- File online: certified payroll goes through the New Jersey Wage Hub (njwages.nj.gov) — the required electronic method since August 15, 2024.
- Still owe a paper copy: Form MW-562 goes to the public body that awarded the contract.
- 10-day deadline: file within 10 days of paying wages for each pay period.
- Register first: you need a Public Works Contractor Registration certificate before you bid or work.
- Penalties: administrative fines up to $2,500 first / $5,000 repeat, back wages, stop-work orders, and 3-year debarment for serious offenders.
The thing that's new in New Jersey
For years, NJ certified payroll meant mailing or handing paper to whichever public body hired you. That changed. As of August 15, 2024, the state requires contractors and subcontractors to submit their certified payroll records electronically through the New Jersey Wage Hub — a single statewide portal run by the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development. By 2025 it had become the standard for certified payroll submissions across the state. If you're a small sub used to paper, this is the change that catches people: the public body asking for it isn't enough anymore, the record has to live in the Wage Hub.
How you file: the Wage Hub + Form MW-562
You report through the online Wage Hub for each project, then a hard copy of Form MW-562 (the certified payroll record) still goes to the public body that awarded the contract. The certified payroll covers each worker's classification, hours, the prevailing base rate plus fringe, deductions, and the certification that you paid correctly. The deadline is tight: file within 10 days of the payment of wages for each pay period you work the job.
Register before you bid
Separately from the payroll filing, New Jersey requires public-works contractors and subcontractors to hold a valid Public Works Contractor Registration certificate before bidding on or working a covered project. No registration, no legal foothold on the job — confirm yours is current before you sign anything.
The New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act backs all of this with money penalties. Administrative fines commonly run up to $2,500 for a first violation and up to $5,000 for a subsequent one.
On top of fines, you can owe back wages to underpaid workers, face a stop-work order that freezes the job, and — for serious offenders — be debarred from NJ public works for three years.
The classification and fringe trap
Most NJ penalties don't start with a late filing — they start with paying the wrong rate. New Jersey publishes prevailing wage determinations by trade and county, and you have to classify each worker by the work they actually performed, then meet the base wage plus the fringe amount for that classification. Pay an electrician's helper at a laborer's rate, or forget the fringe, and the Wage Hub record just documents the underpayment in writing. Get the rate right first; the filing is the easy part after that.
How to stay clean in New Jersey
- Register for Public Works Contractor Registration before you bid — and keep it current.
- File in the Wage Hub within 10 days of paying wages, every pay period you work the job.
- Send the MW-562 hard copy to the awarding public body too — the online filing doesn't replace it.
- Classify by the work performed and pay the correct prevailing base + fringe for each worker.
- Keep your records so you can respond fast if the Department or the public body asks.
File the Wage Hub without the dread
PrevailComply does the classification and fringe math, generates your federal WH-347 and the New Jersey certified payroll, and tracks the 10-day deadline — with the NJ Wage Hub as a first-class integration, not an afterthought. Tell us you're in NJ and we'll prioritize it.
The bottom line
New Jersey is a two-track state: get the prevailing rate right, then get the record into the Wage Hub within 10 days. Start your federal report with the free WH-347 generator, walk the federal form with the WH-347 step-by-step guide, and see what penalties add up to with the fine calculator. New to public works entirely? Start with the first-timer's guide. Working across state lines? Compare the New York and California systems.
This guide is general information for small subcontractors, not legal advice, and reflects New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development guidance on the New Jersey Wage Hub and the Prevailing Wage Act as of June 2026. Deadlines, forms, and penalty amounts can change — confirm against current NJDOL guidance, the Wage Hub, and your project's documents.