Can 14 Year Olds Work in California? Jobs, Hours & Permits

Yes, 14-year-olds can work in California, but only in a narrow set of approved jobs, only during limited hours, and only after getting a work permit from their school. California adopts the federal list of permitted occupations for 14- and 15-year-olds through its Labor Code, pays them the full state minimum wage of $16.90 per hour, and fines employers who put them in a prohibited role or keep them past the legal cutoff.¹²

Jobs a 14-Year-Old Can Take

State law generally bars anyone under 16 from working, then carves out exceptions by adopting the federal list in 29 CFR 570.34.³⁴ The practical result is that most first jobs happen in a handful of settings:

Retail: cashiering, stocking shelves, price marking, bagging, carrying out customer orders, and window trimming.
Office work: filing, data entry, and operating standard office machines.
Food service: dishwashing, busing tables, cleaning equipment, reheating food, hosting, and cooking on electric or gas grills without an open flame. Deep fryers are allowed only if they have an automatic basket-lowering mechanism.
Grocery tasks: cleaning, wrapping, labeling, weighing, and stocking fruits, vegetables, and meats, in areas physically separate from a freezer or meat cooler.
Delivery work by foot, bicycle, or public transportation.
Tutoring, computer programming, writing software, singing, playing instruments, and drawing.
Vacuuming, floor waxing, and yard work, but not with power-driven mowers, trimmers, or edgers.

One job 14-year-olds often ask about: lifeguarding is open only to workers age 15 and up.⁴

What’s Off-Limits

California Labor Code sections 1292 through 1294 bar minors under 16 from a long list of hazardous tasks, and federal hazardous occupation orders add more.⁵ State law specifically prohibits adjusting belts on machinery, oiling or cleaning mechanical equipment, and operating motor vehicles. Section 1294 adds a catch-all against any job “dangerous to the life or limb, or injurious to the health” of the minor.⁶

The federal hazardous orders bar 14- and 15-year-olds from meat, cheese, and vegetable slicers, saws, and choppers (including cleaning them); power-driven bakery machines like dough mixers and cookie machines; woodworking machines, chain saws, nailing machines, and power sanders; forklifts, skid-steers, backhoes, scissor lifts, and cranes; and compactors and balers, including the trash compactors common in restaurant back rooms.⁷ Construction sites, roofing, and any workplace with explosives or toxic chemicals are entirely off-limits.⁶

A reliable test: if the task involves a motor, a blade, or serious heat, assume no.

How Many Hours and When

California Labor Code section 1391 caps a 14-year-old’s hours by whether school is in session and sets evening cutoffs that shift with the season.⁸

While school is in session:

No more than 3 hours on a school day
No more than 8 hours on a non-school day (weekends, holidays)
No more than 18 hours in a school week

When school is out, including summer and winter break:

No more than 8 hours per day
No more than 40 hours per week

Shifts must fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. for most of the year. From June 1 through Labor Day, the evening cutoff moves to 9 p.m. There is no “just finishing up” grace period. When the clock hits the cutoff, the shift ends.

Pay

California has no youth wage or training wage. A 14-year-old earns the full state minimum of $16.90 per hour as of January 1, 2026, and if the city or county sets a higher local minimum, the higher rate applies.² Federal law allows a $4.25 “youth minimum wage” for the first 90 days of employment for workers under 20, but California’s higher state rate controls, so it never applies here.

Getting the Work Permit

Every minor under 18 who works in California needs a work permit before the first shift. The process involves two forms and three signatures: employer, parent, and school.¹

Step 1: Statement of Intent (Form B1-1)

Start with CDE Form B1-1, the “Statement of Intent to Employ a Minor and Request for a Work Permit.” The employer fills in the business name, address, phone, supervisor, expected hours, job duties, and confirmation of workers’ compensation coverage. The minor adds their name, Social Security number, and current school. A parent or legal guardian signs to authorize the job.⁹ The form is available from a school counseling office or the California Department of Education website. Fill in every field; incomplete forms come back.

Step 2: Submit to the School and Receive Form B1-4

With all three signatures, the minor delivers Form B1-1 to the school district office or the school principal. A designated official verifies age and checks that attendance and grades are satisfactory. The principal can issue the permit directly, with a copy sent to the district superintendent.¹⁰

If everything checks out, the school issues CDE Form B1-4, the “Permit to Employ and Work.” That is the document that authorizes the job to begin.¹¹ The employer keeps a copy on file; keep your own as well. Turnaround is often same-day, though some districts take a few business days.

Because the school controls the permit, slipping grades or attendance problems can lead the school to deny or decline to renew it. The state treats a 14-year-old as a student first and a worker second.

Working for a Parent

Parents often assume they can skip the permit if the teen works in the family business. The exemption is narrower than that. California waives work permit and most hour requirements only when a parent employs the minor in agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, or domestic labor on property the parent owns, operates, or controls, and even then the minor cannot work during school hours.¹²

If the family business is a store, a restaurant, or any other commercial operation, the exemption does not apply. The same permit and the same hour limits govern a parent-run business as any other employer.

Entertainment Work Uses a Separate System

Acting, modeling, singing, and other entertainment jobs do not use the school-issued permit. California runs a separate permit system through the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, and every minor working in entertainment must register with it. A first-time 10-day permit costs $50; a six-month permit is free and renewable. Minors ages 14 to 17 must complete sexual harassment prevention training before the permit issues, and in-person applications need a letter from the production company on official letterhead with the production’s permit registration number and work dates.¹³

What Happens If an Employer Breaks the Rules

Civil penalties for child labor violations are steep. Putting a 14-year-old in a prohibited or hazardous occupation, or committing a third or later scheduling violation, carries a Class A penalty of $5,000 to $10,000 per violation. Permit failures and first or second scheduling violations fall into Class B, with penalties of $500 to $1,000 per violation and a mandatory $1,000 penalty for a second scheduling offense.¹⁴

Knowingly putting a minor in a job dangerous to their health or safety is a misdemeanor, with a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 and up to six months in jail. Willful violations raise the fine ceiling to $10,000.¹⁴

Teens or parents who suspect a violation can file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, which investigates and assesses penalties directly. No lawyer is needed to file.

1
California Department of Industrial Relations. Information on Minors and Employment
2
California Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
3
California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1290
4
eCFR. 29 CFR 570.34 – Occupations That May Be Performed by Minors 14 and 15 Years of Age
5
California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1292
6
California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1294
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the FLSA for Nonagricultural Occupations
8
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 1391
9
California Department of Industrial Relations. Statement of Intent to Employ a Minor and Request for a Work Permit – Certificate of Age
10
California Legislative Information. California Code Education Code 49110
11
California Department of Industrial Relations. CDE Form B1-4 – Permit to Employ and Work
12
California Department of Industrial Relations. Child Labor Laws – California Department of Industrial Relations
13
California Department of Industrial Relations. Entertainment Work Permit for Minors
14
Justia Law. California Labor Code 1285-1312 – Article 2 Minors