What You'll Learn
- Whether ADP generates Davis-Bacon certified payroll on its own
- The exact workflow: run payroll in ADP, then produce your WH-347
- How to export the right data from ADP Run or Workforce Now
- What certified payroll requires that a payroll register alone does not have
If you run payroll in ADP and just landed a government-funded construction project, you have probably discovered that "certified payroll" is its own animal. Your paychecks, taxes, and direct deposits run fine in ADP, but the contracting officer is asking for a signed WH-347 every week, and that is not something a standard payroll run produces.
This guide explains, honestly, what ADP does and does not do for certified payroll, and the practical workflow contractors use to keep ADP as their payroll system while still meeting Davis-Bacon reporting requirements.
Does ADP generate certified payroll on its own?
ADP Run and ADP Workforce Now are excellent payroll-processing platforms. They calculate wages, withhold taxes, handle direct deposit, and file your payroll taxes. What they are built for is running payroll, not the specialized prevailing-wage compliance reporting that federal and state public works projects require.
Certified payroll support inside ADP varies by plan, region, and add-ons, and many contractors find that the standard product does not produce a submission-ready WH-347 with everything Davis-Bacon requires: the wage determination number, the split between base rate and fringe benefits, the correct work classifications, and the signed Statement of Compliance on page two. If your ADP plan does offer a certified payroll module, confirm it outputs the current WH-347 (the U.S. Department of Labor revised the form in 2025) and handles your state's format if you are on a state prevailing-wage job.
The reason this trips people up is that certified payroll is not really a payroll task. It is a compliance report built on top of your payroll data. That distinction is what makes the two-tool workflow below both common and sensible.
The workflow: keep ADP, add certified payroll on top
The cleanest approach for most contractors is to let ADP stay the source of truth for paychecks, and layer certified payroll reporting on top of it:
- Run your weekly payroll in ADP exactly as you do now. Paychecks, taxes, and direct deposit all process normally.
- Export the payroll register as a CSV from ADP Run or Workforce Now once the run is complete.
- Import that CSV into a dedicated certified payroll tool. The tool reads the hours, rates, and pay data and maps them into a WH-347.
- Add the compliance layer the register does not contain: the wage determination, the base/fringe split, and worker classifications.
- Generate, review, and submit your certified payroll report to the contracting officer or state portal.
This keeps your accounting clean (one system of record for wages paid) while producing a compliant certified payroll report each week without re-keying data by hand.
Exporting the right data from ADP
To build a WH-347 from an ADP export, you want a payroll register or earnings report that includes, per employee and per week:
- Employee name and the last four digits of the Social Security number
- Work classification (Carpenter, Electrician, Laborer, and so on)
- Hours worked, ideally broken out by day and by straight time versus overtime
- Hourly rate of pay
- Gross earnings, deductions, and net pay
In ADP Run, payroll registers are available under your reports after each run; in Workforce Now, the custom report writer lets you build a reusable export with exactly these columns. A dedicated certified payroll tool can then map those columns automatically, so you set the export up once and reuse it every week.
What certified payroll needs that a payroll register does not have
Even a perfect ADP export is missing several things the WH-347 specifically requires. This is the compliance layer you add after import:
The wage determination
Davis-Bacon projects are governed by a wage determination that sets the minimum base rate and fringe amount for each classification. The WH-347 header asks for the determination number, and under 29 CFR 5.5 you must pay no less than those rates. A payroll register does not know which determination applies. See our guide on finding and applying wage determinations.
The base rate and fringe split
Prevailing wage is a base hourly rate plus a fringe benefit amount. ADP typically stores a single hourly rate, so certified payroll needs the fringe portion broken out, whether it is paid into a bona fide plan or as cash in lieu. Our guide on fringe benefits under Davis-Bacon covers how this works.
The Statement of Compliance
Page two of the WH-347 is a signed certification that the payroll is correct and complete and that workers were paid the required rates, and willful falsification can subject you to civil or criminal prosecution. Per the DOL WH-347 instructions, every weekly submission must carry this attestation. It is a certification you make, not a number ADP can export.
Putting it together
If you are an ADP shop that just took on prevailing-wage work, you do not need to switch payroll systems. Keep running payroll in ADP, export the register, and use a certified payroll tool to add the wage determination, split fringe, and generate the signed WH-347. That gives you clean books and compliant reporting without double entry.
CertifiedPayrollPro was built for exactly this. You can import an ADP CSV, and the app maps your hours and rates into a WH-347, prompts you for the wage determination and fringe details it needs, and produces a submission-ready certified payroll report. It works as a standalone tool on top of the payroll system you already use.
Run payroll in ADP? Add certified payroll on top.
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Start your free trialFrequently asked questions
Does ADP file certified payroll for me?
Standard ADP payroll runs process paychecks and taxes but do not file your weekly certified payroll for a Davis-Bacon project. Certified payroll is submitted to the contracting agency or state portal, and it must include the wage determination, the base and fringe breakdown, and the signed Statement of Compliance. Some ADP plans offer a certified payroll add-on, so it is worth confirming what your specific plan includes, but many contractors handle the WH-347 with a dedicated tool built on top of their ADP data.
Which ADP report should I export?
In ADP Run, use the payroll register or earnings report available after each payroll run. In ADP Workforce Now, build a custom report that includes employee name, work classification, hours by day (straight time and overtime), hourly rate, and gross, deductions, and net pay. Save that report so you can reuse the same export every week.
Do I have to switch away from ADP?
No. The point of the import workflow is that you keep ADP as your payroll system of record and add certified payroll reporting on top. Nothing about your paychecks, tax filing, or direct deposit changes.
Does this work for California and other state prevailing-wage jobs?
Yes. The federal WH-347 covers Davis-Bacon federal projects, and many states have their own certified payroll formats, such as California's DIR eCPR. A dedicated certified payroll tool can take the same imported ADP data and produce the format your project requires. Check your contract to confirm whether you are on a federal, state, or combined prevailing-wage project.
This guide is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with or endorsed by ADP. ADP is a registered trademark of ADP, Inc. Certified payroll requirements vary by agency, state, and project. Always review your specific contract and consult a compliance professional as needed. Last updated: July 2026.
