Before Your Teen Starts a First Job, Check This List

Before your teen signs on for a first job, walk through work permits, legal hours, off-limits tasks and the tax forms that shape that first paycheck.

What to remember

1. Federal rules generally require workers to be at least 14 for non-agricultural jobs, and some states require a work permit before a 14- or 15-year-old starts.
2. Teens 14 and 15 can work no more than 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week, and not before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m., with a 9 p.m. limit from June 1 through Labor Day.
3. Workers under 18 may not run or clean meat slicers, commercial mixers or certain bakery machines, and driving on the job is generally barred with a narrow 17-year-old exception.
4. New employees fill out Form W-4 for federal income tax withholding; without one, tax is withheld as if the employee is single.
5. Where federal and state child labor rules differ, the more restrictive rule applies, and employers must comply with both.

A first job teaches a teen how to show up on time, handle money and work with other people, and most families remember that first paycheck. Before the application goes in, though, there is a short list of rules worth checking together. Federal and state laws set the ages, hours and tasks allowed for workers under 18, and employers have to follow both sets.

Work Permits and Age Rules

• Confirm the minimum age. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a worker generally has to be at least 14 years old for non-agricultural jobs. Agriculture has lower age limits.
• Ask whether a work permit is required. Rules vary by state. Virginia, for example, requires an employment certificate for every 14- and 15-year-old before any work is performed, and the state can revoke it if reasonable safety precautions are not observed. Your state labor agency or your teen’s school can tell you what applies where you live.
• Know the family business exception. Young people of any age may generally work for a business entirely owned by their parents, but mining and manufacturing are off limits to anyone under 16 even in that setting, and no one under 18 may hold a job the Secretary of Labor has declared hazardous.
• Plan for the stricter rule to win. Where a state child labor law differs from the federal one, the more restrictive law applies, and employers must comply with both.

Hours Teens Can Legally Work During School Weeks

For 14- and 15-year-olds, the federal limits cover both the clock and the calendar:

Limit	School in session	School not in session
Most hours in a day	3	8
Most hours in a week	18	40
Earliest start	7 a.m.	7 a.m.
Latest end	7 p.m.	7 p.m., or 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day

A few more points to check:

• A school day follows the local public school calendar. That holds even if your teen is home schooled or attends a private school.
• The work has to happen outside school hours. Exceptions apply for approved Work Experience and Career Exploration Programs and Work-Study Programs, and for teens who have graduated from high school or are excused from compulsory school attendance.
• Sixteen- and 17-year-olds can work unlimited hours under federal law, as long as the occupation is not one the Secretary of Labor has declared hazardous. States can still set limits. North Carolina, for instance, bars 16- and 17-year-olds enrolled in grade 12 or lower from working between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. before a school day unless the employer has written permission from a parent and the principal.

Jobs and Tasks That Are Off-Limits for Younger Teens

Fourteen- and 15-year-olds can hold many ordinary first jobs: cashiering, selling, price marking, packing and shelving in retail; errands by foot, bicycle or public transportation; washing dishes, reheating food and limited cooking, with no baking; pumping gas; washing and hand-polishing cars; and yard cleanup without power mowers, cutters or trimmers. Run any offer against this list:

• No manufacturing, processing or mining occupations. These are barred for 14- and 15-year-olds.
• No hazardous food equipment for anyone under 18. Meat slicers, meat saws, meat grinders, heavy commercial mixers and some powered bakery equipment are off-limits. Young workers may not run, load, adjust, fix or wash down these machines or their disassembled parts.
• No driving on the job. Generally, no worker under 18 may drive on a public road or ride along as an outside helper on a delivery vehicle. A narrow exception lets 17-year-olds who meet specific requirements drive light vehicles weighing no more than 6,000 pounds, for limited stretches of time, and even then time-sensitive deliveries such as pizza runs are prohibited. If driving comes up in any job offer, our car insurance terms to know when your teen drives covers the coverage questions to ask first.
• No work on ladders or scaffolds.
• No door-to-door sales, youth peddling or sign waving.
• No amusement park ride jobs. Ride attendant and ride operator work is barred, as is serving as a dispatcher at the top of tall water slides.
• Lifeguarding has age and place limits. Fifteen-year-olds who are properly certified can lifeguard at traditional swimming pools and water amusement parks, but not at lakes, rivers, ocean beaches or ponds.
• No boiler or engine room work, no regular work in freezers or meat coolers beyond briefly retrieving items, and no warehouse work except office and clerical tasks.

Filling Out the W-4 and What It Means for Pay

• Expect a W-4 on day one. Employers keep a Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, on file for each employee and use it to figure how much federal income tax to withhold, based on filing status and the adjustments listed on the form.
• No W-4 means single-rate withholding. If a new employee does not turn in a completed form, the employer withholds tax as if the employee is single.
• Exempt status comes with a deadline. An employee can use the W-4 to request no federal income tax withholding by indicating exempt, but a new form claiming exempt must be given by February 15 to keep that status for the next year.
• The paperwork does not stop there. Every U.S. employer must complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, for every person hired, and must record each employee’s name and Social Security number on Form W-2. An ITIN cannot be used in place of an SSN for work.

Reading Your First Pay Stub: Gross, Net and Withholding

• Gross pay is what was earned; net pay is what arrives. The gap between the two is withholding, the amounts set aside before the check is issued.
• Federal income tax follows the W-4. The filing status and entries on that form control how much comes out of each paycheck.
• Babysitting and household jobs work differently. Employers of household workers generally begin withholding Social Security and Medicare taxes, 6.2 percent plus 1.45 percent of wages, once cash wages paid to one household employee reach $3,000 for 2026, and that threshold can change from year to year. If the worker is under 18, those taxes are not withheld unless household work is the employee’s principal occupation, and household work by a student is not considered a principal occupation.
• Wage protections apply to teens, too. Federal minimum wage and overtime rules cover young workers the way they cover any other employee.
• Keep an independent record of hours. The Department of Labor’s free DOL-Timesheet app tracks hours and calculates pay automatically, in English and Spanish. If your teen needs a phone to run it and a used one is on the shopping list, our used phone checklist covers what to test first.

Parent tip: If a paycheck comes up short, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division may already have collected back wages from that employer. Its database of unclaimed money lets workers search and submit a claim.

Red Flags to Check Before Signing Anything

• Pressure to start before the paperwork. Where an employment certificate is required, it must be in place before any work is performed.
• A schedule that breaks the hour caps. A 14- or 15-year-old working past 7 p.m. on a school night, or more than 3 hours on a school day, is outside the federal limits.
• Training on prohibited equipment. If orientation includes a meat slicer, a commercial mixer, a bakery machine or a ladder, the job is not a legal fit for a worker under 18.
• No tax forms and no records. A job offer with no W-4, no Form I-9 and no plan for wage records deserves hard questions before anyone signs.

Keeping the Job From Taking Over School and Sleep

• Treat the hour caps as homework protection. The 3-hour school-day limit for 14- and 15-year-olds exists so work does not crowd out classes and study time.
• Check your state’s night rules. Some states set earlier cutoffs for teens enrolled in school, and where a state rule is stricter than the federal one, the state rule applies.
• Expect required breaks where state law provides them. North Carolina, for example, requires a 30-minute break after any period of five consecutive hours of work.
• Track hours from the first shift. If the recorded hours start to squeeze sleep or grades, cut back shifts before the report card shows it.
• Know where to raise a problem. Every state has a labor agency, and the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor enforces the federal child labor provisions and can answer questions about a specific job.

Parents also ask

Can my 15-year-old work until 9 p.m. on a school night?

Federal rules set 7 p.m. as the latest end time for 14- and 15-year-olds, extended to 9 p.m. only from June 1 through Labor Day. State rules can be stricter, and the stricter rule applies.

Does my teen need a work permit?

It depends on the state. Some states require an employment certificate for 14- and 15-year-olds before any work is performed, so check with your state labor agency or your teen’s school.

Can a 16-year-old work unlimited hours?

Under federal law, 16- and 17-year-olds may work unlimited hours in occupations not declared hazardous. States can still limit their hours, especially on school nights.

What should we do if a paycheck is short?

Keep your own record of hours, such as with the free DOL-Timesheet app, and contact your state labor agency or the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.