Every certified payroll record you file with the California DIR is tied to a DIR Project ID — also called the PWC-100 number, because it's assigned when the awarding body registers the project on form PWC-100. No ID, no filing. Here's where to find it.
1. The DIR project lookup (fastest)
The DIR runs a public project search — search by project name, awarding body, or county, and the results show each project's DIR Project ID. Start at the DIR's certified payroll reporting page and follow the project lookup link (the DIR has been migrating tools to its new Public Works Portal at services.dir.ca.gov/pw, where the lookup now lives).
2. Your contract documents
On most public jobs, the DIR Project ID appears in the bid documents, the notice to proceed, or the subcontract — often labeled "DIR Project ID," "PWC-100 #," or "DIR Registration #" (don't confuse it with your company's PWCR registration number, which is a 10-digit number tied to your business, not the project).
3. Ask the prime (or the awarding body)
The general contractor's compliance officer or the awarding body's project manager has the number on file — they registered the project. One email gets it. If the prime can't produce a DIR Project ID at all, that's a flag the project may not have been registered yet; filings can't start until it is.
Common mix-ups
- DIR Project ID ≠ contract number. Caltrans contract 03-3G7504 is not the DIR Project ID — the same job has both.
- DIR Project ID ≠ your PWCR number. Project IDs identify the job; PWCR identifies your company's public-works registration.
- One project, one ID — every sub on the job uses the same DIR Project ID, paired with the exact name of whoever hired them ("Contract With").
Once you have it
Enter it once in eCPR Express and it's saved with the project — every weekly eCPR XML and WH-347 after that takes about two minutes. See also: the full eCPR XML guide.