How to Complete the Ohio Physician’s Certificate for a Minor Work Permit

To get the Ohio Physician’s Certificate for a minor work permit, download the one-page form from the Ohio Department of Commerce, take it to a qualifying medical provider for a physical exam, and turn the signed original in to your school district superintendent along with the rest of the work permit paperwork. The certificate is one of four documents the superintendent needs before issuing the Age and Schooling Certificate that lets your child start a job.¹

Does Your Child Actually Need One

Ohio Revised Code § 3331.02 requires a physician’s certificate of physical fitness for any minor of compulsory school age who needs an Age and Schooling Certificate. That covers most working teens ages 14 through 17.¹

There is one common exception worth knowing before you book an appointment. If your child is 16 or 17 and will only work during summer vacation (after the last day of the spring term and before the first day of the fall term) in non-hazardous, non-agricultural jobs, no Age and Schooling Certificate is required, so the physician’s certificate is not needed either.²

A handful of other situations are also fully exempt under ORC § 4109.06, including minors who already hold a high school diploma or equivalency, minors employed by a parent in non-prohibited work, lawn mowing and snow shoveling, newspaper delivery, farm work on a family farm where the child lives in the guardian’s household, unpaid church or school performances with parental consent, and students in approved career-technical, STEM, or College Credit Plus programs with a recognized pre-apprenticeship component.³ Everyone else needs the certificate.

Where to Get the Form

The Ohio Department of Commerce hosts a downloadable PDF of the Physician’s Certificate for Minor Work Permit on its Industrial Compliance, Wage and Hour page.⁴ Many school district offices keep printed copies too. Either version is fine. What the superintendent needs is a completed original with a real signature, not a photocopy.

Who Can Sign It

Ohio limits who is authorized to certify a minor’s fitness for work. Under ORC § 3331.02(A)(4), the certificate can be signed by:

A physician (MD or DO) licensed under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4731
A physician assistant
A clinical nurse specialist
A certified nurse practitioner
The district health commissioner

No other provider type qualifies.¹ If your child sees a chiropractor or another provider outside this list, you will still need a signature from one of the above.

What the Form Asks and What the Exam Covers

The certificate is a single page. The top section captures the minor’s name, date of birth, and physical description. The core is a certification statement in which the practitioner confirms they have “thoroughly examined” the minor and that the minor is “physically fit to perform the work of any employment not forbidden by law to a person of this age and sex.” The provider marks Yes or No and signs.⁵

If the provider thinks your child can work but only in certain kinds of jobs, because of asthma, a back problem, limited mobility, or a similar condition, they note that on the form and the resulting permit is issued as “limited,” restricting the minor to the specific work described.

The statute calls for a “thorough examination” without dictating a checklist. In practice the visit looks like a standard physical: height and weight, blood pressure, heart and lung sounds, vision and hearing screenings, and a review of medical history. The provider is checking for anything that would make typical youth employment unsafe. Bring any relevant medical records so the provider has a full picture.

Using a Recent Sports or Well-Child Physical

You may not need a separate appointment. Ohio allows a practitioner to sign the certificate based on a recent physical already on file, and many school districts accept a current sports physical in place of a new exam.⁶ If your child had a physical within the past year for athletics or an annual well-check, call the provider’s office and ask whether they will sign the state form based on those results. Most will, provided the exam was thorough and the records are current.

How Long the Certificate Stays Valid

Once issued, an unrestricted certificate remains valid as long as the minor stays in job duties similar to those the permit was originally issued for. The superintendent decides whether new duties count as similar. A limited certificate expires after one year.¹ If your teen changes jobs or takes on materially different duties, expect the school to ask whether a new certificate is needed.

Submitting It With the Rest of the Work Permit Packet

The physician’s certificate is one of four items the superintendent needs before issuing the Age and Schooling Certificate. The full packet includes:

The employer’s written pledge to legally employ the minor, allow school attendance as required, and notify the school within five days if the minor leaves the job
A school record from the minor’s last school showing recorded age, address, academic standing, conduct, and attendance
Proof of age, ideally a certified birth certificate; a passport or baptismal record also works, and if none are available the superintendent can accept other documentary evidence or order a medical age determination
The completed and signed physician’s certificate

All four must be filed with and approved by the superintendent or chief administrative officer before the permit is released.¹

Processing time depends on the district. During the school year, expect a few business days. Summer requests can take longer when offices run on reduced hours. Once approved, the school issues the Age and Schooling Certificate. Give that document to the employer before your child’s first day; the employer must keep it on file for as long as the minor works there.

What the Certificate Cannot Authorize

A clean bill of health does not open the door to hazardous work. Federal law prohibits all workers under 18 from 17 categories of dangerous occupations regardless of any state permit or physician’s sign-off. The prohibitions teens run into most often include driving a motor vehicle for the job or serving as an outside helper, operating power-driven hoisting equipment like forklifts and scissor lifts, using meat slicers or saws (including cleaning their disassembled parts) in restaurant kitchens, running commercial dough mixers and other bakery machines, operating power saws and other woodworking machines, using trash compactors and cardboard balers, any work in mining or with explosives, and any exposure to radioactive materials.⁷ A signed physician’s certificate cannot waive any of these. If an employer asks a teen to run a forklift or a meat slicer, the permit does not cover it.

1
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Section 3331.02 – Requirements for Issuance of Certificate
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4109 – Employment of Minors
3
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Section 4109.06 – Exemptions
4
Ohio Department of Commerce. Physician Certificate for Minor Work Permit
5
Ohio Department of Commerce. Physician’s Certificate for Minor Work Permit
6
Dayton Public Schools. Work Permit Information
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations