Employment/Age Certificate

January 1, 2015

**Table of Employment/Age Certification Issuance Practice Under State Child Labor Laws**
State	Type of Certificate Issued
	Employment certificate			Age certification
	For minors of age indicated ²	Issued by:		For minors of age indicated ²	Issued by:
	For minors of age indicated ²	Labor Department	School	For minors of age indicated ²	Labor Department	School
Alabama	Under 18 (M) 18 in mines ¹⁸		X	Not issued
Alaska	Under 17 Under 19 if employer licensed to sell alcohol (M)	X 3		Not issued
Arizona	Not issued			Not issued
Arkansas	Under 16 (M)	X		16 and 17 (P)	X
California	Under 18 for minors enrolled in school (M)	X (for entertainment industry)	X	Not issued
Colorado	Under 16 during school hours (M)		X	Under 18 except not issued to minors under 16 during school hours (R)		X
Connecticut	Under 16 (M)		X	16 and 17 (M)		X
Delaware	Under 18 (M)	X	X	No provision
District of Columbia	Under 18 (M)		X	No provision
Florida	No provision			Under 18 (R) ⁴		X
Georgia	Under 18 (M)		X	No provision
Guam	Under 16 (M)	X		Not issued
Hawaii	Under 16 (M)	X		16 and 17 (M)	X
Idaho	Not issued			Not issued
Illinois	Under 16 (M)		X	16 to 20 (R)		X
Indiana	Under 18 (M)		X	18 to 21 (R)		X
Iowa	Under 16 (M)	X ⁵	X	16-18 and over (R)	X ⁵	X
Kansas	Under 16 and not enrolled in secondary school			Not issued
Kentucky	Not issued			Under 18(R) ⁶		X
Louisiana	Under 18 (M)		X	No provision
Maine	Under 16 (M)	X		No Provision
Maryland	Under 18 (M)	X		No provision		X
Massachusetts	Under 18 (M)		X	Under 18 (M) as part of Employment Certificate		X
Michigan	Under 18 (M) 7		X	No provision
Minnesota	Under 16 during school hours (M)		X	Under 18, except not issued to minors under 16 during school hours (R) ⁸		X
Mississippi	Under 16 in mills, canneries, workshops, factories (M)		X	Not issued
Missouri	Under 16 (M)		X	16 and over (R)		X
Montana	Not issued ⁹			16 and over: in hazardous occupations (M); in other occupations (R)	X
Nebraska	Under 16 (M)		X	16 and over (R)		X
Nevada	Under 14 (M) ¹⁰			Not issued
New Hampshire	Under 16 (M) 11		X	Not issued
New Jersey	Under 18 (M)		X	18 to 21 (R)		X
New Mexico	Under 16 (M)	X	X	16 and 17 (P)	X	X
New York	Under 18 (M)	X - for child performers	X	18 and over (P)		X
North Carolina	Under 18 (M)	X	¹²	No provision
North Dakota	Under 16 (M)	X		16 and over (P)	X
Ohio	Under 16 at any time, and 16 and 17 during school term (M)		X	Not issued ¹³
Oklahoma	Under 16 (M)		x	Under 16 (M)		x
Oregon	Not issued ¹⁴			No provision
Pennsylvania	Under 18 (M)		X	No provision
Puerto Rico	Under 18 (M)	X		18 to 21 (R)	X
Rhode Island	Under 16 (M)		X	16 and 17 (M)		X
South Carolina	No provision			Under 18 (R)	X ¹⁵
South Dakota	Not issued			Not issued
Tennessee	Not issued ¹⁶			Not issued ¹⁶
Texas	No provision			Under 18 (R)	X
Utah	No provision			Under 18 (R)		X
Vermont	Under 16 during school hours (M)	X		Not issued
Virgin Islands	Under 18 (P)	X		No provision
Virginia	Under 16 (M)	X		14 and 15 (M), Over 16 (R)	X
Washington	Under 18 (M)	X		No provision
West Virginia	Under 16 (M)		X	16 and 17 (R)		X
Wisconsin	Under 18 (M)	X through permit officers ¹⁷		18 and over (R)	X through permit officers ¹⁷
Wyoming	Not issued ¹⁸			Not issued

Footnotes:

¹ Table includes both the general certification procedure required by law and those used in practice. Table does not include exceptions to the general procedures; nor does it identify certificates that may be required for employment in street trades, entertainment, or other work for which a special permit may be required.

² Under the columns "For minors of age indicated" an entry of M denotes "Mandated," i.e., the requirement is mandated under State law; R denotes on "Request," i.e., the certificate is not required under State law, but the law directs an administrative agency to issue the certificate on request; P denotes "Practice," i.e., the law makes no requirement, but the State issues the certificate on request.

¹⁸ Alabama . No minor under 18 years of age may be employed in, about, or in connection with any of the following occupations, positions, or places: #3 In tunnels or excavations with depths exceeding four (4) feet. The following occupations in excavation operations are prohibited: Excavating, working in or backfilling (refilling) trenches, except manually excavating or manually backfilling trenches that do not exceed four feet in depth at any point. EXCEPTION - Minors age 16 or older may be issued a permit to work at excavation sites which are less than four (4) feet in depth.

³ Alaska. In addition to individual certificates, employers may obtain advance approval for a specific job consisting of listed duties permitting them to hire minors, of at least 14 years of age, without prior individual approval.

⁴ Florida . Employment or age certificates are not required. However, employers of any minor must obtain and keep on record proof of the child's age. An age certificate issued by the district school board is one method of meeting the proof of age requirement.

⁵ Iowa . Employment and age certificates are issued by both the Iowa Workforce Development Department and the schools.

⁶ Kentucky . Employers of children under age 18 must maintain a proof of age.

⁷ Michigan . A work permit is not required for a minor 16 years or older who has completed the requirements for high school graduation or has obtained a high school equivalency certificate and provided copy of certification to the employer. A work permit is not required for a 17 year old minor who has passed the general education development (GED) test and provided copy of certification to the employer.

⁸ Minnesota . Age certificates are not required. However, employers of any minor must obtain and keep on record proof of the child's age. Age certificates satisfy this requirement as do copies of birth certificates, drivers licenses, and U.S. Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service Employment Eligibility Verification Forms I-9.

⁹ Montana . No certificate is required at any age in nonhazardous employment. Since minors under 16 may not work in hazardous employment, certificates for this age category are not deemed necessary.

¹⁰ Nevada . Only certificates issued are those for minors under age 14 with written permission of district judge.

¹¹ New Hampshire . Work certificates are not required for 16- and 17-year-olds. Instead, employers must maintain on file a signed, written document from the youth's parent or legal guardian authorizing the employment. The Department of Safety may issue age certificates to 16- and 17-year-olds

¹² North Carolina . Employment certificates are issued by the Department of Labor or the County Director of Social Services.

¹³ Ohio . Age certificates are not issued, but proof of age is required for minors 16 and 17 years of age for employment during school vacation. With the approval of the Superintendent of Schools of the district where they live, 16- and 17-year-old minors are not required to provide a certificate to be employed at a seasonal amusement or recreational establishment.

¹⁴ Oregon . Minors age 14–17 are not required to obtain work permits. Instead, employers are required to apply for annual certificates to employ these minors.

¹⁵ South Carolina . The State Department of Labor issues Federal age certificates upon request for minors under age 18.

¹⁶ Tennessee . No certificates are issued. However, employers of minors under age 18 must obtain and keep on file proof of the minor's age. A birth certificate, passport, driver's license, State issued identification, or parent's oath as to the minor's age are acceptable proofs of age under the child labor law.

¹⁷ Wisconsin . Certificates are issued by volunteer permit officers who are representatives of the Department of Workforce Development. Many of the permit officers are school officials, but other public employees such as municipal and county employees and court officials are also included.

¹⁸ Wyoming . Employers of children under age 16 must maintain a proof of age.

Note: N/A indicates "not applicable." "No provision" as an entry under either employment or age certificate indicates that the issuance of such a certificate is unnecessary because another type of certificate covers all minors.

Division of Communications
Wage and Hour Division
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

This document was last revised in March 2015.

The Department of Labor does not administer State laws. Please consult your State's Department of Labor for details on your State’s requirements.