Michigan Work Permit Requirements for Minors: Forms, Hours, and Wages

Michigan work permit requirements for minors apply to almost every job: anyone under 18 needs a signed work permit before their first shift, issued through their school and tied to one specific employer. The permit form is filled out by the minor and a parent, then the employer, then approved by a school official. Hour limits, curfews, and job restrictions kick in automatically once the permit is in place, and they vary by age.

Who Needs a Work Permit

The general minimum employment age in Michigan is 14, but a few jobs open earlier. An 11-year-old can work as a golf caddy, bridge caddy, or youth athletic program referee. At 13, a minor can also take on certain farming jobs or work as a trap-setter. Every one of these younger workers needs a permit, and so does every 14-, 15-, 16-, and 17-year-old taking a paid job.¹

One permit covers one employer. If a 16-year-old picks up a second part-time job, that job needs its own permit. Change employers, and you start the paperwork over.

The Three Exemptions

Three narrow situations excuse a minor from needing a permit:

Seed farming work (detasseling, roguing, hoeing, or similar tasks) for minors 13 and older, done during school vacation or when the minor is not enrolled. The employer still has to keep proof of the minor’s age on file.
Unpaid volunteering for a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit.
Unpaid volunteering at an agricultural fair or exhibition operated under state law.

These exemptions waive the permit only. Hour limits, job restrictions, and break rules in the Youth Employment Standards Act still apply.²

Which Form to Use

Workers aged 11 through 15 use the CA-6. Workers aged 16 and 17 use the CA-7. Both are available from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and from local school district offices.¹

Each form has three sections, and each section has a different signer:

Section I is the minor and parent. The minor fills in name, address, date of birth, and the last four digits of their Social Security number. A parent or legal guardian adds their contact information.
Section II is the employer. The business fills in its name, address, type of business, and a specific description of the duties the minor will perform. The job description matters because the state uses it to verify the work is legal for the minor’s age.³
Section III is the school issuing officer. A school official reviews the completed form and certifies it. The permit becomes valid at this step.

Illegible or incomplete forms get sent back. Double-check every field before bringing the form in.

Getting the Permit Approved

Once Sections I and II are complete, the minor brings the form to an authorized issuing officer: the chief administrator of the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school where the minor is enrolled. The school district where the job is located can also issue the permit.⁴ Homeschooled, virtual, and cyber school students still need a permit; they can go to the district where they live or where the job is located.

After the officer signs, the permit is valid only for the employer and work location listed on it. The employer must keep a copy at the worksite for the entire time the minor is employed there, and the school keeps a copy in the minor’s permanent file.⁴

Hour Limits and Curfews

The permit sets no hours by itself. The hours are set by the Act, and they depend on the minor’s age and whether school is in session. These rules are also where federal law sometimes overrides Michigan law: when the two differ, the stricter standard controls.⁵

Ages 14 and 15

Under Michigan law, a 14- or 15-year-old cannot work more than 10 hours in a day, 6 days per week, or 48 hours in a week. When school is in session, school hours plus work hours cannot exceed 48 in a week.⁶ Michigan’s own curfew for this group is 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., but federal law tightens the evening cutoff to 7 p.m. on school nights, with a 9 p.m. extension only between June 1 and Labor Day. During the school year, the practical cutoff is 7 p.m.⁷

Ages 16 and 17

A 16- or 17-year-old attending school cannot work between 10:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. on most nights. The curfew extends to 11:30 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and during school vacations. Minors in this age group who are not enrolled in school can work until 11:30 p.m. with a 6 a.m. start.⁸ During school weeks, hours are capped at 24. When school is out, the cap rises to 48 hours per week and 10 hours per day.⁷ A narrow exception for agricultural processing and seed-production work allows up to 11 hours per day and 62 hours per week when school is out, with written parental consent, though the employer cannot require more than 48 hours without the minor’s agreement.

Meal Breaks

No minor at any age can work more than five consecutive hours without a meal and rest break of at least 30 minutes. A break shorter than 30 minutes doesn’t reset the clock, so a 20-minute pause followed by more work still violates the rule.⁹

Jobs Minors Can’t Do

Michigan maintains a hazardous occupations table that restricts or prohibits tasks by age. Some jobs are off-limits to anyone under 18, including work with loaded firearms, hot grease or oil exceeding 100°F, power washers, propane dispensing, tire changers, chef’s knives and meat cleavers, laminators, and boats or watercraft.¹⁰ Others are closed to 14- and 15-year-olds but open to older minors, including power-driven lawn equipment, snow blowers, go-cart spotting, gator-type utility vehicles, and certified lifeguarding at natural bodies of water.

Alcohol has its own rules. No minor can work in a place where alcohol accounts for 50% or more of total sales. A 16- or 17-year-old can work at a restaurant or store where alcohol sales fall below that line, but no minor of any age can sell, serve, or furnish alcohol.

Federal law adds 17 hazardous occupation orders covering all workers under 18, including manufacturing explosives, coal mining, operating forklifts or power-driven woodworking machines, and working in meat-processing plants with power-driven slicers or saws.⁵ Where federal law bans a task Michigan’s table doesn’t mention, the federal ban controls.

Wages

Michigan’s minimum wage of $13.73 per hour as of January 1, 2026 applies to minors with no separate lower rate.¹¹ Federal law allows a youth subminimum wage of $4.25 per hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 calendar days on the job, but only where state law doesn’t set a higher floor.¹² Because Michigan’s rate is higher and carves out no exception for minors, the federal subminimum wage does not apply in Michigan.

When a Permit Can Be Pulled

A permit isn’t permanent. A school issuing officer can suspend or revoke it on two grounds. The first is declining academic performance tied to erratic or unexcused absences. The law requires a suspension first, with written notice to the minor and the employer and a 30-day window to improve; only if things don’t change can the permit be formally revoked. The second is an illegal employment condition. If the job violates any state or federal labor law, the officer can revoke the permit immediately on learning of the violation. A revoked permit carries a right to appeal, and the issuing officer must tell the minor how to start that process.¹³

What Employers Risk

Hiring a minor without a valid permit is a misdemeanor, as is exceeding hour limits or assigning a prohibited task. The penalty is up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both. Penalties are steeper for violations involving minors who handle cash transactions after sunset or 8:00 p.m., whichever is earlier.¹⁴ State inspectors can ask to see the permit on file during a routine audit, and a missing permit is itself a violation. An employer planning to get the paperwork done “soon” is already out of compliance.

The Electronic System Coming Soon

Michigan has enacted legislation to replace the paper CA-6 and CA-7 process with an online registration system run by the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. Minors (or their parents) will register through a free internet portal, and employers will submit their information through the same system and receive authorization before hiring.² The electronic system is set to launch 18 months after the effective date of the amendatory act that created it. Until it goes live, the paper process through school issuing officers is still the required method.

1
State of Michigan. Combined Offer of Employment and Work Permit/Age Certificate (CA-6)
2
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws Chapter 409
3
State of Michigan. Michigan CA-7 Combined Offer of Employment and Work Permit/Age Certificate
4
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 409.104 – Employment of Minor; Work Permit Required
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
6
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws Chapter 409 – Section 409.110
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Selected State Child Labor Standards Affecting Minors Under 18 in Non-farm Employment
8
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 409.111 – Minor 16 Years or Older; Days and Hours of Employment
9
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 409.112 – Meal and Rest Period
10
State of Michigan. Youth Employment Hazardous Occupations Table
11
State of Michigan. Minimum Wage and Overtime
12
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #32 – Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act
13
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 409.107 – Revocation of Permit
14
State of Michigan. Youth Employment FAQs