or before you bid or work at all.
- Log in to Enter Payroll Online. That's the DIR's eCPR portal on the Public Works site. Keep your Enter Payroll Online login handy; it's where every California filing goes.
- Select the project. Choose the public works project so the records attach to the right contract and awarding body.
- Enter each worker. Classification, hours, prevailing wage rate, and fringe for the payroll period.
- Match the wage determination. Check each classification and rate against the prevailing wage determination for the county and craft. This is where underpayments start.
- Pick manual entry or eCPR XML upload. Key it in for a small crew, or upload a CPR XML file (schema V1.3) at volume — the file has to validate or it bounces.
- Submit and confirm. Once accepted, the record shows in the CPR Public Search (SSNs stripped). Remember the eCPR deadline: furnish records to the DIR at least monthly.
Are you exempt?
A few categories of public works are exempt from online reporting to the DIR — generally certain small or special projects. The thresholds and conditions are specific and change, so don't assume: check the DIR's official eCPR exemptions page and confirm with your awarding body. When in doubt, file. Over-filing costs you nothing; missing a required submission costs you per day.
What it costs to get it wrong
$100/day per worker — for failing to produce records within 10 days of a written request (Labor Code 1776).
Up to $200/day per worker — for paying below the prevailing wage (Labor Code 1775), on top of the back wages owed.
Working without active registration can mean stop-work orders, forfeited payments, and 1–3 year debarment from all public works.
Put it in scale: a crew of eight, underpaid for a 10-day stretch, can run past $16,000 before you've fixed anything — and that's before back wages. PrevailComply costs a tiny fraction of one bad week.
Stop fearing the DIR portal
PrevailComply maps classifications to the applicable prevailing wage determination, handles fringe and apprentice calculations, and prepares California eCPR and federal certified payroll. The goal is to reduce both underpayment risk and missed reporting deadlines — two issues governed by different rules. Tell us you're in CA and we'll prioritize it.
The bottom line
California's core workflow is straightforward once it is laid out: keep registration current, file to the DIR at least monthly (or more frequently if required), answer a written records request within 10 days, and pay the applicable prevailing wage and fringe. These steps address different obligations and reduce different risks. While you're here, the free WH-347 generator handles your federal report, the WH-347 step-by-step guide covers the federal form in detail, the prevailing wage software page explains the full rate-and-state-form workflow, the New York guide covers that state's new electronic mandate, the Illinois guide explains personal liability, and the fine calculator shows common scenarios.
This guide is general information for small subcontractors, not legal advice, and reflects California DIR guidance reviewed in July 2026. Registration fees, thresholds, and penalty amounts can change — confirm current DIR guidance, the project's prevailing wage determination, and your contract. Have qualified counsel review regulatory claims before relying on them for a specific matter.