How to file certified payroll in Massachusetts (DLS weekly report)

Two DLS forms, one weekly filing

A complete Massachusetts submission is the Weekly Certified Payroll Report (the worker grid) followed by the Weekly Statement of Compliance signed by the contractor. PayrollPenguin generates both from your payroll and merges them into a single PDF — the landscape report page first, then the portrait statement — so you have one file ready to submit to the awarding authority.

Filed weekly with the awarding authority

Unlike a portal-upload state, the Massachusetts DLS form goes to the awarding authority — the city, town, housing authority, or other public body that awarded the contract — every week work is performed. PayrollPenguin keys the report to your project, contract number, and the week ending date, and stamps a no-work statement for weeks with no covered work rather than fabricating rows.

Some large authorities use their own portals

Be aware of where you are filing. Large state awarding authorities run their own electronic systems: DCAMM (the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance) collects certified payroll through DCMS / B2Gnow, and the MBTA and MassDOT use LCPtracker. For those projects you upload into their portals, not the paper DLS form. PayrollPenguin produces the statewide DLS Weekly Certified Payroll Report and Statement of Compliance for the municipalities, housing authorities, and smaller public bodies that accept it.

No full SSN on the submitted form

The Massachusetts DLS form does not carry the full Social Security Number. PayrollPenguin uses only the last four digits where the form provides a person-identifier area — the full SSN is never stored by default — and reformats your weekly hours and gross wages onto the DLS layout. It reformats your numbers; it never invents a wage.

How to file Massachusetts certified payroll

1. Import your payroll run. Upload your ADP, Gusto, QuickBooks, Paychex, or CSV payroll for the work week.
2. Pick the Massachusetts project. Select the public-works project and confirm the awarding authority, contract number, and wage rate sheet.
3. Confirm where you file. Municipalities and smaller public bodies take the DLS form; for DCAMM (DCMS/B2Gnow) or MBTA/MassDOT (LCPtracker) you upload into their portal.
4. Review anomalies. PayrollPenguin flags anomalies — missing classification, zero-hour weeks, or rate-below-determination — for you to resolve before certifying.
5. Certify and export the DLS PDF. Sign the Statement of Compliance, then download the combined DLS report + statement PDF to file weekly with the awarding authority.

Frequently asked questions

Which Massachusetts forms does PayrollPenguin generate?

The statewide Department of Labor Standards (DLS) Weekly Certified Payroll Report and the Weekly Statement of Compliance, under M.G.L. c.149 §27B, merged into one file-ready PDF.

How often do I file in Massachusetts?

Weekly. Certified payroll is submitted to the awarding authority for each week that covered work is performed; weeks with no work get a no-work statement rather than worker rows.

What about DCAMM, the MBTA, or MassDOT projects?

Those large awarding authorities collect certified payroll through their own electronic systems — DCAMM via DCMS / B2Gnow, and the MBTA and MassDOT via LCPtracker — so you upload into their portal. PayrollPenguin produces the statewide DLS form for the municipalities, housing authorities, and smaller public bodies that accept it.

Is PayrollPenguin a compliance guarantee?

No. PayrollPenguin is a reporting and formatting tool — it formats your payroll to the Massachusetts DLS specification and flags anomalies. You certify and the awarding authority / DLS reviews.