AASHTOWare Project Payroll XML

AASHTOWare Project Payroll XML: how to file certified payroll for a state DOT

Many state Departments of Transportation run AASHTOWare Project and accept certified payroll as a structured Payroll XML file (the Payroll XML Resource Kit format) rather than a PDF. On a DOT project you may need both your state’s electronic filing and the AASHTOWare XML. PayrollPenguin generates the AASHTOWare Project Payroll XML as a second output under your DOT-state jurisdiction — the same payroll run, validated against the schema — and flags anomalies before you certify.

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What the AASHTOWare Payroll XML contains

The format carries a payroll header (vendor and contract IDs, payroll number, the week’s begin and end dates, the fringe-benefit payment type) and one record per employee, each with their craft code, labor class, hours, rates, gross/deductions/net, and fringe. It uses the last four digits of the SSN only. PayrollPenguin reformats your own payroll values into this structure — it invents no wage.

One payroll run, your state filing and the AASHTOWare XML

Because AASHTOWare is an additional output format under your existing DOT-state jurisdiction, you don’t manage a separate product or a separate entitlement. On a New Jersey DOT project, for example, the same run produces the NJ Wage Hub CSV, the MW-562, and the AASHTOWare Project Payroll XML — all gated behind the same explicit review-and-certify step.

Schema-valid is not agency-accepted

PayrollPenguin validates the AASHTOWare XML against the official schema before presenting it as file-ready, so a structurally broken file fails in the tool, not at the portal. But a schema-valid file is not the same as an accepted one: the owner-DOT applies its own business rules. PayrollPenguin keeps the anomaly posture and never claims a filing is accepted or compliant.

How to file AASHTOWare Project certified payroll

  1. Import your payroll run. Upload your ADP, Gusto, QuickBooks, Paychex, or CSV payroll for the week.
  2. Pick the DOT-state project. Select the DOT project; AASHTOWare XML is offered as an output alongside your state filing.
  3. Review anomalies. Resolve any flagged anomalies — missing fringe, rate below the determination, annualization — before certifying.
  4. Certify and export the AASHTOWare XML. Sign the Statement of Compliance, then download the schema-validated AASHTOWare Project Payroll XML to upload.

Frequently asked questions

Which states use AASHTOWare Project Payroll XML?
AASHTOWare Project is used by many state Departments of Transportation for certified payroll on transportation contracts. PayrollPenguin attaches the AASHTOWare XML output to DOT-state jurisdictions as demand pulls, starting with New Jersey.
Does the AASHTOWare format need the full SSN?
No. The AASHTOWare Payroll XML carries the last four digits of the SSN (PartialSsn) only. PayrollPenguin never places a full SSN in the AASHTOWare file.
Does PayrollPenguin guarantee the DOT will accept it?
No. PayrollPenguin validates against the official schema and flags anomalies — it does not guarantee acceptance or compliance and is not legal advice. You certify and the DOT reviews under its own rules.

File AASHTOWare Project certified payroll in minutes

Turn your existing payroll run into a file-ready AASHTOWare Project Payroll XML filing — anomalies flagged, nothing invented.

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PayrollPenguin is a reporting and formatting tool, not a compliance guarantor or legal advisor. You certify your filings; the awarding agency reviews them.