California Child Labor Laws: Age, Hours, Permits, and Pay

California child labor laws require nearly every worker under 18 to hold a school-issued work permit, cap how many hours minors can work each day and week, guarantee them the full state minimum wage of $16.90 per hour, and prohibit them from hazardous jobs entirely. The rules tighten during the school year and vary by age bracket, with the strictest limits on 14- and 15-year-olds.

How Young You Can Start Working

Children under 14 generally cannot work in California. Federal law carves out a handful of narrow exceptions for this age group, including acting and newspaper delivery.¹ California layers additional protections on top, defining a “minor” as anyone under 18 who is still required to attend school.²

At 14 and 15, you can take non-hazardous jobs outside of school hours, but both the type of work and the number of hours are heavily restricted. At 16, more jobs open up and the hour caps loosen, though hazardous occupations stay off-limits until 18. Once you turn 18, child labor rules stop applying.

Work Permits

Almost every minor working in California needs a work permit. The rule covers anyone under 18 who hasn’t graduated high school or earned a GED.³ If you’ve graduated or passed the California High School Proficiency Exam, you’re no longer treated as a minor for employment purposes and can skip the process.

To get a permit, you start with Form B1-1, the “Statement of Intent to Employ a Minor and Request for a Work Permit.” You, your parent or guardian, and your prospective employer each fill out separate sections.⁴ Then you submit it to an authorized school official: your district superintendent, principal, or a designated counselor or work experience coordinator.⁵

The school reviews your attendance, grades, and health records before issuing the actual permit (Form B1-4). A parent or guardian’s written request is required before any permit can be granted.⁵ Each permit is tied to a single employer, so a job change means starting the process again. School officials or the Labor Commissioner can revoke a permit at any time.

If a Minor Works Without a Permit

The legal risk falls on the employer, not the teenager. A missing permit is prima facie evidence of illegal employment and triggers a minimum $500 fine for the first offense, with steeper civil penalties and possible misdemeanor charges for repeat violations.

Daily and Weekly Hour Limits

California limits how many hours a minor can work each day and week, and the rules get tighter during the school year. A “school day” is any day you’re required to attend school for at least 240 minutes.⁶

Ages 14 and 15

When school is in session, work is capped at three hours on a school day and 18 hours per week, and you cannot work during school hours. Students enrolled in a school-supervised work experience program can go up to 23 hours per week, and some of those hours can overlap with the school day.⁶

When school is out, the cap rises to eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. Shifts must fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. most of the year, and between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day.⁶

Ages 16 and 17

On a school day, work is limited to four hours. On non-school days or days that precede a non-school day, you can work up to eight hours. The weekly cap is 48 hours whether or not school is in session.⁶

Nightwork restrictions depend on the next day’s schedule. No work before 5 a.m. or after 10 p.m. on the evening before a school day. On evenings before a non-school day, shifts can run until 12:30 a.m. A Friday night shift past midnight is fine if Saturday is off; a Sunday shift with school Monday must end by 10 p.m. Students in school-approved work experience or vocational programs can also work past 10 p.m. on school nights, though the four-hour school-day cap still applies unless a special permit says otherwise.⁶

What Minors Must Be Paid

California’s minimum wage is $16.90 per hour as of January 1, 2026, and it applies to minors the same way it applies to adults.⁷ There is no separate youth minimum wage in the state.

One narrow exception exists for “learner” employees. Under Industrial Welfare Commission orders, an employer can pay 85% of minimum wage (roughly $14.37 per hour at the current rate) during a worker’s first 160 hours in an occupation where they have no prior experience. The discount applies only to genuinely new-to-the-occupation workers, and employers who abuse it face penalties. Parents or guardians who employ their own children are exempt from state and federal minimum wage and overtime requirements.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act allows a sub-minimum “opportunity wage” of $4.25 per hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 calendar days on the job,⁸ but California’s higher floor overrides it. That federal rate does not apply here.

Jobs Minors Cannot Do

Both California and federal law bar minors from hazardous work. California’s restrictions are especially tight for anyone under 16, prohibiting work in or near manufacturing settings and jobs involving close contact with moving machinery.⁹

Federal hazardous-occupation orders apply to all minors under 18. The prohibitions that come up most for teenagers include:

Power-driven equipment such as woodworking machines, meat slicers and choppers (including in restaurant delis), and commercial bakery mixers and dough rollers.¹⁰
Construction-related work including roofing, demolition, and trenching or excavation deeper than four feet.¹⁰
Driving. Minors under 18 generally cannot drive as part of their job or work as outside helpers on delivery vehicles. A limited exception lets 17-year-olds drive cars or small trucks during daylight hours under strict conditions.¹
Any job involving explosives, radioactive materials, or mining.

These bans hold on weekends and during summer. A job that is hazardous during the school year is hazardous year-round, and no parental consent or work permit can override the prohibition.

Entertainment Work

Film, television, theater, music recording, and modeling run under separate rules because they routinely employ young children. A minor working in entertainment needs an Entertainment Work Permit issued by the Labor Commissioner’s office, not the standard school permit.¹¹ The application requires proof of satisfactory academic standing, attendance, and health records, confirmed by a school official’s certification bearing the school’s seal or stamp.¹² On set, a studio teacher or welfare worker must be present whenever a minor is working, and at least 12 hours must pass between dismissal and the next day’s call time.

Coogan Trust Accounts

Under California Family Code Section 6752, the employer must set aside 15 percent of a minor performer’s gross earnings and deposit that money into a blocked trust account within 15 business days.¹³ The trustee must open the account at a California-based financial institution within seven business days of the contract being signed.¹⁴ The money belongs to the minor and cannot be touched until they turn 18.

Farm Work

Agriculture has its own set of rules. Federal law lets children as young as 12 work on farms with written parental consent, and lets children under 12 work on small farms that are exempt from federal minimum wage requirements.¹⁵ California applies stricter standards in several areas.

State hour restrictions and school-attendance rules still apply to farm work, so a 14-year-old picking crops during the school year is bound by the same three-hour school-day cap as a 14-year-old in a retail store. Hazardous agricultural tasks, including operating heavy machinery and handling pesticides, remain prohibited for anyone under 16. Minors working on their family’s own farm have somewhat more flexibility, though school-attendance obligations still come first.

Penalties on Employers

California takes child labor violations seriously, and the consequences fall on employers, not on the minors themselves. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement investigates complaints, inspects workplaces, and issues citations in two tiers under Labor Code Section 1288:

Class A violations cover the most dangerous situations: employing minors in prohibited occupations, imminent danger conditions, and third or subsequent violations of hour restrictions. Fines run from $5,000 to $10,000 per violation.¹⁶
Class B violations include missing work permits and first- or second-time hour-restriction violations. Fines run from $500 to $1,000 per violation.¹⁶

Violations are also criminal misdemeanors. An employer who breaks the hour-restriction rules faces a fine between $1,000 and $5,000, up to 60 days in county jail, or both. Willful violations carry fines up to $10,000, up to six months in jail, or both, with jail time reserved for offenders who have already been convicted of a prior child labor offense.⁶

Employing a minor under 16 in a dangerous occupation or exhibition that risks their health or safety is a separate misdemeanor carrying a fine between $500 and $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both. Parents or guardians who allow or encourage a minor to work under those conditions face the same charges. Minors and their guardians can also sue employers directly for injuries or unpaid wages stemming from illegal employment.

1
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act
2
Labor Commissioner’s Office. Information on Minors and Employment
3
California Department of Education. Frequently Asked Questions – Work Permits
4
California Department of Industrial Relations. Statement of Intent to Employ a Minor and Request for a Work Permit – Certificate of Age
5
California Legislative Information. California Code EDC 49110 – Work Permits
6
California Legislative Information. California Code Labor 1391 – Hours of Employment for Minors
7
California Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 32 – Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act
9
Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 Section 11701 – Prohibited Occupations
10
U.S. Department of Labor. What Jobs Are Off-Limits for Kids
11
Labor Commissioner’s Office. Entertainment Work Permit for Minors
12
Department of Industrial Relations. Entertainment Work Permit Required Documents
13
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6752 – Coogan Trust Percentage
14
California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 6753 – Coogan Trust Account
15
U.S. Department of Labor. State Child Labor Laws Applicable to Agricultural Employment
16
California Legislative Information. California Code Labor 1288 – Citations Issued Pursuant to This Chapter