Can You Work at 15 in Washington State? Jobs, Hours, and Permits

Yes, you can work at 15 in Washington state, but the job has to fit a short list of allowed industries, your hours are capped tightly during the school year, and your employer needs a special permit before you clock in. The 2026 minimum wage for a 15-year-old is roughly $14.56 per hour, which is 85% of the adult rate. Everything below walks through what that actually looks like in practice.

Jobs You Can Take at 15

Most first jobs for 15-year-olds in Washington are in retail, food service, or office settings. Grocery stores, movie theaters, ice cream shops, and clothing retailers all commonly hire at this age. Clerical and office work is allowed. Federal rules also permit a 15-year-old with a valid Red Cross certification (or equivalent) to work as a lifeguard or swimming instructor at a traditional pool or water park.¹

Inside those industries, your duties are narrower than an older coworker’s. In a restaurant you can bus tables, take orders, serve food, and wash dishes, but you cannot cook, bake, or run powered kitchen equipment like slicers or commercial mixers.² Fast-food grill positions and bakery prep are off the table until 16.

Work That’s Off Limits

Washington bans every minor, regardless of age, from a long list of dangerous jobs: power-driven woodworking machines, roofing, slaughterhouse or meatpacking work, and freight elevator operation among them.³ If a job sits on that list, no one under 18 can do it.

Workers under 16 face an extra layer on top:

Any factory, cannery, commercial laundry, or food-processing operation.
Construction sites, delivery vehicles, and warehouses. Office work tied to those industries is fine as long as you never set foot on the job site.
All cooking and baking duties in food service, plus powered food slicers, grinders, choppers, and bakery mixers.
Maintenance and repair work, even inside a retail store.
Loading or unloading goods to or from trucks, rail cars, or conveyors.
Working in close proximity to power-driven machinery, not just operating it.

These restrictions come from WAC 296-125-033.² A narrow exception exists for minors enrolled in a state-certified cooperative vocational education or apprenticeship program, but that path is uncommon at 15.³

Hours During the School Year

On any day followed by a school day, you can work a maximum of three hours. On Saturdays, Sundays, and other non-school days during the school year, the cap rises to eight hours. Total weekly hours cannot exceed 16, and you cannot work more than six days in a week.⁴

The earliest a shift can begin is 7:00 a.m. On nights before a school day, it must end by 7:00 p.m. On Friday evenings, Saturday evenings, and the night before a school holiday or vacation, the cutoff extends to 9:00 p.m. If you’re scheduled past 8:00 p.m. in a service job, a supervising adult has to be on-site the whole time.⁴ Work during school hours is never allowed.

Hours During School Vacations

When school is out for summer, winter, or spring break, the schedule opens up. You can work up to eight hours a day and 40 hours a week, still capped at six days. Shifts can start at 7:00 a.m. and must end by 9:00 p.m.⁴ “School vacation” follows your local district’s calendar, not a statewide date, so the start and end of summer hours depend on where you attend school.

Breaks You’re Entitled To

Federal law doesn’t require any employer to give meal or rest breaks. Washington does, and the rules for 14- and 15-year-olds are stronger than what most adults get.

You get a paid 10-minute rest break for every two hours worked. Any shift of four hours or more also triggers a 30-minute uninterrupted meal period, separate from your rest breaks. The core scheduling rule is that you cannot be asked to work more than two consecutive hours without either a rest break or a meal period.⁵ Skipping or shortening these is a violation worth reporting.

What You Get Paid

Washington’s 2026 adult minimum wage is $17.13 per hour. State law lets employers pay 14- and 15-year-olds no less than 85% of that rate, which works out to roughly $14.56 per hour.⁶ The reduced rate ends on your 16th birthday, when your employer must switch you to the full adult minimum.⁷ If a federal wage rule and a state rule disagree, you get whichever one pays more, so Washington’s 85% rate is what actually applies here.

Paperwork Before the First Shift

Parent and School Authorization

Before you work a single shift, your employer has to have a completed parent/school authorization form on file at the worksite. A parent or legal guardian signs it to grant permission. During months when school is in session, a school official also has to sign to confirm the job won’t interfere with attendance or academic performance.⁸ The form is on the Department of Labor & Industries website. Your employer is responsible for filling it out completely before your first shift and keeping it available for state inspection.⁹

The Employer’s Minor Work Permit

Every Washington employer who hires minors has to hold a minor work permit endorsement on their business license. The employer applies through the Department of Revenue, and Labor & Industries reviews the request before approval. Once granted, the endorsement appears on the business license, which must be posted at the workplace and renewed annually.¹⁰ L&I can revoke the permit if conditions fall below the required standards for health, safety, or welfare of minor employees.⁵ If a prospective employer doesn’t have this endorsement, they’re not legally allowed to hire you.

Where Federal Rules Still Matter

Both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Washington law regulate teen employment, and they don’t always agree. When they conflict, the stricter one wins.¹ Washington is usually tougher, so state law controls most situations. The main exception is the evening cutoff during non-summer breaks. The FLSA only extends the 9:00 p.m. end time from June 1 through Labor Day, while Washington applies it to all school vacations. During a spring break in March, the federal 7:00 p.m. limit technically still applies, and employers should follow the earlier time.

If Something Goes Wrong

A 15-year-old has the same workplace safety rights as any adult under federal OSHA rules. That includes safety training in a language you understand, required protective equipment at no personal cost, and the right to report unsafe conditions without retaliation.¹¹ If a supervisor asks you to do a task that looks like it belongs on the prohibited list, you can refuse and file a confidential complaint. On the state side, you or a parent can file a worker rights complaint directly with L&I for any child labor violation: hour limits, break requirements, prohibited duties, or anything else covered above.¹⁰

1
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations
2
Washington State Legislature. WAC 296-125-033 Prohibited and Hazardous Employment – Special Restrictions for Minors Under the Age of 16
3
Washington State Legislature. WAC 296-125-030 Prohibited and Hazardous Employment – All Minors
4
Washington State Legislature. WAC 296-125-027 Hours of Work for Minors
5
Washington State Board of Nursing. Teens at Work: Facts for Employers, Parents and Teens
6
Department of Labor & Industries. Minimum Wage
7
Cornell Law School. Washington Administrative Code 296-126-020 Minimum Wages – Minors
8
Washington State Legislature. WAC 296-125-0260 Parent/School Authorization Forms
9
Washington State Legislature. RCW Chapter 49.12 Industrial Welfare – Section 49.12.121
10
Department of Labor & Industries. How to Hire Minors
11
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Safe Work for Young Workers