How Old Do You Have to Be to Get a Summer Job: Ages 14, 15, and 16

Under federal law, you generally have to be at least 14 years old to get a summer job, and the question of how old you have to be to get a summer job really has three answers: 14 opens most non-hazardous work with strict hour caps, 16 removes the hour caps, and 18 removes the ban on hazardous jobs.¹ States can set a higher minimum age or tighter rules, and when they do, the state rule wins.²

The Fair Labor Standards Act sets 16 as the baseline age for general employment. A provision in 29 U.S.C. § 203(l) lets the Secretary of Labor open certain occupations to younger teens if the work won’t interfere with their schooling, health, or well-being, and the Department has used that authority to authorize a defined list of jobs for 14- and 15-year-olds.³⁴ That’s why 14 is the practical starting line.

Working at 14 or 15

If you’re 14 or 15, federal regulations spell out exactly what you can do. The list covers a lot of familiar summer work but keeps you clear of manufacturing, mining, and anything hazardous.⁴ Permitted work includes:

Office and clerical tasks like filing, answering phones, data entry, and running office machines.
Creative and intellectual work such as computer programming, writing software, tutoring, and performing music or art.
Retail work: cashiering, selling, price marking, shelving, assembling orders, and bagging purchases.
Food service: kitchen prep, serving, running dishwashers, toasters, and microwaves, and cooking on electric or gas grills. Open flames and high-temperature commercial equipment like deep fryers without automatic basket controls are off-limits.
Errands and delivery on foot, by bicycle, or by public transportation.
Cleanup and yard work, but not operating power-driven mowers, trimmers, or edgers.

Hour Caps in the Summer

Even during summer break, 14- and 15-year-olds have federal ceilings on hours.⁵ From June 1 through Labor Day, you can work up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. Outside that summer window, the evening cutoff moves back to 7 p.m.

Attending summer school does not count as school being in session, so the summer hours still apply if you’re taking classes.

What Changes at 16

Once you turn 16, federal law drops all hour restrictions. You can work as many hours as you want, at any time of day, including overnight.² Some states still set curfews or hour limits for 16- and 17-year-olds, so the federal green light doesn’t automatically mean your state agrees.

What doesn’t change at 16 is the ban on hazardous work. The Department of Labor has identified 17 occupations as too dangerous for anyone under 18, and those bans run year-round.⁶ Common examples include operating power-driven saws, shears, or woodworking machines; roofing and excavation; work around explosives or radioactive materials; running forklifts, hoisting equipment, or most power-driven bakery machines; and meat processing or slaughtering.

Driving as Part of the Job

Driving on public roads is treated as hazardous, but 17-year-olds can drive for work if every one of these conditions is met: the vehicle weighs no more than 6,000 pounds and has seat belts; driving happens only in daylight; the teen has a valid license with no moving violations on record at hire and has completed a state-approved driver-ed course; the driving doesn’t involve towing, route deliveries, transporting passengers for hire, or urgent time-sensitive deliveries; no more than two delivery trips per day, no more than three passengers, and all driving stays within a 30-mile radius of the workplace; and driving is occasional and incidental, capped at one-third of any workday or 20 percent of the workweek.⁷ Miss any one condition and the driving isn’t legal.

The Narrow Exceptions Below 14

A few federal exemptions let children work before 14 in specific roles:⁸

Delivering newspapers to homes or selling them on the street, with no minimum age.
Acting or performing in movies, theater, radio, or television at any age.
Working for a parent’s non-farm business, if under 16, in any occupation except manufacturing, mining, or work the Secretary of Labor has declared hazardous.⁹
Farm work outside school hours, with no age restriction for a child working on a parent’s farm (again excluding hazardous tasks).

Even where these apply, the work still can’t conflict with state compulsory school attendance laws.

What You’ll Be Paid

Most young workers are entitled to at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. More than 30 states and the District of Columbia set higher minimums, and your employer must pay whichever rate is higher.¹⁰

Federal law also allows a youth subminimum wage of $4.25 per hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days on the job. That 90-day clock counts every calendar day, not just days worked. After 90 days, or when you turn 20 (whichever comes first), your pay has to rise to the full applicable minimum wage.¹¹ Several states don’t allow this rate at all.

If you’re waiting tables or in another tipped role, federal law lets an employer pay a direct cash wage of $2.13 per hour as long as your tips push total earnings to at least $7.25 an hour every workweek. If they don’t, the employer has to make up the difference. Before using this tip credit, the employer must explain the arrangement to you, including the cash wage, the credit amount, and your right to keep all your tips.¹² Some states don’t allow the tip credit and require the full minimum wage before tips.

Paperwork Before Your First Shift

Many states require minors to get a work permit (sometimes called an Employment Certificate) or a Certificate of Age before starting. Some issue them through schools, some through the state labor department, and some don’t require them at all.¹³ Where they’re required, expect to provide proof of age (birth certificate, passport, or state ID), a parent or guardian’s signature, and details about the employer, job, and schedule. The certificate has to be on file with the employer before you start, and the employer must keep it on file the whole time you work there. Fees range from free to several hundred dollars depending on the state.

Every new employee, including a 14-year-old at a first summer job, has to complete a Form I-9 to verify identity and work authorization. If you’re under 18 and don’t have a driver’s license or state ID yet, a parent or legal guardian can establish your identity on your behalf; the employer writes “minor under age 18” in the identity column and records whatever work-authorization document you provide, such as a Social Security card or birth certificate.¹⁴

Taxes on a Summer Paycheck

Your employer will withhold federal income tax based on the Form W-4 you fill out. If you expect to earn less than the standard deduction for the year (roughly $16,100 for 2026 for a single filer), you probably won’t owe federal income tax, but withholding often happens anyway; filing a return is how you get that money back.

Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA) apply to most summer jobs at a combined 7.65 percent of wages: 6.2 percent for Social Security and 1.45 percent for Medicare. There’s no general age exemption. A narrow exception exists for students employed by the school, college, or university where they’re actively enrolled, but that won’t cover a job at a restaurant or a retail store.¹⁵

As a dependent, you generally have to file your own federal return if your earned income tops the standard deduction. Most one-summer-job totals fall well below that, but again, filing is the only way to recover withheld tax.

Safety and Speaking Up

Minor workers get the same OSHA protections as adults, with extra attention because of inexperience. You have the right to safety training in a language you understand, to receive and be trained on required safety gear such as goggles or ear protection, and to ask questions any time something feels unsafe.¹⁶

If conditions are dangerous, you can file a complaint with OSHA, and it’s illegal for your employer to fire, demote, or punish you for reporting safety concerns. If retaliation happens, you have 30 days to file a whistleblower complaint. If an employer is assigning you to prohibited tasks, ignoring the hour limits, or shorting your pay, you or a parent can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division; penalties fall on the employer, not on you.¹⁷

1
U.S. Department of Labor. Child Labor Laws and Employers
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 203 – Definitions
4
eCFR. 29 CFR 570.34 – Occupations That May Be Performed by Minors 14 and 15 Years of Age
5
eCFR. 29 CFR 570.35 – Hours of Work and Conditions of Employment Permitted for Minors 14 and 15 Years of Age
6
eCFR. 29 CFR Part 570 – Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation – Subpart E
7
eCFR. 29 CFR Part 570 Subpart E – Occupations Particularly Hazardous for the Employment of Minors Between 16 and 18 Years of Age
8
eCFR. 29 CFR 570.122 – General
9
eCFR. 29 CFR Part 570 Subpart G – Exemptions
10
U.S. Department of Labor. State Minimum Wage Laws
11
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 32 – Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act
12
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 15 – Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
13
U.S. Department of Labor. Employment/Age Certificate
14
USCIS. Minors
15
Internal Revenue Service. Student Exception to FICA Tax
16
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Safe Work for Young Workers
17
U.S. Department of Labor. Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments