In Minnesota, a “work permit” usually means an employment certificate, and only 14- and 15-year-olds who want to work during school hours on school days are required to get one before starting a job.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.05 – Employment Certificates Every other minor employee in the state, regardless of age, simply has to show the employer proof of age through a document like a birth record, a driver’s license, or a federal I-9 form.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.06 – Age Certificates The statutes do not actually use the phrase “work permit,” but that is what most families are looking for, so this guide walks through the certificate, the age-verification rules, work hours, prohibited jobs, and the common situations where none of this applies.
Who Needs an Employment Certificate
Under Chapter 181A of Minnesota’s labor code, a 14- or 15-year-old must have an employment certificate before working on a school day during school hours.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.05 – Employment Certificates The certificate is tied to one specific employer and one specific job, so it is not a general permission slip that a teen can carry from one application to the next.
If a 15-year-old takes a summer job that only runs evenings and weekends, the statute does not technically require an employment certificate, though the employer still has to verify age. Some school districts issue certificates anyway for that paper trail, and a few employers prefer to see one. If you are not sure, call the school’s guidance office before applying.
Three things have to be true before an issuing officer will sign off: the job cannot be in a prohibited occupation, a parent or guardian has to consent, and the issuing officer has to believe the minor is physically capable of the work and that the job serves the minor’s best interests.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.05 – Employment Certificates That last standard gives the officer real discretion. Grades, attendance, and the nature of the job can all weigh into the decision.
How to Get the Employment Certificate
Start with a job offer. The prospective employer has to give the minor a signed statement about the position, because the certificate is issued for that job only.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.05 – Employment Certificates You cannot get a certificate first and then shop it around.
Only three people are authorized to issue one: the superintendent of the school district where the minor lives, that superintendent’s agent, or someone the local board of education has designated.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.05 – Employment Certificates Homeschooled students use their local public school district.3Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Child Labor Exemptions In most districts the guidance office handles the paperwork, but calling the district administrative office is the fastest way to find the right person.
The certificate itself lists the minor’s name, address, date of birth, and physical description, along with the employer’s name and address, the type of work, and the hours the minor will be excused from school. The minor and a parent or guardian both sign it in front of the issuing officer.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.05 – Employment Certificates
When the Job Ends or Your Teen Switches Employers
When the job ends for any reason, the employer has to return the certificate to the issuing officer along with the termination date.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.05 – Employment Certificates A new job means a new certificate. The issuing officer can also cancel a certificate at any point if the officer decides the work is no longer in the minor’s best interest.
Proof of Age for 16- and 17-Year-Olds
Teens who are 16 or 17 do not need an employment certificate. Their employer does need proof of age on file, and the law accepts several documents: an age certificate issued by the minor’s school, a copy of the birth record, a copy of the driver’s license, or a federal I-9 form.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.06 – Age Certificates A driver’s license or learner’s permit usually settles it on the spot.
If a formal age certificate is what the employer wants, the superintendent of the school district where the minor lives can issue one, as can the principal or headmaster of the minor’s private or parochial school.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.06 – Age Certificates The certificate names the employer and the proposed occupation. The minor has to present a birth record (or the school already has one on file), and both the issuing officer and the minor sign in person.
Employers are required to keep whatever proof-of-age document they rely on for the full time the minor is employed, in a place a labor inspector can easily see.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.06 – Age Certificates
Hours a Minor Can Work
Minnesota and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act both set limits on when and how long minors under 16 can work, and whichever rule is stricter in a given situation wins.4U.S. Department of Labor. Selected State Child Labor Standards Affecting Minors Under 18 in Non-farm Employment
Minnesota State Rules Under 16
State law says minors under 16 cannot work before 7:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. on any day. They cannot work more than eight hours in a 24-hour period or more than 40 hours in a week. They cannot work during school hours on school days without a valid employment certificate.5Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A.04 – Minimum Age and Maximum Hours
Federal Rules for 14- and 15-Year-Olds
Federal law is tighter in several spots. A 14- or 15-year-old may not work more than three hours on a school day or more than 18 hours during a school week. In non-school weeks like summer and holiday breaks, the cap goes up to eight hours a day and 40 hours a week. The federal evening cutoff is 7:00 p.m. during the school year, moving to 9:00 p.m. only between June 1 and Labor Day.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
In practice: during the school year, a 14- or 15-year-old in Minnesota has to be off work by 7:00 p.m. (the federal rule), can work only three hours on a school day, and is capped at 18 hours for the week. Over the summer, the 9:00 p.m. cutoff and the eight-hour/40-hour cap take over.
Jobs Minors Are Not Allowed to Do
No minor under 18 may work in any occupation the Minnesota commissioner of labor has designated as particularly hazardous or harmful.7Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A – Child Labor – Section 181A.04 Subdivision 5 Federal law layers on 17 Hazardous Occupation Orders that apply across the country, covering work like manufacturing or handling explosives, operating forklifts and other hoisting equipment, coal mining, operating power-driven meat-processing or bakery machines, and roofing work.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations If a job touches any of those activities, the minor cannot do it, no matter what an employer or parent agrees to.
Jobs that typically work for teens include retail cashiering, food service (though not cooking with open flames or running certain machines), office work, and grocery bagging.
When No Certificate Is Needed
Several kinds of work sit partly or fully outside Minnesota’s child labor rules. Checking this list first can save a trip to the school office.
- Working for a parent, babysitting, or doing chores at home is completely exempt from every provision of the child labor law.8Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A – Child Labor – Section 181A.07 Subdivision 4
- Agricultural work, including corn detasseling, is open to minors 12 and older with parental permission, and they are exempt from the minimum-age and maximum-hours rules.9Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A – Child Labor – Section 181A.07 Subdivision 1
- Acting, modeling, and performing are exempt from the minimum-age requirement.10Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A – Child Labor – Section 181A.07 Subdivision 2
- Newspaper carriers are exempt from the minimum-age and time-of-day rules, though a carrier has to be at least 11.11Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A – Child Labor – Section 181A.07 Subdivision 3
- Youth sports referees aged 11 to under 14 may referee a younger age group as long as an adult from the athletic program is on-site and a parent has signed written consent.12Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A – Child Labor – Section 181A.07 Subdivision 4a
- Approved training and apprenticeship programs run through trade unions, the commissioner of education, or higher education institutions can be exempted by the commissioner.13Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181A – Child Labor – Section 181A.07 Subdivision 7
The commissioner also has broad authority to grant individual exemptions when doing so serves a minor’s best interest. If an exemption seems to apply but the facts are close, confirm with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry before assuming the rules are off the table.
A Note on Taxes
A first paycheck comes with withholding, and that catches many families off guard. A minor claimed as a dependent on a parent’s return gets a smaller standard deduction than an independent adult. For the 2026 tax year, a dependent’s standard deduction is the greater of $1,350 or the minor’s earned income plus $450, up to a maximum of $16,100. A teen whose earnings stay under that figure likely owes no federal income tax, but the employer will still withhold from each paycheck, and filing a return is the only way to get those withholdings back.
Minnesota taxes earned income as well. A teen whose earnings cross the state filing threshold should file both a federal and a Minnesota return, and even those below the threshold are usually better off filing to reclaim what was withheld.