How Many Hours Can a Minor Work Per Day or Week?

Under federal law, how many hours a minor can work depends almost entirely on age. A 14- or 15-year-old is capped at 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week, with 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week allowed when school is out. A 16- or 17-year-old has no federal hour limit at all. State law often tightens these numbers, and whichever rule is stricter is the one the employer has to follow.¹

Federal Hour Limits for 14- and 15-Year-Olds

The Fair Labor Standards Act’s tightest hour rules apply to the youngest workers legally allowed in most non-farm jobs. If you’re 14 or 15, all work has to happen outside school hours, and the totals are capped:

No more than 3 hours on a school day, Fridays included
No more than 18 hours in a school week
Up to 8 hours on a non-school day
Up to 40 hours in a non-school week, such as summer or a holiday break

These limits come from Child Labor Regulation No. 3 and apply to every covered employer nationwide.¹ So during the school year, a 14-year-old might work a few short shifts after class plus a longer one on Saturday, but the weekly total still can’t exceed 18 hours.

What Counts as a School Week

The weekly cap turns on whether school is “in session,” and the definition is narrower than most people assume. Under the federal regulation, a week counts as a school week if the local public school district where the minor lives while employed requires students to attend for at least one day or part of a day.² It doesn’t matter whether the minor attends that public school, a private school, or is homeschooled. The local public district’s calendar controls.

Summer school is a separate matter. Time spent in a summer session counts as outside school hours, so the more generous 8-hour and 40-hour caps apply even to a minor enrolled in a summer course.²

Time-of-Day Rules for 14- and 15-Year-Olds

Hours worked also have to fall inside a set window. For 14- and 15-year-olds, work is allowed only between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on most days. Between June 1 and Labor Day, the evening cutoff extends to 9:00 p.m.³ A 15-year-old cannot clock in at 6:30 a.m. or stay past 7:00 p.m. outside the summer window, no matter how few hours they’ve worked that week.

Rules for 16- and 17-Year-Olds

Once a minor turns 16, the federal hour caps drop away. A 16- or 17-year-old can work unlimited hours per day and per week in any job the Secretary of Labor hasn’t declared hazardous.¹ Federal law sets no time-of-day restriction either, so a 17-year-old can legally work an overnight shift.⁴

The federal law’s focus at this age shifts from hours to safety. Seventeen Hazardous Occupations Orders prohibit workers under 18 from especially dangerous jobs, including coal mining, roofing, excavation, operating power-driven woodworking or metalworking machines, and work involving exposure to radioactive substances.⁵ The rules govern what work is allowed, not how many hours of it.

State Laws Often Set Lower Limits

Federal law is the floor. When a state rule is more protective, the employer has to follow the state rule instead.¹ The realistic answer to “how many hours can I work?” often depends on the state, not just the age.

States commonly go further than federal law in three ways: capping daily or weekly hours for 16- and 17-year-olds (a group the FLSA doesn’t cap), setting school-night curfews for older teens, and requiring a work permit or employment certificate before a minor can start a job.⁶ Permits are issued through the school in some states and through the state labor department in others. Check your state Department of Labor’s website for the specifics that apply to you.

Exceptions That Change the Hour Cap

A few narrow situations sit outside the standard hour rules. Confirm the specifics before assuming any of them applies.

Parent-Owned Businesses

A minor working in a non-agricultural business owned solely by a parent can work any hours at any time of day, at any age. The work cannot involve manufacturing, mining, or any of the 17 hazardous occupation categories.⁷ On a farm owned or operated by a parent, a child of any age can work any hours.

Agricultural Work

Farm work operates under looser federal rules. Children 12 and older can work outside school hours in non-hazardous farm jobs with parental consent, with no federal cap on daily or weekly hours.⁸ At 16, all federal agricultural restrictions drop away.⁴

Work Experience and Career Exploration Program

The WECEP program gives approved schools an exception that lets 14- and 15-year-olds work during school hours and up to 23 hours in a school week, five more than the standard 18-hour cap.⁹ Participation runs through the school and requires recognition by a state or local educational authority.

Newspaper Delivery and Acting

Children delivering newspapers directly to consumers are exempt from the FLSA’s hour, time-of-day, and minimum wage rules.¹⁰ Child actors and performers are also exempt from federal hour limits, though state laws in states with large entertainment industries typically impose their own rules on on-set hours, tutoring, and trust accounts.¹

Meal and Rest Breaks Are Not a Federal Right

The FLSA does not require employers to give meal periods or rest breaks to any employee, including minors.¹ Most minors still get breaks in practice because state law fills the gap, with many states requiring roughly a 30-minute meal break for minors working shifts of a certain length. The federal rule alone will not protect you, so check the state’s requirements.

If a Minor Is Working More Hours Than the Law Allows

Federal civil penalties for child labor violations run into the tens of thousands of dollars per affected employee, and higher when a violation causes serious injury or death.¹¹ A minor working past the caps, or a parent who suspects it, can file a confidential complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243. The DOL does not disclose who filed the complaint or confirm that one exists.¹² State labor agencies also take complaints and enforce state-level rules that go beyond the federal caps.

1
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
2
eCFR. Title 29 Part 570 – Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation
3
U.S. Department of Labor. Non-Agricultural Jobs – 14-15
4
U.S. Department of Labor. eLaws – Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor – Hours Restrictions
5
eCFR. Title 29 Part 570 Subpart E – Occupations Particularly Hazardous for the Employment of Minors Between 16 and 18 Years of Age
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Employment/Age Certificate
7
U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules Advisor – Exemptions from Child Labor Rules in Non-Agriculture
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 40 – Overview of Youth Employment Provisions of the FLSA for Agricultural Occupations
9
U.S. Department of Labor. Work Experience and Career Exploration Program
10
U.S. Department of Labor. Field Operations Handbook – Chapter 23
11
eCFR. Title 29 Part 579 – Child Labor Violations – Civil Money Penalties
12
U.S. Department of Labor. How to File a Complaint