Yes, you can work at 14 in California, but only with a work permit issued through your school, only in certain kinds of jobs, and only within tight limits on when and how long you can work. The state’s minimum wage of $16.90 per hour applies to you the same as any adult employee.1Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
Getting Your Work Permit
Before your first shift, you need a permit. The process runs through your school, not a government agency, and it involves two forms.
The Application: Form B1-1
The Statement of Intent to Employ a Minor and Request for a Work Permit (CDE Form B1-1) is where it starts. You fill in your name, school, date of birth, and Social Security number. A parent or guardian signs to give consent. The employer completes their section with the business name, address, and a description of the work you’ll be doing, and confirms you’ll be covered by workers’ compensation insurance.2Department of Industrial Relations. Statement of Intent to Employ a Minor and Request for a Work Permit You can get the form at your school office or download it.
The Permit: Form B1-4
Bring the completed B1-1 to the permit issuer at your school. Under Education Code Section 49110, that person is usually the principal, a designated administrator, a credentialed counselor, or a work experience coordinator.3California Legislative Information. California Code EDC 49110 They review your grades and attendance to decide whether the job will interfere with school.
If approved, they issue the Permit to Employ and Work (Form B1-4). That’s the document that actually lets you work.4Department of Industrial Relations. CDE Form B1-4 Permit to Employ and WorkCalifornia Code Education Code 49164
Jobs You Can Take at 14
Permitted work for 14-year-olds centers on low-risk retail, food service, and office roles. You can cashier, stock shelves, bag groceries, and handle similar retail tasks. Office work like filing, answering phones, and basic data entry is also allowed.5U.S. Department of Labor. Non-Agricultural Jobs 14-15
Food service is open to you with limits. Hosting, bussing tables, washing dishes, taking orders, and using basic equipment like toasters and coffee grinders are fine. Cooking with open flames and baking are not. The dividing line sits wherever significant heat or grease shows up: clearing plates is in, working the grill is out.
Jobs That Are Off-Limits
Labor Code Section 1294 bars minors under 16 from a long list of dangerous jobs, including work on railroads, on commercial boats, on scaffolding, in mines or quarries, in tunnels, and in the building trades. You also can’t drive motor vehicles for work or handle dangerous acids, poisonous gases, or lead-based paints. The section ends with a catch-all: no work in any occupation dangerous to life or limb or harmful to a minor’s health.6California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1294
Section 1294.1 pulls in the federal hazardous occupation orders, which prohibit minors under 16 from operating power-driven machinery, working in manufacturing, and handling explosives or radioactive materials.7California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1294.1 Even small-looking tasks like adjusting a belt on a machine or helping clean industrial equipment are specifically banned for anyone under 16.
How Many Hours You Can Work
Labor Code Section 1391 sets your hour limits, and they shift with the school calendar.
While school is in session, you can work no more than 3 hours on a school day and no more than 18 hours in a school week. A school day is any day you’re required to attend for 240 minutes or more. You can’t work during school hours at all.
During summer and school breaks, the cap rises to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.
Curfews apply year-round. From the day after Labor Day through May 31, you can only work between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. From June 1 through Labor Day, the evening cutoff moves to 9 p.m.8California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1391
One exception: if you’re enrolled in a school-supervised work experience or career exploration program, you can work up to 23 hours per week during the school year, and some of those hours can fall during school hours. Newspaper delivery also sits outside the standard hour limits.
Pay, Breaks, and Taxes
California doesn’t have a lower minimum wage for teens. At 14, you earn $16.90 per hour, the same as every other employee in the state.10Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
Meal and rest break rules also apply to you the same way they apply to adults. Work more than five hours in a day and your employer must give you an uninterrupted 30-minute unpaid meal break.9California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 512 You’re also entitled to a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked. Miss either one and the employer owes you an extra hour of pay for each missed break. On a school day you probably won’t hit the five-hour trigger, but an eight-hour summer shift will.
Your paychecks will have federal and state income tax withheld, plus Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%). Most 14-year-olds don’t earn enough to actually owe income tax. The 2026 standard deduction for a single filer is $16,100, and working within California’s hour limits you’ll almost certainly land below that. File a return anyway, because that’s how you get back the income tax that was withheld. Social Security and Medicare withholdings are not refundable.
When Your Permit Can Be Pulled
A work permit isn’t permanent. The issuer is required to revoke it if your health or education is being harmed by the job, if any condition of the permit is being violated, or if you’re doing work that breaks the law.11California Legislative Information. California Code Education Code 49164
In practice, grades are the usual trigger. Many schools require at least a 2.0 GPA with no failing grades to keep the permit active. If your GPA drops or your attendance slips, expect the school to pull it. A teacher can also ask for cancellation if they think the job is pulling you behind. Schools typically recheck eligibility after each grading period.
Entertainment Work Is Separate
If the work you want to do is acting, modeling, music, or any other entertainment, the school permit doesn’t apply. Entertainment permits come from the Labor Commissioner’s Office through its own process.9Department of Industrial Relations. Information on Minors and Employment
A parent or guardian applies online using an account in their own name. If you’re between 14 and 17, you have to complete sexual harassment prevention training before the permit will be issued.12Department of Industrial Relations. Entertainment Work Permit for Minors
California’s Coogan Law requires employers of minor performers to deposit 15% of your gross earnings into a blocked trust account within 15 days of employment. That money is protected until you turn 18.
What Happens If an Employer Breaks the Rules
If your employer pushes you to work past curfew, skip breaks, or take on a banned task, the legal exposure falls on them, not you.
California splits child labor violations into two tiers. Class A violations cover the most dangerous situations, including employing a minor in a prohibited hazardous occupation and repeated work-hour violations, and carry penalties of $5,000 to $10,000 per violation. Class B violations cover first and second work-hour violations and less severe infractions, with penalties of $500 to $1,000.9California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1288
Criminal charges are also possible. Violating the work hour limits under Section 1391 is a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 to $5,000 fine, up to 60 days in jail, or both; willful violations raise the maximum fine to $10,000 and jail time to six months.13California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1391California Code Labor Code 1308 If an employer can’t produce your work permit when it’s requested, that alone counts as evidence of illegal employment and triggers a $500 fine for a first offense.