How old do you have to be to get a job? Teen work rules for all 50 states, and who hires at 14, 15 and 16

The federal baseline every state starts from

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets a national floor for "non-farm" jobs, which means essentially every store, restaurant, park, theater and office. States can be stricter but not looser: where a state rule and the federal rule disagree, the one that protects the teen more is the one that applies. The FLSA covers any business with at least $500,000 in annual sales, plus hospitals, schools and government, and any employee who handles goods that crossed state lines, so nearly every chain in the table below is covered.

Youth minimum wage: employers may pay workers under 20 as little as $4.25 an hour for their first 90 consecutive calendar days, after which the regular minimum wage applies. Many states and cities set a higher minimum wage with no youth rate.

Rules by state: minimum age, hours and work permits

Pick a state for a plain-language summary, or scan the table. Hours are for 14- and 15-year-olds and read "daily / weekly". Where a state's own limits are looser than federal law, the table shows the state law and tags the row, because the federal limits still govern at almost every employer.

51 of 51 states shown

Hours and nightwork: DOL "Selected State Child Labor Standards Affecting Minors Under 18 in Non-farm Employment," revised July 15, 2025. Permits: DOL "Employment/Age Certificate" table, revised January 1, 2024, with later state changes noted where known (Michigan, Wisconsin). Minimum age shown is the federal floor; a handful of states permit limited work at 12 or 13 for employers outside FLSA coverage.

Who hires at 14, 15 and 16: 90 national chains

Each age below comes from the company's own careers site or hiring FAQ, checked in October 2026. Most restaurant brands are franchised, so the corporate minimum is a floor and the owner of your local store can set it higher; a posting that says "16+" at one location does not mean every location. Amusement parks often hire at 14 or 15 for food and games but require 16 for ride operation and 18 for anything hazardous.

Quick counts: 5 chains say 14, 4 say 15, 52 say 16.

90 of 90 employers shown

How to get a work permit (employment certificate)

About two-thirds of states require some kind of permit for teens under 16, and a third require it until 18. The process is similar everywhere:

1. Get a job offer first. In most states the permit names a specific employer, so you cannot get one "just in case." The employer fills in the job title, duties and expected hours.
2. Pick up the form from your school's guidance or main office, or download it from your state labor department (New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia run the whole process online).
3. Gather proof of age (birth certificate, passport, driver's license or state ID) and, in some states, a doctor's statement or school attendance record.
4. Parent or guardian signs. Nearly every state requires it for under-16s; some require it until 18.
5. The issuing officer signs (usually a school official, sometimes the labor department) and you give the permit to your employer, who keeps it on file. Changing jobs usually means a new permit.

States with no permit at all (Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wyoming) still require employers to keep proof of your age on file, and Indiana requires employers to register every minor in a state database. Check your state's row above for the specifics.

Jobs teens can do at 13 and under

The FLSA sets 14 as the floor for regular employment, but it exempts a short list of work that children of any age may do:

• Babysitting and casual household work for neighbors and family friends.
• Yard work: mowing, raking, weeding, snow shoveling, for private homes (not with power equipment at a landscaping business).
• Newspaper delivery.
• Acting and performing in movies, TV, theater and radio (most states require an entertainment permit).
• A parent's business, as long as the parent owns it outright and the job is not manufacturing, mining or a hazardous occupation.
• Farm work outside school hours, at 12 and 13 with a parent's written consent or on a farm where a parent works, and at any age on a farm the parents own or operate.
• Making wreaths at home from evergreens (a real, specific exemption).

Informal self-employment, such as a lemonade stand, pet sitting, tutoring younger kids, selling crafts online with a parent's help, or caddying at some clubs, usually falls outside employment law because there is no employer. Some states and cities regulate street sales and door-to-door selling by minors, and a few states (Georgia at 12) license limited employment below 14 at businesses the federal law does not reach.

Summer-job timing: when to apply

Seasonal employers hire months before they open. Amusement and water parks, pools and summer camps typically post jobs in January and February and hold hiring events in March and April; by May the best shifts are gone. Retail and fast food hire year-round but staff up in May for the summer rush and again in September and October for the holidays. Lifeguard certification courses fill in spring, so sign up in March if you want to guard by June.

Two calendar details matter for 14- and 15-year-olds. The federal 9 p.m. summer cutoff runs from June 1 through Labor Day regardless of when your school actually closes, so a job in late May still ends at 7 p.m. And "non-school day" hours (8 a day, 40 a week) apply to any day school is not in session, including spring break, holidays and summer, while a "school week" is any week with at least one school day.

Questions people ask

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