How Old Do You Have to Be to Work in Nebraska?

To work in Nebraska, you generally have to be at least 14 years old. A few jobs are open to younger children, 14- and 15-year-olds work under tight hour limits and need a school-issued employment certificate, and most restrictions ease once you turn 16. Hazardous-job rules stay in place until 18.

One thing to understand up front: Nebraska’s child labor statutes are sometimes more lenient than the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). When state and federal rules both apply, the employer has to follow whichever is stricter.¹ For teen workers, that usually means the federal standard controls, even though the Nebraska statute on paper would allow more.

Working Under 14

Children younger than 14 cannot be employed in most non-agricultural work in Nebraska. A short list of exemptions exists under federal law. A child of any age can work for a business that is entirely owned by their parents, as long as the work isn’t in mining or manufacturing and isn’t one of the hazardous occupations the Secretary of Labor has designated (those require the worker to be at least 16).² Delivering newspapers to homes and businesses is allowed, and so is performing in theatrical productions or film projects.

Informal neighborhood work like babysitting or mowing lawns is a separate matter. Those arrangements typically don’t create an employer-employee relationship under the FLSA, so the age rules don’t reach them.

Starting Work at 14 or 15

At 14, most entry-level jobs open up. Before starting, a worker under 16 in Nebraska must have an employment certificate on file with the employer.³

The hour limits are where employers and families most often get tripped up. Nebraska’s statute caps workers under 16 at 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week, with no work before 6:00 AM.⁴ Federal law is much stricter for 14- and 15-year-olds, and because the stricter rule wins, the federal schedule is the one that actually governs:

On a school day, no more than 3 hours, and only outside school hours
On a non-school day, no more than 8 hours
During a school week, no more than 18 hours total
During a non-school week, no more than 40 hours total
Only between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM during the school year, extended to 9:00 PM from June 1 through Labor Day

Compare the weekly totals: Nebraska would allow 48 hours during a school week, but federal law caps it at 18.² An employer who schedules a 15-year-old for 30 hours in a school week is in line with Nebraska law and in clear violation of federal law.

Night and Curfew Limits

Nebraska adds night-work curfews layered by age. Children under 14 cannot work past 8:00 PM. Those aged 14 or 15 cannot work past 10:00 PM.⁴ The 10:00 PM cutoff can be pushed back on nights when no school meets the next day, but only if the child consents in writing on the employment certificate and the employer gets a special permit from the Nebraska Department of Labor.

Federal law is tighter again. For 14- and 15-year-olds, the curfew is 7:00 PM during the school year and 9:00 PM in summer. Even if Nebraska would allow a 15-year-old to stay on the clock until 10:00 PM on a Friday in October, federal law shuts the shift down at 7:00 PM.

What Changes at 16 and 17

Turning 16 removes most of the structural restrictions. Nebraska does not require an employment certificate for workers 16 and older.³ Section 48-310’s hour caps apply only to children under 16, so the state imposes no daily or weekly limit and no curfew on 16- and 17-year-olds. The federal FLSA likewise sets no limit on hours worked at those ages.⁵

The hazardous-occupation restrictions, though, stay in place until 18.

Jobs Off-Limits Until 18

Two layers of occupational restrictions apply.

For workers under 16, Nebraska Revised Statute § 48-313 prohibits any employment that is dangerous to life or limb, likely to injure the child’s health, or harmful to the child’s welfare.⁶ The statute does not list specific occupations; enforcement officers evaluate conditions case by case.

For workers under 18, the FLSA’s Hazardous Occupation Orders bar 17 categories of particularly dangerous non-agricultural work. These include operating power-driven bakery equipment, paper-product machines, and metal-forming tools, as well as roofing, excavation, exposure to radioactive substances, and work involving explosives.² Driving a motor vehicle on public roads for work is prohibited for anyone under 18, with a narrow daylight-only exception that lets 17-year-olds drive cars or small trucks under strictly limited conditions.

A 17-year-old can work a full adult schedule but still cannot take any job that falls inside one of these orders.

How to Get the Employment Certificate

The certificate is issued by the principal of the child’s school or someone the principal authorizes in writing. If the child lives in a neighboring state and wants to work in Nebraska, the Department of Labor can issue it instead.⁷ There is no fee.

Proof of age is required. The issuing officer will accept a passport, a certified copy of the birth certificate, a baptismal record, or another official document showing date and place of birth. A certified birth certificate on file with a registrar of vital statistics is treated as conclusive. A parent’s sworn statement is accepted only when none of those documents can be produced.⁸

The certificate is prepared in triplicate. One copy goes to the employer, one to the Nebraska Department of Labor, and one stays in the school’s files. The employer keeps its copy on file and returns it to the school when the child leaves the job.¹

Pay, Taxes, and Workers’ Comp for Teen Workers

As of January 1, 2026, Nebraska’s minimum wage is $15.00 per hour. Beginning in 2027, the rate adjusts annually based on the consumer price index for the Midwest Region.⁹ This rate applies to minors just as it does to adults. Federal law allows a $4.25 youth subminimum wage for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days on the job,¹⁰ but because the stricter standard controls, a Nebraska teen in a first job should expect the full $15.00 rate.

Age does not exempt anyone from federal income tax. A minor’s wages are subject to the same withholding rules as an adult’s. Whether a teen has to file a return depends on earnings. For 2025, a single dependent must file if gross income exceeds the larger of $1,350 or earned income plus $450, capped at $15,750.¹¹ If the teen works for a parent’s sole proprietorship (or a partnership in which every partner is the child’s parent), additional payroll-tax exemptions can apply.¹²

Nebraska’s Workers’ Compensation Act covers minors on the same terms as adults.¹³ A 15-year-old hurt stocking shelves or a 17-year-old injured on a cleanup crew is entitled to the same benefits an adult worker would receive. An employer cannot deny a claim based on the worker’s age.

Penalties for Breaking the Rules

Employing a child under 16 in violation of Nebraska’s child labor statutes is a Class I misdemeanor,¹⁴ which carries up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.¹⁵ Continuing to employ a child in violation after being notified by the Department of Labor or an attendance officer counts as a separate Class I misdemeanor for each day it continues. Knowingly making a false statement on an employment certificate is also a Class I misdemeanor.

Federal penalties go higher. The FLSA allows civil fines of up to $11,000 per child per violation, and up to $50,000 for a violation that causes death or serious injury to a minor. That $50,000 cap doubles to $100,000 if the violation was willful or repeated.¹⁶ State and federal enforcement can apply at the same time, so a single incident can trigger penalties under both systems.

1
Nebraska Department of Labor. Employment of Minors
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
3
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 48-302 – Employment Certificate Required
4
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 48-310 – Children Under Sixteen; Working Hours; Limit
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Age Requirements
6
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 48-313 – Children Under Sixteen; Dangerous, Unhealthy, or Immoral Employment
7
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 48-303 – Employment Certificate; Approval by School Officer
8
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 48-304 – Employment Certificate; Evidence of Age
9
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 48-1203 – Minimum Wage
10
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 32 – Youth Minimum Wage
11
Internal Revenue Service. Check if You Need to File a Tax Return
12
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Treatment for Family Members Working in the Family Business
13
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 48-115
14
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 48-311 – Violations; Penalties
15
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 28-106 – Class W Misdemeanor
16
U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules Advisor – Civil Money Penalties