How to Get a Workers Permit: Steps, Documents, and Limits

To get a worker’s permit, a minor typically needs a job offer in hand, proof of age, a parent or guardian’s signature, and sometimes a school verification, then submits everything to whichever office issues permits in their state — usually the school’s guidance or main office, sometimes the state labor department. Federal law does not require the permit; roughly three-quarters of states do, and it usually has to be issued before the first day of work.¹ The whole process runs from a single visit to about a week.

Does Your State Even Require One

Start here, because the answer decides whether you need to do anything at all. The Fair Labor Standards Act leaves work permits entirely to the states, and the Department of Labor’s guidance says outright that federal youth employment provisions “do not require minors to obtain ‘working papers’ or ‘work permits,’ though many States do.”¹

Most states that require employment certificates apply the requirement to all minors under 18. Some require them only for minors under 16 or only during school hours. A handful of states, including Arizona, Idaho, Kentucky, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming, do not issue employment certificates at all. The DOL maintains a full table of each state’s requirements on its Employment/Age Certificate page.²

A few kinds of work are commonly exempt even where permits are otherwise required. Federal law itself carves out newspaper delivery to consumers, babysitting and casual domestic work, children employed by a parent in non-hazardous occupations, and child actors and performers in film, theater, radio, or television.³ Agricultural work runs on its own set of rules.⁴

Where to Apply

In most states, the school issues the permit. The guidance office, main office, or career counseling department will have the forms, and in many school-based systems the issuing officer can finish the paperwork on the spot. In other states the state labor department issues them, and a few states let either the school or the labor department do so. The DOL’s state table shows which applies where you live.²

Many state labor departments also post the application forms online. Some have moved part or all of the process onto a state portal, where the minor starts the application, the employer completes the job details electronically, and an issuing officer reviews and approves it without an in-person visit.

If you’re homeschooled or attend a private school, contact your local public school district or state labor department. The “school day” and “school week” definitions used for work purposes are typically tied to the local public school calendar.⁵

Documents to Bring

Requirements vary by state, but almost every jurisdiction asks for the same core items. Gather them before you start the form so you don’t need a second trip.

Proof of age. A birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, or state-issued ID. Bring the original, not a photocopy. Where a state uses an age certificate instead of an employment certificate, the issuing officer bases it on “the best available documentary evidence of age.”⁶
Employer information. The employer’s name, business address, the type of work, and the expected schedule. You generally need a job offer first, because the permit is tied to that specific position.
Parent or guardian signature. A parent or legal guardian must consent, usually by signing the application form.
School verification. Some states require proof of enrollment or a minimum academic standing — a school record or letter confirming attendance and grades are in order. Some districts add their own threshold, such as a minimum GPA.
Physical fitness documentation. A few states ask for a doctor’s note or the results of a physical exam confirming the minor can safely do the work.

There’s no fee for a work permit in most states. Where fees exist, they’re nominal.

The Steps, From Job Offer to Permit

Get the job offer first. The permit is issued for a specific employer and a specific position, so you need the details of both before the form can be filled out. Ask the employer to be ready to complete their portion of the application when you bring or send it.

Pick up or download the form from your school or state labor department. Fill in the minor’s information. Have a parent or guardian sign where indicated. Have the employer fill in the job title, duties, hours, and address.

Submit everything to the issuing officer. In school-based systems, that usually means an in-person visit with the original documents. Some states accept mailed applications or online submissions through a state portal. Bring originals for verification — the officer needs to see them firsthand.

Wait for approval. In many school-based systems, the officer reviews the paperwork on the spot and hands over the permit the same day. Online systems may take a few business days, partly because the employer also has to complete their portion electronically. If the employer doesn’t respond within the required window, the application can expire and you’ll have to start over.

Give a copy to your employer once the permit is issued. Employers are required to keep it on file for the duration of employment, and labor department inspectors can ask to see it at any time.

After You Have the Permit

The permit is tied to a specific employer and job, so a new one is generally required when the minor changes jobs or takes on significantly different duties with the same employer. You don’t reapply annually if nothing about the job changes. The permit becomes unnecessary once the minor turns 18 (or the applicable age in the state), and applications submitted after that birthday are typically rejected.

Permits can be revoked. Schools and labor departments have authority to cancel a work permit if the employment is harming the minor’s health or education, if the conditions for issuing it didn’t actually exist, or if the employer is violating the permit’s terms. Some districts treat dropping below a minimum GPA or missing too many school days as grounds for revocation. The permit isn’t a one-time hurdle: if grades slip badly enough, a minor can lose the right to keep working until they recover.

What the Permit Does Not Override

A work permit is authorization to hold a job. It does not lift the federal limits on when a minor can work or what kind of work they can do, and those limits apply whether or not the state requires a permit.

Hour Limits

Under the FLSA, 14- and 15-year-olds may only work outside school hours. During the school year, they’re limited to 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours per week. When school is out, those limits rise to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. They cannot work before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m., except that from June 1 through Labor Day the evening cutoff extends to 9:00 p.m.⁵

Federal law does not restrict the number of hours or times of day for workers 16 and older.¹ Many states do, especially on school nights, so check your state labor department’s site for the rules that actually apply.

Prohibited Jobs

The FLSA bars anyone under 18 from occupations the Secretary of Labor has declared hazardous. The 17 hazardous occupation orders cover, among others, driving on public roads for work; operating or cleaning power-driven meat slicers, saws, and choppers (including for cheese or vegetables in restaurants and delis); industrial dough mixers, rollers, and sheeters; forklifts, scissor lifts, and other hoisting equipment; power-driven woodworking machines; roofing; excavation; and nearly all mining and logging work.¹ These restrictions apply even with a valid work permit. For 14- and 15-year-olds the list of allowed jobs is narrower still, limited to a defined set of occupations like retail, office work, and food service with equipment restrictions.

If you suspect an employer is violating work-hour limits or putting a minor in a prohibited job, complaints can be filed with your state labor department or the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. Complaints can be filed confidentially, and retaliation against a minor who reports a violation is itself illegal.

1
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Employment/Age Certificate
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 213 – Exemptions
4
U.S. Department of Labor. State Child Labor Laws Applicable to Agricultural Employment
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Non-Agricultural Jobs – 14-15
6
eCFR. 29 CFR 570.121 – Age Certificates