Labor Laws for Minors in PA: Permits, Hours, and Prohibited Jobs

Labor laws for minors in Pennsylvania apply to anyone under 18, and they cover four things: whether you can be hired at all, the permit you need before starting, how many hours you can work, and which jobs are off-limits. The rules come from the state Child Labor Act, and when they’re stricter than the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the state rules win.¹ You’re a “minor” under the law until your eighteenth birthday, even if you’ve already graduated high school.²

No one under 14 can be employed at all, with a short list of exceptions: farm work on a parent’s or guardian’s farm, babysitting and household chores in private homes, caddying (from age 12), newspaper delivery (from age 11), and juvenile performers with a special entertainment permit.²

The Work Permit

Every minor under 18 needs a work permit before starting a job. The application is Form PDE-4565, available from your local school district’s administrative office, and the district’s issuing officer (usually someone in the public high school’s guidance office) processes it.²

You need two things to complete the application: proof of age and a parent or legal guardian’s signature. Acceptable age documents, in the order the form prefers them, are a birth certificate transcript, a baptismal certificate or transcript, a passport, other documentary evidence, or a parent’s affidavit paired with a physician’s statement of estimated age.³ If you’ve already graduated high school, you attach proof of graduation instead of getting a parent’s signature. Some districts want you to appear in person so the issuing officer can verify your identity. Once approved, the permit is issued directly to you, and you hand it to your employer before your first paid shift.

If you go to a private school, a cyber charter, or you’re homeschooled, you still get your permit from the public school district where you live, not from your school. Call the district office if you’re not sure who the issuing officer is.²

Hour Limits for 14- and 15-Year-Olds

The youngest workers face the tightest schedule. If you’re 14 or 15, your hours are capped based on whether school is in session:⁴

3 hours on a school day
8 hours on a non-school day
18 hours in a school week
40 hours in a week when school is out

You can’t work before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. During a school vacation, that evening cutoff moves to 9:00 p.m. School vacation covers winter and spring breaks too, not just summer. If you’re enrolled in summer school, the 18-hour weekly cap still applies.⁴

One exception: if you’re at least 14 and your job is part of a recognized school-work program supervised by your school, your combined school and work hours can total up to 8 hours per day.⁴

Hour Limits for 16- and 17-Year-Olds

Older minors get more room, but school time is still walled off. During a regular school week, if you’re 16 or 17:²

Up to 8 hours a day
Up to 28 hours a week
No work before 6:00 a.m. or after midnight

During a school vacation period:

Up to 10 hours a day
Up to 48 hours a week, though any hours past 44 must be voluntary. You can refuse them and your employer can’t retaliate.
Work allowed until 1:00 a.m.

If you’re 16 or 17 and you’ve graduated or withdrawn from school to work full-time, the hour caps don’t apply to you. You still need a work permit, but you don’t need a parent’s signature — proof of graduation goes on the application instead.²

Breaks and Consecutive Days

No matter your age, you get at least a 30-minute rest break for every five consecutive hours of work. Anything shorter doesn’t count as a break, so the five-hour clock keeps running.⁴ And no minor can be scheduled for more than six consecutive days.

Jobs Minors Can’t Do

Some jobs are off-limits to anyone under 18, no matter what permits they hold. State law directly prohibits minors from working in establishments that produce or serve alcohol (with limited food-service exceptions), on railroads in operating roles, and in manufacturing that involves lead, poisonous dyes, or dangerous acids.⁵

Pennsylvania also adopts every occupation the federal government has declared hazardous under the FLSA.⁵ Those federal hazardous occupation orders bar minors under 18 from coal mines, logging and forestry, and jobs involving power-driven woodworking machines, among others.⁶

If you’re under 16, the list grows. You can’t strip or sort tobacco, work on scaffolding, or work in tunnels. You also can’t do youth peddling, which means selling goods or services anywhere other than your employer’s own place of business — no door-to-door, no street corners, no transit stations.⁵

The Alcohol Carve-Outs

The general ban on working where alcohol is served has narrow exceptions. A minor under 16 can work at a continuing-care retirement community, ski resort, bowling alley, golf course, or amusement park that serves alcohol, as long as they never handle the beverages and stay out of storage and serving areas. Minors 16 and older can work in the non-alcohol portions of licensed establishments, and they can serve food and clear tables in restaurants and hotels with valid Sunday sales permits — provided they never dispense or serve alcoholic drinks.⁵

If the Job Is a Performance

Entertainment work uses a different permit. Instead of a school-district work permit, the employer applies to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry for a special performance permit for each child. The application needs a parent or guardian’s signed permission, and if any rehearsal or performance falls during school hours, a school official has to complete the school section. Approval must come before rehearsal, filming, or production starts.⁷ The Bureau of Labor Law Compliance won’t approve permits for acrobatic acts or performances involving dangerous speeds, heights, or heavy physical exertion.⁸

Pay and Taxes

Pennsylvania doesn’t set a separate minimum wage for minors. The state minimum is $7.25 per hour, the same as the federal floor.⁹ Every wage and hour protection that applies to adult workers applies to you. Your employer withholds federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), and Medicare (1.45%) from your paycheck the same way.

Whether you owe federal income tax depends on how much you earn. If a parent claims you as a dependent, you generally need to file your own return once your earned income clears the standard deduction for your filing status — $15,750 for a single dependent in 2025. The IRS updates that figure each year for inflation. Even if you’re below the threshold, filing may be worth it to get back anything withheld.

Reporting a Violation

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry enforces the Child Labor Act through its Bureau of Labor Law Compliance.¹⁰ Employers who break hour limits, put minors in prohibited jobs, or skip the permit process face fines for each violation.

If you’re a minor, a parent, or anyone else who sees a violation, you can file a complaint online through the Department’s portal, or send the complaint form by fax (717-787-0517), email (RA-LI-SLMR-LLC@pa.gov), or mail to the Bureau of Labor Law Compliance, 1301 Labor and Industry Building, 651 Boas Street, Harrisburg, PA 17121. The Bureau’s phone line is 1-800-932-0665.¹¹

1
U.S. Department of Labor. Selected State Child Labor Standards Affecting Minors Under 18 in Non-farm Employment
2
Pennsylvania Department of Education. Pennsylvania Child Labor Law
3
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania – Department of Education. Application for Work Permit
4
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 43 PS 40.3 – Time Limitations on Employment of Minors
5
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 43 PS 40.4 – Occupations and Establishments
6
eCFR. 29 CFR Part 570 – Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements
7
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Apply for Special Permit to Employ Child Performers
8
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 43 PS 40.5 – Performances
9
U.S. Department of Labor. State Minimum Wage Laws
10
Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. Labor Law Compliance
11
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. File a Child Labor Complaint