Yes, you can work at 14 in Indiana. State and federal law both allow it, but they cap your hours, limit which jobs you can take, and put some kitchen and machinery work off-limits until you’re older. Where the two sets of rules overlap, the stricter one applies.
How Many Hours You Can Work
Indiana treats the school year and summer differently, and the calendar drives everything.
During a school week, a 14-year-old can work no more than three hours on a school day and 18 hours total for the week. All hours have to fall between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., and you can’t work during the hours your school is in session.1Indiana Department of Labor. Teen Work Hour Restrictions
From June 1 through Labor Day, the caps loosen: up to eight hours a day, 40 hours a week, with the evening cutoff pushed to 9:00 p.m. That later cutoff does not apply on a night before a school day, so if your district starts its fall term before Labor Day, Sunday nights and any night followed by classes revert to the 7:00 p.m. limit.1Indiana Department of Labor. Teen Work Hour Restrictions2U.S. Department of Labor. Selected State Child Labor Standards Affecting Minors Under 18 in Non-farm Employment
If your shift runs six or more consecutive hours, your employer has to give you breaks totaling at least 30 minutes.
Jobs You Can Take at 14
Federal rules set the list of occupations open to 14- and 15-year-olds, and Indiana enforces that list. Permitted work includes:3U.S. Department of Labor. Non-Agricultural Jobs – 14-15
- Retail work like cashiering, stocking shelves, bagging groceries, and price-marking
- Food service tasks such as washing dishes, cleaning equipment, and reheating food
- Office and creative work: computer programming, tutoring, filing, answering phones
- Errands and delivery on foot, by bicycle, or by public transportation
- Yard work with hand tools like rakes, hand-held clippers, and shovels
- Pumping gas and hand-washing or polishing cars
- Cleaning, wrapping, labeling, and stocking fruits and vegetables away from freezers and meat coolers
Grocery stores, ice cream shops, fast-food counters, and seasonal businesses like amusement parks hire at 14 most often. Plenty of places don’t hire until 16, so expect some of those before you find a yes.
Jobs You Cannot Take
Indiana follows the federal prohibited-occupations list, with enforcement through the Indiana Bureau of Youth Employment.4Indiana Department of Labor. Prohibited and Hazardous Occupations for Minors Off-limits work at 14 includes:
- Manufacturing, mining, or any workroom where goods are produced, processed, or extracted
- Construction, repair, or demolition of any kind
- Operating, adjusting, cleaning, or repairing power-driven machinery, including food slicers, grinders, and bakery mixers
- Working in or near boiler and engine rooms
- Preparing meats for sale, or working inside freezers and meat coolers
- Cooking and baking involving ovens, grills, and open flames (limited reheating is allowed)
Restaurant kitchens are where this list catches people out. At 14 you can wash dishes, bus tables, and run the counter, but you can’t work the grill, run a commercial slicer, or step into the walk-in freezer.5Indiana Department of Labor. Prohibited Occupations for Hoosier Teen Workers
Work That Falls Outside These Rules
Some kinds of work aren’t governed by Indiana’s child labor framework, so the hour caps and prohibited-job list don’t apply the same way:
- Delivering newspapers directly to customers
- Farm work, which is covered by separate federal rules with different age thresholds
- Babysitting and minor chores in private homes
- Work in a business owned entirely by your parents, though hazardous-occupation limits still apply
Child performers work under a different framework as well. Indiana allows minors of any age to appear in film, theater, radio, and television as long as the work doesn’t harm health or interfere with school. A parent has to accompany any performer under 16 at rehearsals and performances, and the work can’t happen in a bar, nightclub, or similar venue.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
What Your Employer Handles Before You Start
Indiana got rid of paper work permits in 2021. There’s no form to pick up from a guidance counselor. Instead, employers with five or more workers between 14 and 17 register those employees through the state’s Youth Employment System (YES), an online database run by the Indiana Department of Labor. Employers with fewer than five minor workers don’t have to use YES but can register voluntarily.7Indiana Department of Labor. Youth Employment System8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 22-2-18.1-26 – Employer Data Base; Registration
On your side, federal law requires every new hire to complete a Form I-9, which means bringing documents that prove your age and identity. At 14, most people don’t have a driver’s license yet. A birth certificate, passport, or photo school ID works. Your employer can tell you exactly what they need.
Your workplace should also have a poster showing the hours and start/end times for minor employees, usually somewhere like a break room bulletin board.9Indiana Department of Labor. Work Restrictions for Youth Employees
What You’ll Get Paid
Indiana’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, matching the federal minimum.10U.S. Department of Labor. State Minimum Wage Laws That rate applies to 14-year-olds like anyone else, with one exception: federal law lets employers pay a training wage of $4.25 per hour to workers under 20 during their first 90 calendar days on the job.11U.S. Department of Labor. Subminimum Wage Many employers skip the training wage and pay full minimum from day one, but it’s legal if they use it.
With the 18-hour weekly cap during school, a 14-year-old earning $7.25 grosses about $130 a week. In summer, at the 40-hour cap, that’s up to $290. Chain restaurants and retail stores competing for workers often pay above minimum wage, which pushes those numbers higher.
If Something’s Wrong at Work
If an employer is asking you to do prohibited work, ignoring the hour limits, or otherwise breaking youth employment rules, you can contact the Indiana Department of Labor at (317) 232-2655. Unsafe working conditions can also be reported through the federal OSHA online complaint form, and you can stay anonymous.