Where Can 15-Year-Olds Work in California? Jobs, Hours, Permits

In California, a 15-year-old can work in retail stores, restaurants and other food service, gas stations, and office or clerical jobs across a range of industries, as long as the work isn’t on the state or federal hazardous list. Before starting, the teen needs a school-issued work permit, hours are capped by state law, and pay must meet the full California minimum wage of $16.90 per hour.¹

Jobs a 15-Year-Old Can Take

The state allows 14- and 15-year-olds to work in occupations tied to retail, food service, and gasoline service establishments, plus clerical roles in several other industries. Within those settings, common jobs include:

Cashiering, sales, stocking shelves, price marking, bagging, and carry-out
Kitchen work using dishwashers, toasters, popcorn poppers, coffee grinders, and milkshake blenders. Cooking is allowed only in plain view of customers and cannot be the only task performed
Filing, data entry, and operating standard office machines
Vacuuming and floor waxing (but not power mowers or cutters)
Errands and deliveries on foot, by bicycle, or by public transportation
Cleaning, packing, wrapping, labeling, weighing, pricing, and stocking fruits and vegetables
Modeling, art work, advertising, window dressing, comparative shopping, assembling orders, and shelving

Office and clerical work is also permitted inside transportation, warehousing, communications, public utilities, and construction companies, but only if the work actually happens in an office. A 15-year-old can’t do that same clerical work on a train, in a vehicle, on a vessel, or on a construction site. Beyond these listed categories, a 15-year-old can take any job that isn’t specifically prohibited.

Gas stations have their own set of allowed tasks: dispensing gas and oil, courtesy service, and washing or cleaning cars.²

Jobs That Are Off-Limits

California keeps anyone under 16 out of most industrial and hazardous work. California Labor Code Section 1294 prohibits 15-year-olds from working on any railroad, on vessels engaged in navigation or commerce, around dangerous acids, paints, dyes, gases, or lye, in environments with injurious dust, on scaffolding, in heavy building-trades work, in tunnels, excavations, mines, coal breakers, coke ovens, or quarries, in tobacco sorting, manufacturing, or packing, or operating any automobile, motorcar, or truck. A catch-all also bars any work “dangerous to life or limb, or harmful to health or morals.”³

Even within an allowed workplace like a restaurant or retail store, certain tasks are still off the table for 14- and 15-year-olds: maintenance or repair work, anything in or around boiler or engine rooms, operating food slicers, grinders, choppers, or bakery mixers, outside window washing from sills, and any task requiring ladders or scaffolding.²

Federal law adds another layer. All minors under 18 are banned from 17 categories of hazardous work, including manufacturing or storing explosives, coal and other mining, roofing, demolition, and operating power-driven woodworking, metal-forming, or bakery machines. Those federal bans apply in California too.⁴

Door-to-door selling of newspapers, magazines, candy, or other goods is treated as dangerous for anyone under 16 unless the minors work in pairs, stay within sight or sound of an adult supervisor at least every 15 minutes, and are returned home after each shift. Selling to passing motorists from a street, highway divider, or freeway ramp is banned outright.⁵

How Many Hours a 15-Year-Old Can Work

Hour limits depend on whether school is in session. California Labor Code Section 1391 sets the rules.

School Days and School Weeks

When school is in session, a 15-year-old can work no more than three hours on a school day and no more than 18 hours in a week, and only outside school hours. A “school day” is any day the student is required to attend school for 240 minutes or more. One exception: students enrolled in a school-supervised work experience and career exploration program can work up to 23 hours per week, including some hours that overlap with the school day.⁶

Summer, Weekends, and School Breaks

On non-school days and when school isn’t in session, the cap rises to eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. A 15-year-old working weekends during the school year can put in eight-hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday even though weekday shifts are capped at three.

Time of Day

Work has to fall between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. for most of the year. From June 1 through Labor Day, the evening cutoff moves to 9:00 p.m. A shift that ends at 7:30 p.m. on a school night in October would break the law even if the teen worked only two hours.⁷

Pay: No Youth Discount

As of January 1, 2026, California’s minimum wage is $16.90 per hour for all employers, regardless of size, and it applies to minors the same as adults. The state has no youth subminimum wage. Federal law lets employers pay workers under 20 as little as $4.25 per hour for their first 90 days, but California’s higher rate controls.¹

Some cities and counties set local minimum wages above the state floor. If a 15-year-old works somewhere with a higher local rate, that higher rate applies. An employer who says a teen earns less because of age is wrong.

Getting a Work Permit

Every 15-year-old needs a work permit before starting a job in California, unless they’ve already graduated high school or earned an equivalent credential. The form is called the “Statement of Intent to Employ a Minor and Request for a Work Permit — Certificate of Age,” known as CDE Form B1-1.⁸

The steps:

Pick up a blank B1-1 from the school’s main office, counseling office, or career center
The teen, a parent or guardian, and the prospective employer each fill out and sign their sections
Return the completed form to the school, where the issuing authority reviews it and decides whether to grant the permit

Permits are issued by the school district superintendent, a charter school’s chief executive officer, credentialed pupil personnel staff designated in writing, or the school principal. Issuing is discretionary, not automatic. Schools can set conditions like a minimum 2.0 GPA, and a drop in grades or attendance can lead a school to deny or refuse to renew a permit.⁹

Once issued, the employer has to keep the permit on file at the worksite and produce it on request from school attendance officers, probation officers, or the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Not being able to produce it is treated as evidence of illegal employment.¹⁰

Entertainment Work Is a Separate Permit

A school-issued work permit doesn’t cover film, television, commercial, or other entertainment production work. Those jobs need an entertainment work permit from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. First-time applicants pay $50 for a 10-day permit online. After that, a six-month permit is free and can be renewed every six months. Applicants aged 14 through 17 also have to complete sexual harassment prevention training before the permit is issued.¹¹

What Happens If an Employer Breaks the Rules

Penalties fall on the employer, not the teen. Under California Labor Code Section 1308, employing a minor under 16 in a prohibited or dangerous job is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine between $1,000 and $5,000, up to six months in jail, or both. A willful violation raises the maximum fine to $10,000.¹⁰ Federal law adds its own fines of up to $10,000 for willful violations, with possible imprisonment for a second conviction.¹² If a job offer or working conditions don’t match the rules on this page, the teen can walk away without any legal risk to themselves.

1
California Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
2
California Department of Industrial Relations. Summary of Minor Labor Law Charts
3
California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1294
4
U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules
5
California Department of Industrial Relations. Section 11706 – Dangerous Activities and Occupations for Minors Under the Age of Sixteen Years
6
California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 1391
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Selected State Child Labor Standards Affecting Minors Under 18 in Non-farm Employment
8
California Department of Education. CDE Form B1-1 – Statement of Intent to Employ a Minor and Request for a Work Permit
9
California Department of Education. Frequently Asked Questions – Work Permits
10
Justia Law. California Code Labor Code 1285-1312
11
California Department of Industrial Relations. Entertainment Work Permit for Minors
12
U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules Advisor