California Work Permit for Minors: Form B1-1 PDF

In California, a work permit for minors is a school-issued document called the Permit to Employ and Work, and nearly every worker under 18 who has not graduated from high school needs one before starting a job.¹ The permit is free, tied to the minor’s grades and attendance, and issued only after a parent, the employer, and a school official all sign off.

Who Needs a Permit

Any minor under 18 who has not graduated from high school or earned a certificate of proficiency must have a permit to hold a job in California.¹ It doesn’t matter whether the minor attends school in person, remotely, or in a hybrid program.

A few situations fall outside the standard permit:

Casual jobs like babysitting or yard work for a neighbor.
Self-employment, such as a minor running their own small business.
Entertainment industry work in film, television, theater, radio, or concerts, which uses a separate permit issued by the Labor Commissioner’s office.²

Emancipated minors are not exempt. California still holds them to every child labor rule, including the permit requirement. The one accommodation is that an emancipated minor can apply without a parent’s signature.¹

How to Apply Using Form B1-1

The application is a single document: the “Statement of Intent to Employ a Minor and Request for a Work Permit–Certificate of Age,” known as CDE Form B1-1.³ You can pick one up from your school’s attendance office or download it from the district’s website. It has three sections, filled out by three different people.

The Minor’s Section

You provide your full legal name, home address, date of birth, and Social Security number, then sign to confirm the information is accurate.⁴

The Parent’s Signature

A parent or legal guardian signs to consent to the specific job listed. Without that signature, the school cannot issue the permit. Emancipated minors skip this step.

The Employer’s Section

The prospective employer fills in the business name, address, phone number, and supervisor’s name, then describes the duties and the maximum hours per day and per week. The employer must also certify that the minor will be covered by workers’ compensation insurance.⁴ One practical consequence: you need a job offer in hand before the form can be completed, because the employer’s section has to be filled out first.

School Review and Issuance

Once all three sections are done, the minor brings the form to the school’s authorized permit issuer, usually a counselor or attendance officer. The school pulls the minor’s grades and attendance record. If either is unsatisfactory, the school can deny the permit. No minor is entitled to one regardless of academic standing.⁵

When approved, the school issues the official Permit to Employ and Work, which names the specific job and the maximum hours allowed. The employer keeps it on file at the workplace.¹ The permit is only good for the job it describes. Change employers or take a substantially different role, and you need a new one.

Homeschooled and Private School Students

Minors in non-traditional programs use the same Form B1-1, but the person who reviews and signs it changes:

Charter school or public program students apply through their school office, just like any other public school student.
Students in a private school satellite program apply through the program’s principal or an authorized administrator.
In a single-family private school where parents have filed a Private School Affidavit, parents cannot issue a permit to their own child. The minor applies through the superintendent of the local school district or the county superintendent of schools.

Hours a Minor Can Work

The permit authorizes work only within the limits California sets by age. A “school day” is any day the minor is required to attend school for at least 240 minutes.⁶

Ages 14 and 15

When school is in session: up to 3 hours on a school day, up to 8 hours on a non-school day like Saturday, and no more than 18 hours per week.⁶
When school is not in session: up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.⁷

All work for 14- and 15-year-olds must fall outside school hours, even on days when the weekly cap hasn’t been reached.

Ages 16 and 17

When school is in session: up to 4 hours on a school day, up to 8 hours on a non-school day, and no more than 48 hours per week.⁶
When school is not in session: up to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week.⁷

Curfew Windows

California also restricts the times of day a minor can work. An employer who schedules a shift outside these windows is breaking the law even if the total hours are within limits.

Minors aged 14 and 15 can work between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. most of the year. From June 1 through Labor Day, the evening cutoff moves to 9:00 p.m.⁸

Minors aged 16 and 17 can work between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. on any evening before a school day, and until 12:30 a.m. on evenings before a non-school day.⁷ That distinction matters for weekend scheduling: a Friday night shift can run later because Saturday is not a school day, but a Sunday night shift cannot, because Monday is.

Jobs a Minor Cannot Do

Federal law bars all workers under 18 from 17 categories of hazardous occupations, including roofing, logging, operating power-driven machinery, mining, and manufacturing explosives.⁹ California adds further restrictions on top of the federal list.

For 14- and 15-year-olds, the restrictions reach further, banning most factory work and jobs involving motor vehicles. A work permit cannot override a hazardous-occupation ban. If an employer lists prohibited duties on Form B1-1, the school should catch it during review, but the family should know the limits going in.

Pay

California’s minimum wage as of January 1, 2026, is $16.90 per hour for all employers, with no lower rate for minors.¹⁰ The federal youth subminimum wage of $4.25 per hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 days does not override California’s higher state minimum.¹¹ Any employer paying a minor in California less than $16.90 per hour is violating state law.

Expiration, Renewal, and Revocation

A permit issued during the school year expires five days after the start of the following school year.¹ A minor who wants to keep working goes through the full application again each year with a new Form B1-1. Because the permit is job-specific, switching employers means getting a new one even if the old permit hasn’t expired.

Schools don’t just issue permits and forget about them. The issuing authority can revoke a permit at any time if the job is harming the minor’s health or education, if the conditions on the permit are being violated, or if the work itself is illegal. Schools periodically check the grades and attendance of students who hold permits, and a noticeable slide can trigger revocation. The permit is not a one-time hurdle. It’s an ongoing condition of the job.

1
California Department of Industrial Relations. Information on Minors and Employment
2
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 1308.5
3
California Department of Education. Work Permits for Students – Work Experience Education (WEE)
4
State of California Department of Education. Statement of Intent to Employ a Minor and Request for a Work Permit – Certificate of Age CDE Form B1-1
5
California Legislative Information. California Education Code 49160
6
California Department of Industrial Relations. Summary Chart
7
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code 1391
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Selected State Child Labor Standards Affecting Minors Under 18 in Non-farm Employment
9
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations
10
California Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
11
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #32 – Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act