At 11, the list of legal work options is short and specific. Federal law bans most non-agricultural employment before age 14, so an 11-year-old cannot take a job at a store, restaurant, or ordinary business. What is left are five narrow paths: working for a parent’s business, certain farm work, performing in entertainment, delivering newspapers to households, and informal neighborhood work like babysitting or yard care. These are the jobs an 11 year old can legally do, and each comes with its own conditions.
Why Almost Every Regular Job Is Off-Limits
The Fair Labor Standards Act treats employing anyone under 16 as “oppressive child labor” unless a specific exemption applies. The Secretary of Labor has authorized limited work for 14- and 15-year-olds in non-agricultural jobs, but no parallel authorization exists for younger children.1Legal Information Institute. 29 USC 203(l) – Oppressive Child Labor Definition State child labor statutes sit on top of this. Where a state rule is stricter, the stricter rule controls; no state can permit work the FLSA forbids. So before relying on any of the exceptions below, check your state’s rules as well.
Working in a Parent’s Business
A parent or legal guardian may employ their own child in almost any occupation. The exceptions are manufacturing, mining, and any job the Secretary of Labor has declared hazardous for minors.2eCFR. 29 CFR 570.126 – Parental Exemption That opens up real options: helping at a parent’s landscaping company, stocking shelves at a family shop, running deliveries for a family bakery.
One structural detail decides whether the exemption applies. The parent has to be the actual employer. If the parent owns all the stock in a corporation, the corporation is the employer, and the carve-out disappears. It works cleanly for sole proprietorships and family partnerships where the parent directly controls the employment relationship.
Farm Work
Agricultural rules are more permissive than the rest of the child labor system. An 11-year-old can work on a farm owned or operated by a parent at any time, in any job.3U.S. Department of Labor. Agricultural Jobs – Under 12
On someone else’s farm the rules tighten. A child under 12 can do non-hazardous farm work only with parental consent, and only on a “small” farm, meaning one that used fewer than 500 person-days of agricultural labor in any quarter of the prior calendar year.4U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 40 – Overview of Youth Employment in Agriculture All agricultural work for children under 12 must take place outside school hours.
A separate, narrow provision lets children as young as 10 work as hand harvest laborers on farms that customarily pay by the piece, but the employer must first obtain a waiver from the Secretary of Labor, and the work cannot exceed eight weeks in a calendar year.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 213 – Exemptions
Acting and Performing
Child actors and performers in movies, theater, radio, and television are exempt from the FLSA’s child labor restrictions.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 213 – Exemptions Federal law sets no minimum age for performing, so an 11-year-old can be cast in a film, play, or television production.
State law fills the space that the federal exemption leaves open. Most states with active entertainment industries require an entertainment work permit before a child can appear on set, and the permit conditions cover on-set tutoring, maximum hours, and rest periods, with tighter limits for younger children. Several states also require that a portion of the earnings go into a blocked trust account, often called a Coogan account after the 1930s child actor whose parents spent nearly all his earnings. Where these laws apply, the employer typically must deposit at least 15% of the child’s gross pay into the trust within 15 business days, and parents cannot access the funds until the child reaches adulthood. Check your state’s rules before signing any performance contract.
Delivering Newspapers
Delivering newspapers to consumers is one of the oldest exemptions in federal child labor law. The Department of Labor treats it as work outside the FLSA’s child labor coverage, so there is no minimum age.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions for Nonagricultural Occupations The exemption covers delivering papers to individual subscribers or households. It does not cover warehouse work, loading trucks, or working a commercial distribution route.
Babysitting, Yard Work, and Other Informal Jobs
Casual jobs like babysitting, mowing a neighbor’s lawn, raking leaves, or shoveling snow fall outside the FLSA because they are not part of a formal business.7U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules Most states do not set a minimum age for babysitting, though some publish guidelines suggesting children be at least 11 to 13 before caring for others unsupervised. Those guidelines are usually recommendations rather than enforceable rules.
The trade-off is that informal work carries none of the protections of formal employment. No guaranteed wage, no hour limits, and no workers’ compensation if something goes wrong.
Work That Is Always Off-Limits
The Secretary of Labor has designated 17 categories of work so dangerous that no one under 18 may perform them, regardless of any other exemption. These hazardous occupation orders cover jobs involving explosives, motor vehicle operation, coal and other mining, power-driven woodworking and metalworking machines, meat processing equipment, and roofing, among others.8U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules – Hazardous Occupations Even the parental exemption does not override these orders for a child under 18.2eCFR. 29 CFR 570.126 – Parental Exemption An 11-year-old cannot legally do this work in a parent’s shop, on a family farm, or anywhere else.
Hours When Work Is Allowed
The FLSA’s detailed hour caps for 14- and 15-year-olds do not apply to younger children, because younger children generally cannot hold those jobs in the first place. Where an 11-year-old works legally, the limits come from the specific exemption and from state law.
Farm work for children under 12 must take place outside school hours.9U.S. Department of Labor. Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor – Hours Restrictions Work in a parent’s business has no federal hour cap, but most state statutes still expect the work not to interfere with schooling. Entertainment work is controlled by state permit conditions that spell out daily hour maximums and required breaks, and those maximums are usually tighter for younger performers.
Do You Need a Work Permit?
Roughly 40 states require employment certificates or work permits for minors before they start a job. The age threshold and issuing authority vary. Some states require permits for anyone under 18, others only for those under 16, and the permit may be issued by the state labor department or by local school officials.10U.S. Department of Labor. Employment/Age Certificate States that do not mandate permits often still issue them on request, which gives the family and the employer written confirmation that the arrangement is legal.
Applications generally require proof of the child’s age (birth certificate, passport, or state ID), written parental consent, and a statement from the employer describing the job. Some states also ask for evidence of school enrollment. Entertainment permits usually have their own, more detailed process that may involve a physician’s certification and a review of the child’s academic standing.
Pay and Taxes
When an 11-year-old works in a job the FLSA covers, federal minimum wage rules apply. Employers may pay a youth minimum wage of $4.25 per hour to any worker under 20 during the first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment. The clock starts on the first day of work, and once the worker turns 20, the regular federal minimum wage takes over immediately.11U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 32 – Youth Minimum Wage For informal jobs like babysitting or lawn care, the FLSA does not apply and pay is whatever the family and the child agree on.
There is no minimum age for owing federal income tax. If earnings are high enough, a return is required. The filing threshold for a dependent’s wages is tied to the standard deduction, which the IRS adjusts annually and publishes in Publication 929. Unearned income, such as interest from a savings account, triggers a filing requirement at a much lower amount.
Social Security and Medicare taxes apply to wages regardless of age, with one useful exception: wages paid by a parent’s sole proprietorship to a child under 18 are exempt from Social Security and Medicare withholding. For informal earnings from babysitting or yard work, the child is generally not treated as an employee, and most casual amounts fall below any filing threshold. Keeping basic records is still worthwhile if the work becomes regular.