Can a 13-Year-Old Work in NC? Allowed Jobs, Permits, and Pay

Yes, a 13-year-old can work in NC, but only in four narrow categories: delivering newspapers, acting, modeling, or working in a business owned by a parent or guardian. Every other kind of employment is off-limits until the child turns 14. Three of those four jobs also require a youth employment certificate before the first shift.

The Four Jobs Open to a 13-Year-Old

North Carolina’s youth employment statute bars anyone 13 or younger from being employed, then carves out a short list of exceptions.¹ Each exception has its own conditions.

Newspaper delivery. A 12- or 13-year-old can deliver newspapers directly to consumers outside school hours, for no more than three hours per day. This is the only job on the list that does not require a youth employment certificate.¹

Acting and performing. Roles in movies, theatrical productions, and radio or television shows are allowed at any age. Child performers are exempt from the hour and scheduling limits that apply to other young workers, but a youth employment certificate is still required.¹

Modeling. Print and digital modeling follows the same rule as performing. Any age is permitted, and a certificate is required.

Working for a parent or guardian. A minor can work in a business owned by a parent, guardian, or someone acting in that role. Two conditions apply: the work cannot be a hazardous occupation, and a youth employment certificate is still required.¹

Casual Work That Doesn’t Count as Employment

Babysitting for neighbors, pet-sitting, and similar informal arrangements sit outside the statute because they don’t create an employer-employee relationship. No certificate is needed for that kind of work.

One trap catches families off guard: mowing lawns for pay. Federal law bars anyone under 16 from operating power-driven lawn equipment for any work purpose, even in a casual neighborhood arrangement.² A 13-year-old raking or weeding by hand is fine; a 13-year-old on a mower is not.

Farm Work

Agriculture runs on separate federal rules. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 12- and 13-year-olds may work on a farm outside school hours in non-hazardous jobs, as long as the farm also employs their parent or the parent gives written consent. A child of any age can work at any time on a farm owned or operated by their own parents.³

Non-hazardous is the key word. Federal orders bar young farm workers from operating certain tractors, handling pesticides, and working in timber operations, and parental permission does not change that.

Work That Stays Off-Limits

No one under 18 in North Carolina may work in any occupation the U.S. Department of Labor has declared hazardous, or that the state Commissioner of Labor has declared detrimental to a young person’s health or well-being.¹ The parental-employment exemption does not override this. A parent who owns a construction company cannot bring a 13-year-old onto a job site.

Common activities that fall inside the hazardous category:

Operating power-driven equipment such as lawn mowers, trimmers, woodworking machines, bakery mixers, and meat slicers (banned for workers under 16, and some until 18).²
Driving on public roads or riding as an outside helper on a vehicle.
Using forklifts, compactors, balers, or freight elevators (banned for anyone under 18).
Any job with exposure to radioactive substances, explosives, or mining.

When state and federal rules disagree, whichever provides stronger protection for the young worker applies.²

How to Get the Youth Employment Certificate

For a 13-year-old, the certificate is required for acting, modeling, performing, or working in a parent’s business. Newspaper delivery is the one job the statute exempts.¹

Before starting the application on the North Carolina Department of Labor’s website, have this information ready:

The minor’s full legal name and date of birth
The name and location of the minor’s school
The employer’s business name, worksite address, and a supervisor’s phone number

Both the minor and a parent or guardian complete an electronic signature. The system then generates the certificate for download. Print it and deliver it to the employer before any work begins. It isn’t valid until all three signatures are in place: the minor’s, a parent’s or guardian’s, and the employer’s.⁴

Employers must keep a copy on file for three years after the young worker turns 18 or leaves the job, whichever comes first. A missing certificate during a state inspection exposes the business to civil penalties.⁵

Pay and Taxes

North Carolina’s minimum wage matches the federal $7.25 per hour. Federal law also allows a training wage of $4.25 per hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 calendar days on the job, though employers rarely use it.⁶

A 13-year-old’s paychecks are subject to the usual income tax withholding. One family-specific break applies: a child under 18 who works for a parent’s sole proprietorship, or for a partnership where both partners are the child’s parents, is exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes on those wages. The exemption disappears if the business is a corporation or has a non-parent partner.⁷

Most 13-year-olds won’t earn enough to owe federal income tax. For 2026, the standard deduction for a single filer is $16,100, and a dependent’s filing threshold for earned income is generally tied to that figure.⁸ If any federal income tax was withheld, filing a return is the only way to get it refunded.

What Opens Up at 14

The list expands sharply on the 14th birthday. North Carolina then permits employment in any occupation the U.S. Department of Labor has approved for 14- and 15-year-olds, including retail, food service, office work, and some outdoor jobs.¹ Hour limits are strict: three hours on a school day, eight on a non-school day, 18 in a school week, and 40 in a non-school week, generally between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (extended to 9 p.m. in summer). Workers under 16 must get at least a 30-minute break after five consecutive hours. A youth employment certificate is required for every one of these jobs, and the hazardous-occupation bans stay in place.

1
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 95-25.5 – Youth Employment
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
3
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 40 – Overview of Youth Employment Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act in Agricultural Occupations
4
Legal Information Institute. North Carolina Code 13 NCAC 12 .0402 – Application For A Youth Employment Certificate
5
North Carolina Department of Labor. Youth Employment Certificate
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Subminimum Wage
7
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Treatment for Family Members Working in the Family Business
8
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026