In California, a high school student aged 16 or 17 can work up to four hours on a school day and up to eight hours on a non-school day, with a weekly ceiling of 48 hours. A 14- or 15-year-old is limited to three hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week, rising to eight hours a day and 40 hours a week when school is out. Those caps come from the California Labor Code and apply on top of a separate requirement that nearly every working minor hold a current work permit.
Hours for 16- and 17-Year-Olds
Labor Code Section 1391 sets the limits. On any school day, the maximum is four hours. On non-school days, including weekends, you can work up to eight. The weekly cap is 48 hours, though the four-hour weekday ceiling makes that total hard to reach during a normal school week.1California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1391
Time-of-day rules also apply. On a night before a school day, you cannot work past 10 p.m. or start before 5 a.m. On a night before a non-school day, the cutoff moves to 12:30 a.m. When school is out of session entirely, the 8-hour daily and 48-hour weekly limits still govern, with work allowed between 5 a.m. and 12:30 a.m.1California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1391
A few narrow exceptions let a 16- or 17-year-old work more than four hours on a school day: personal attendants, participants in a school-approved work experience program, and holders of a special permit under Education Code Section 49112(c).1California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1391
Hours for 14- and 15-Year-Olds
The limits are tighter for younger teens. During the school year, a 14- or 15-year-old can work no more than three hours on a school day, and only outside school hours. The weekly total cannot exceed 18 hours. On non-school days and during breaks, the daily cap rises to eight hours and the weekly cap to 40.2U.S. Department of Labor. Selected State Child Labor Standards Affecting Minors Under 18 in Non-farm Employment
Evening rules are also stricter. During the school year, work must happen between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. From June 1 through Labor Day, the evening cutoff extends to 9 p.m., which opens up summer jobs that run later into the evening.3U.S. Department of Labor. Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor – Hours Restrictions
What Counts as a School Day
A “school day” under Section 1391 means any day you are required to attend school for four or more hours.1California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1391 That definition matters because it determines which cap applies on a given date. A minimum day where you are released after only a few hours of required attendance may not count as a school day for these purposes, and holidays, weekends, teacher workdays, and vacation weeks fall under the non-school-day limits. Summer break is treated the same way: the eight-hour daily ceiling and the age-based weekly cap replace the school-day numbers until classes resume.
A Work Permit Comes First
Almost every minor under 18 in California needs a work permit on file before the first shift. The exceptions are narrow: newspaper carriers, babysitters, and teens doing yard work at private homes. An employer is not allowed to let any other minor begin working without the permit in place.4Department of Industrial Relations. Information on Minors and Employment
The process begins after an employer agrees to hire you. You pick up a “Statement of Intent to Employ a Minor and Request for a Work Permit” (CDE Form B1-1) from your school. You complete your section; your parent or guardian and your employer complete and sign theirs. The form goes back to the school, where the authorized issuer verifies the information and decides whether to issue the actual permit (CDE Form B1-4). Schools cannot hand out blank permits.5California Department of Education. Frequently Asked Questions: Work Permits
Issuance is discretionary. The statute uses “may,” not “shall,” so a district can decline a permit it believes would interfere with your education, even when the basic paperwork is in order. Most permits are granted, but the authority to say no exists.5California Department of Education. Frequently Asked Questions: Work Permits
A Permit Can Be Revoked If Grades or Attendance Slip
Under Education Code Section 49164, the issuer of the permit, the Labor Commissioner, or the Superintendent of Public Instruction can cancel a work permit at any time if the conditions supporting it no longer exist. Revocation is required when the issuing authority finds the job is harming your health or education, that any condition of the permit is being violated, or that you are performing work that violates the law.
In practice, that means declining grades or worsening attendance can cost you the permit, and without the permit you cannot keep working. Truant students and dropouts cannot hold valid work permits at all, because the school cannot sanction a violation of compulsory attendance laws.5California Department of Education. Frequently Asked Questions: Work Permits
Different Rules for Entertainment, Agriculture, and Work-Experience Programs
The entertainment industry runs on its own hour rules. Children as young as 15 days old can work in entertainment under age-specific time limits, and instead of a standard school-issued permit they need a special permit from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.6Department of Industrial Relations. Entertainment Industry Summary Chart: Hours of Work for Minors
If you are 14 or 15 and enrolled in a school-supervised work experience or career exploration program, you may be allowed to work up to 23 hours in a week, with some of those hours potentially falling during school time. Apprentices and student-learners who are at least 16 and enrolled in approved programs can qualify for limited exemptions from certain hazardous-occupation bans when the work is supervised, short-term, and tied to the training.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
Minors doing agricultural work on a family-owned farm for their parents may be subject to different hour limitations than the standard rules above.
Why California’s Numbers Control Over Federal Limits
Both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and California law regulate teen employment. When both apply, the stricter rule wins.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
For 14- and 15-year-olds, the federal limits closely mirror California’s. For 16- and 17-year-olds, federal law imposes almost no hour restrictions in non-hazardous jobs, while California keeps the four-hour school-day cap and the late-night cutoffs. If you work in California, the state numbers are the ones that bind you, regardless of what federal law alone would allow.
Putting the Caps Together
On a typical weekday during the school year, a 16- or 17-year-old can work a four-hour shift that ends by 10 p.m., and a 14- or 15-year-old can work a three-hour shift that ends by 7 p.m. On a Saturday, both age groups can work up to eight hours. Across a full school week, the older group is realistically limited by the daily caps rather than the 48-hour weekly ceiling, and the younger group is bound by the 18-hour weekly total. Once school lets out for summer, both groups move to the eight-hour-a-day schedule, with the older group allowed up to 48 hours a week and the younger group up to 40.