In Massachusetts, any teenager aged 14 through 17 needs a work permit before starting a job, and getting one means lining up an employer, a parent’s signature, and a trip to the school superintendent’s office. The Massachusetts work permit for minors is tied to a specific job with a specific employer, so a new job means a new permit. There is no fee, and the permit stays valid until the job ends or the minor turns 18, whichever comes first.1Mass.gov. Youth Employment Permit Information
Who Needs a Permit
Every employed minor under 18 in Massachusetts must have a permit. Children under 14 generally cannot work at all, with narrow exceptions such as theatrical performances that require written approval from the Attorney General’s office.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 149 – Section 104 From 14 on, a minor is eligible, but the rules on hours and job types are noticeably stricter for 14- and 15-year-olds than for 16- and 17-year-olds.3General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 149 – Employment of Children With Permit
Because each permit is job-specific, a teenager who quits one position and starts another needs a fresh permit. The same is true if the employer stays the same but the work location changes.1Mass.gov. Youth Employment Permit Information
How to Get the Permit
The process starts with a job offer. The employer fills out the “Promise of Employment” portion of the application, listing the type of work and the schedule.4Mass.gov. Employment Permit Application for 14- Through 17-Year-Olds Without that commitment from an employer, the application can’t move.
A parent, legal guardian, or custodian then signs the application. That signature confirms the family knows the nature of the job, the hours, and the working conditions, so it’s worth talking through how the schedule fits with school and other commitments before signing.
With those two pieces done, the minor brings the completed form and proof of age (birth certificate, passport, or immigration record) to the superintendent of schools, or an authorized representative, in the district where they live or attend school.4Mass.gov. Employment Permit Application for 14- Through 17-Year-Olds The school official reviews everything and issues the permit if the paperwork checks out. There is no charge.
Hour Limits for 14- and 15-Year-Olds
During the school year, the youngest workers face the tightest schedules. No work is allowed during school hours. On school days the ceiling is 3 hours; on weekends and holidays, 8 hours. The weekly cap is 18 hours during a school week, and all work must fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
From July 1 through Labor Day, the limits loosen. A 14- or 15-year-old can work up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, and can stay on the clock until 9 p.m.5Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Work Hours Restrictions for Minors
Hour Limits for 16- and 17-Year-Olds
Older teens have more room, but still real limits: 9 hours a day, 48 hours a week, and no more than 6 days a week. Work is off-limits between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., with an exception allowing shifts until 11:30 p.m., or midnight on non-school nights, at restaurants or racetracks.
One rule catches employers off guard. No worker under 18 may work past 8 p.m. without direct, on-site adult supervision. The only exception is for kiosks in certain mall common areas.5Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Work Hours Restrictions for Minors
Jobs Minors Cannot Do
Massachusetts keeps a long list of jobs that are off-limits regardless of permit status. No one under 18 may drive a vehicle or forklift for work, handle or serve alcoholic beverages, work 30 feet or more above ground or water, or operate power-driven meat slicers, bakery machines, or woodworking equipment. Mining, logging, demolition, roofing, excavation, and slaughterhouse work are prohibited. So is any job requiring a firearm, and operating paper balers or metal-forming machines.6Mass.gov. Prohibited Jobs for Minors
For 14- and 15-year-olds, the list goes further. They cannot operate power-driven machinery beyond basic office equipment and certain retail or food-service machines. Cooking is limited to electric or gas grills without open flames, which rules out fryers, rotisseries, and pressure cookers. They cannot work in freezers or meat coolers, in manufacturing facilities, on construction sites, in warehouses (except clerical work), or load and unload trucks. Even washing windows above 10 feet is prohibited.6Mass.gov. Prohibited Jobs for Minors
Federal law has its own prohibited-occupations list, and where the federal rule is stricter, it controls.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations In most cases Massachusetts is at least as strict, so the state list is the one to follow, but multi-state employers should double-check the federal hazardous-occupation orders for tasks the state list doesn’t explicitly name.8U.S. Department of Labor. Selected State Child Labor Standards Affecting Minors Under 18 in Non-farm Employment
What a Minor Gets Paid
Massachusetts does not have a lower minimum wage for minors. The state’s $15 per hour minimum applies to every worker regardless of age. Federal law permits a youth minimum wage of $4.25 per hour for the first 90 days of employment for workers under 20, but Massachusetts has no matching exception.9U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #32: Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act Because the state rate is higher and more protective, it controls, and every minor working in Massachusetts must earn at least $15 per hour from the first shift.
Tipped employees (workers who regularly receive more than $20 per month in tips) are a partial exception. Massachusetts allows a service rate of $6.75 per hour, but the employer must make sure the service rate plus tips reaches or exceeds $15 per hour.
What Employers Have to Do
An employer must have the permit in hand before the minor starts work and must keep it on file at the workplace, accessible to school attendance supervisors, Department of Education agents, and the Attorney General’s office. The employer also has to maintain a list of the names and ages of all employed minors.3General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 149 – Employment of Children With Permit
When the job ends, the employer has two days to return the permit to the superintendent’s office that issued it. Sitting on a permit past that deadline carries a fine of $10 to $100.10General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 149 – Section 86
Responsibility for staying within the hour limits and the prohibited-task list is the employer’s, not the minor’s. If a 15-year-old works 20 hours during a school week, or a 17-year-old is asked to use a meat slicer, the employer is the one in violation.
Federal paperwork applies too. Every employee, including a minor, needs a completed Form I-9. When a minor under 18 cannot produce a standard photo ID, a parent or legal guardian can establish the minor’s identity by completing the minor’s information in Section 1, writing “minor under age 18” in the signature field, and filling out the preparer certification. The employer then enters “minor under age 18” under List B in Section 2. Employers in E-Verify face a stricter rule: the minor must present a List B document with a photograph.11USCIS. Completing Form I-9 for Minors For tax reporting, the employer must collect a Social Security number; an ITIN cannot substitute.12Internal Revenue Service. Hiring Employees
Penalties and How to Report a Violation
Employing a child under 16 without a proper permit carries a fine of $10 to $50, or up to one month in jail. If the employer keeps going after being notified by a school attendance supervisor or inspector, the penalty rises to $50 to $200 per day the violation continues, or up to two months in jail.13General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 149 – Section 90
Forging a birth certificate or other age document to obtain a permit is punished more severely: fines of $10 to $500, up to one year in jail, or both. A permit signer who knowingly certifies false information faces fines of $10 to $200, and altering a permit without authority carries a $10 fine.
Federal civil money penalties can also apply. A child labor violation that causes serious injury or death to a minor carries a maximum penalty of $72,876, rising to $145,752 if the violation was willful or repeated.14U.S. Department of Labor. Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments State and federal penalties can stack.
Anyone with information about a possible violation can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division through the AG’s website, or by calling the Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.15Mass.gov. File a Workplace Complaint The complaint does not have to come from the minor. Parents, coworkers, or anyone else who notices a problem can report it.
When a Permit Can Be Taken Away
A permit is not permanent. The superintendent of schools or an authorized representative can revoke it for cause.16General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 149 – Section 87 When a minor works outside their home district, the superintendent in the town of employment must notify the permit-issuing superintendent of any failure to comply with the law.
The statute does not name academic performance as a specific ground for revocation, but the school’s role in issuing permits gives it practical oversight. If a student’s grades slip, the school official reviewing a new or replacement permit has discretion to deny it. Families who see work eating into schoolwork are better off adjusting the schedule early than waiting for the school to act.