At What Age Can You Legally Start Working in the US?

In the United States, you can legally start working at age 14 in most non-farm jobs under federal law, though a few kinds of work are open to younger children and hazardous jobs stay closed until 18. That is the federal floor set by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).¹ Farm work follows a separate, more permissive schedule, and states can set stricter rules than the federal minimum. So the real answer depends on where you live and what kind of job you’re looking for.

The Federal Minimum Age for Most Jobs

For non-agricultural work, the FLSA prohibits employing children under 14 in covered jobs.¹ The law bars employers from shipping goods produced with what it calls “oppressive child labor,” the statutory term for employment that breaks these age and hour rules.²

Age 14 is where regular employment starts, with hour and job-type restrictions. At 16, most hour limits fall away. At 18, the last federal restrictions, mainly the ban on hazardous work, lift too.

Jobs You Can Do Before Age 14

Federal law lets children younger than 14 do a small number of things considered low-risk:

Delivering newspapers to consumers.
Acting or performing in movies, television, radio, or theater.
Working in a business owned entirely by a parent, as long as the job isn’t in mining, manufacturing, or one of the 17 federally designated hazardous occupations.³
Casual babysitting and minor chores in a private home, which fall outside the FLSA’s coverage entirely.

The parental exemption covers any non-hazardous occupation in a solely owned family business, not just farm work.¹ The hazardous-occupation ban still applies to anyone under 18, even working for a parent.

What 14 and 15-Year-Olds Can Do

Turning 14 opens the door to real employment, with tight limits on both hours and job types.

Hours You’re Allowed to Work

Federal law restricts when and how long 14- and 15-year-olds can work:⁴

School days: no more than 3 hours, and only outside school hours.
Non-school days: up to 8 hours.
School weeks: no more than 18 hours total.
Non-school weeks: up to 40 hours total.
Time of day: only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., extended to 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day.⁵

Students in an approved Work Experience and Career Exploration Program can work up to 23 hours during school weeks and up to 3 hours on school days, including during school hours.⁴

Jobs You’re Allowed to Take

Permitted jobs skew toward retail, food service, and office settings:⁶

Retail work like cashiering, stocking shelves, packing, and price-marking.
Food service tasks like reheating food, washing dishes, cleaning equipment, and limited cooking.
Office and creative work including computer programming, tutoring, teaching, and performing.
Errands and delivery on foot, by bicycle, or by public transportation (not motor vehicles).
Yard work that doesn’t involve power-driven equipment like mowers or trimmers.
Car-related work: dispensing gas, hand-washing, and hand-polishing vehicles.

At 15, you can also work as a lifeguard at traditional swimming pools and amusement parks if you meet the training requirements.⁶ Off-limits at this age: anything covered by the hazardous occupation orders, plus manufacturing, mining, and processing work.

What Changes at 16 and 17

At 16, federal hour limits disappear. You can work any number of hours at any time of day in any job that isn’t classified as hazardous.¹ For most teenagers, this is the biggest jump in what’s available.

The remaining federal restriction is a ban on 17 hazardous occupations designated by the Secretary of Labor. These stay off-limits until 18:⁷

Manufacturing or storing explosives.
Driving a motor vehicle or serving as an outside helper on one.
Coal mining and other mining operations.
Logging, sawmill work, and forest firefighting.
Operating power-driven woodworking machines.
Work involving exposure to radioactive substances.
Operating forklifts, cranes, and other hoisting equipment.
Operating power-driven metal-forming and shearing machines.
Meat and poultry processing, including power-driven slicers.
Operating power-driven bakery machines.
Operating balers, compactors, and paper-products machines.
Manufacturing brick and tile.
Operating circular saws, band saws, chain saws, and similar cutting tools.
Wrecking, demolition, and shipbreaking.
Roofing and any work on or about a roof.
Excavation work.

A few of these allow narrow exceptions for registered apprentices and student-learners. Seventeen-year-olds who meet specific requirements can perform limited driving duties during daylight hours in cars and small trucks.¹ Most 16- and 17-year-olds will need to wait until 18 for hazardous work.

Farm Work Follows Different Age Rules

Agricultural employment is governed by a separate, more permissive schedule. That matters in rural areas where farm jobs are often the first available work for younger teens.

The federal age thresholds for agriculture:⁸

16 and older: any farm job at any time, including hazardous tasks.
14 and 15: non-hazardous farm jobs outside school hours.
12 and 13: non-hazardous jobs outside school hours, on farms that also employ their parent or with written parental consent.
Under 12: with parental consent, on small farms exempt from federal minimum wage requirements.
10 and 11: hand-harvesting short-season crops for up to 8 weeks between June 1 and October 15, if the employer has a special waiver from the Secretary of Labor.

The agricultural parental exemption is broad: a child of any age can work at any time in any job on a farm owned or operated by their parent, including hazardous tasks.⁸ That is a real departure from the non-farm parental exemption, which still bars hazardous work for anyone under 18.

Hazardous agricultural occupations for workers under 16 include operating tractors over 20 horsepower, working with combine harvesters and hay balers, handling toxic chemicals, working from heights above 20 feet, and working in confined spaces like grain storage facilities.⁸ The FLSA does not cap daily or weekly hours for minors in agriculture.⁹

What You’ll Be Paid

Federal law allows employers to pay workers under 20 a reduced minimum wage of $4.25 per hour during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment.¹⁰ The 90-day clock starts on the first day of work and applies per employer, so switching jobs starts a new 90-day period.

After 90 days or the worker’s 20th birthday, whichever comes first, the employer must pay at least the standard federal minimum wage. Many states set higher minimums, and those higher rates apply to young workers too.

Do You Need a Work Permit

Federal law does not require work permits for minors, but many states do. These permits, sometimes called employment certificates, are typically issued through the school system and require a parent’s signature along with proof of the minor’s age. The age at which a permit is needed varies: some states require one for anyone under 18, some only for workers under 16, and a few don’t require one at all.

Even where permits aren’t required, many employers ask for proof of age before hiring a minor. The Secretary of Labor has authority to require employers to obtain proof of age from employees.² If your state requires a permit, getting one before you start applying saves time. Your school guidance office or state department of labor website will have the process.

Your State May Set a Higher Age or Stricter Rules

Every state has its own child labor laws covering minimum ages, work hours, and prohibited occupations. When federal and state law differ, the rule that offers more protection to the minor controls.¹¹ Federal law sets the floor, not the ceiling.

State laws often go further. Some set the minimum working age at 15 instead of 14. Some restrict 16- and 17-year-olds from working past 10 p.m. on school nights, though federal law imposes no nighttime limit at that age. Some expand the list of prohibited occupations or require rest breaks the FLSA doesn’t mandate.¹ Before you start applying, check your state’s department of labor site for the rules where you live.

1
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 212 – Child Labor Provisions
3
eCFR. 29 CFR 570.126 – Parental Exemption
4
U.S. Department of Labor. Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor – Hours Restrictions
5
U.S. Department of Labor. href=”https://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/whd/flsa/cl/y16.asp” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>FLSA Child Labor Rules
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Non-Agricultural Jobs – 14-15
7
U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 40 – Overview of Youth Employment (Child Labor) Provisions for Agricultural Occupations
9
U.S. Department of Labor. State Child Labor Laws Applicable to Agricultural Employment
10
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 32 – Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act
11
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Understanding Federal and State Child Labor Laws