Open any general wage determination on SAM.gov, or the one in your contract, and work through it in this order. Our Davis-Bacon rate pages show the same rates as a table, with links back to the original text.
1. The header
The top of the determination tells you whether it applies to your job at all:
- General Decision Number, such as
CA20260014: state, year, sequence. Use this number on your certified payroll. - Superseded General Decision Number: the determination this one replaced.
- State and counties: the area covered. Some determinations split a state into zones.
- Construction type: building, residential, heavy or highway, often with a description of what it excludes, such as single-family homes and apartments up to 4 stories on a building determination. Match it to your project type.
2. The modification list
Below the header is a list of modification numbers and publication dates. Number 0 is the original; each later number is a revision. The modification that applies to your contract is fixed by the bid opening or award date, so it may not be the latest one. See which revision applies.
3. Executive order notes
Next come notes about federal contractor minimum wage and paid sick leave executive orders. Executive Order 14026 was revoked on March 14, 2025, and current determinations no longer print its note. You may still see:
- Executive Order 13658: a contractor minimum wage for contracts awarded from January 1, 2015 to January 29, 2022 and not renewed or extended since. If it applies, a listed rate below it must be raised to that minimum.
- Executive Order 13706: paid sick leave of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, up to 56 hours a year, on covered contracts.
4. The rate blocks
The body is a series of blocks, one per rate source. Each block starts with a rate identifier and date, then lists one or more classifications with two columns: Rates (the basic hourly rate) and Fringes (the hourly fringe benefit). A simplified, illustrative block looks like this:
ELEC0003-004 06/01/2025
Rates Fringes
ELECTRICIAN......................$ 52.40 31.20
----------------------------------------------------------------
SUCA2023-011 05/14/2024
Rates Fringes
LABORER: Common or General.......$ 24.15 7.10
OPERATOR: Backhoe/Excavator......$ 31.80 9.45For each worker, find the classification that matches the work they did, and note both numbers. If a classification lists groups (Group 1, Group 2 and so on), find the group that names the equipment or task. Some blocks also list areas or zones within the counties.
5. Rate identifiers
The code at the top of each block tells you where the rate came from. The legend at the end of every determination explains it:
| Identifier | Meaning | The date shows |
|---|---|---|
PLUM0198-005 (any four letters other than SU, UAVG, SA, SC) | Union rate: PLUM is the union, 0198 the local or district council, 005 an internal DOL number | Effective date of the most recent negotiated rate |
UAVG-OH-0010 | Union average: no single rate prevailed, but all the data reported were union rates | When DOL last updated the average, usually each January |
SUFL2022-007 | Survey rate: a single non-union rate prevailed, or a weighted average that can include union rates. 2022 is the survey year | Survey completion date |
SAME2023-007 | State adopted: rates adopted from a state or local prevailing wage survey | When the rates took effect under state law |
SC | Supplemental classification rate | As printed |
Union rates are updated as new agreements are reported to DOL, so they change most often between modifications. Under 29 CFR 1.2, a rate prevails if more than half the workers in the classification are paid it; if no rate has a majority, the rate paid to the largest group prevails if that group is at least 30%; otherwise DOL uses a weighted average.
6. Footnotes
Letters after a rate point to footnotes, usually printed under the block. They add pay that isn't in the two columns, such as paid holidays, vacation as a percentage of base, or premiums for certain work. A footnote that adds money is part of the required rate: convert it to an hourly amount and include it in the fringe you pay.
At the very end, the determination explains the appeals process, which lets interested parties ask DOL to reconsider a rate.
7. If your trade isn't there
If none of the classifications fits the work, don't guess with a lower-paid one. Ask the contracting officer to request a conformance, a new classification and rate approved by DOL. On direct federal contracts it uses Standard Form 1444. The approved rate applies back to the first day of the work. Then report each worker's hours under that classification on your certified payroll.