AL · State teen labor law
Alabama teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Alabama uses an employer-based permit system — the employer (not the minor) applies for the Child Labor Certificate. 16-17-year-olds face only a midnight-to-5:00 AM school-night curfew with no weekly hour cap.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Alabama tightens daily and weekly limits while school is in session, then eases them during summer and school breaks. Each age band below shows both calendars side-by-side — a distinction federal summaries and most state-comparison tables skip.
Ages 14–15
School year
When school is in session
- Hrs/day (school day)
- 3 hr
- Hrs/day (Sat / Sun / holiday)
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 18 hr
- Time window
- 07:00 – 19:00
Note: No work during school hours.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 40 hr
- Time window
- 07:00 – 21:00
Note: Summer hours apply June 1 through Labor Day; evening cutoff extends to 9:00 PM.
Ages 16–17
School year
When school is in session
- Max hours per day
- No state limit
- Max hours per week
- No state limit
- Time window
- 05:00 – 00:00
Note: No state weekly hour cap. 16-17-year-olds may not work between midnight and 5:00 AM on nights preceding a school day.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- No state limit
- Max hours per week
- No state limit
- Time window
- No state limit
Note: Time-of-day restrictions lift on non-school nights; federal FLSA has no cap for this age group.
Work permit
Alabama requires a work permit for minors aged 14–17.
Alabama uses an employer-based permit system: the employer (not the minor) applies online to the Alabama Department of Labor for a Child Labor Certificate covering all minors at that worksite. The minor presents an Eligibility-to-Work form signed by a parent/guardian and the minor's school. Permits are renewed annually.
Form: Class I or Class II Eligibility-to-Work Form
Alabama work-permit reference (official source) →
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Alabama, with the federal hour caps and the state’s stricter rules built in.
Restricted occupations
All federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17
Federal: 29 CFR Part 570
Operating power-driven meat-processing machines
Federal: HO-10
Roofing operations and work on or about a roof
Federal: HO-16
Door-to-door sales for minors under 16 without adult supervision
State: Ala. Code §25-8-43
Sale or service of alcohol for minors under 19
State: Ala. Code §28-3A-25
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Alabama hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Alabama-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Alabama has no verified state law requiring a meal or rest break for minors, so the federal floor applies: the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require employers to give a meal or rest break at any age. An employer can legally schedule a teen for a full shift without one. If a short break of 5–20 minutes is given it must be paid; a bona fide meal period of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid when the teen is completely relieved of duty.
Confirm with the Alabama Department of Labor before relying on a break, and see the federal breaks & meal-period reference for the FLSA paid-vs-unpaid rules.
Pay & minimum wage
Alabama sets no independent minimum-wage rate, so the federal Fair Labor Standards Act governs: a $7.25 standard minimum and a $4.25 youth minimum for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days. Confirm the current figures before relying on them.
- How minors are paid
- Federal minimum-wage rules
- State minimum wage
- No state rate
- Below-minimum youth rate
- Permitted
- Subminimum structure
- Federal $4.25 youth minimum for under-20s during the first 90 consecutive calendar days (29 USC § 206(g)); FLSA learner / student certificates also apply.
The federal minimum applies instead.
Alabama has enacted no state minimum-wage law, so the federal Fair Labor Standards Act governs entirely — including the $4.25 youth minimum for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days, which an employer may pay with no certificate. Alabama also bars cities from setting their own minimum wage (Ala. Code § 25-7-41), so the federal floor is the only one statewide.
Rates change yearly. This page describes the legal structure, not the current dollar amount. State and federal minimum wages are adjusted regularly — always verify the live figure with your state Department of Labor or the U.S. DOL before relying on it.
See the federal youth minimum wage reference for the $4.25 90-day rule, student / learner certificates, the tipped cash wage, and how a higher state minimum wins.
Statute: Ala. Code § 25-7-41 (local preemption); 29 USC § 206 (FLSA)
Agricultural work carve-out
Alabama largely mirrors the federal agricultural carve-out under FLSA § 213(c)(1). The rules below confirm what applies for farm work in this state.
Mirrors federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11.
Alabama's Child Labor Law explicitly carves out agricultural service from its under-16 employment prohibition — § 25-8-33 reads "no individual under 16 years of age shall be employed, except in agricultural service" — and the § 25-8-45 Child Labor Certificate requirement specifically does not apply to agricultural work. The state imposes no daily/weekly hour cap on minors in agriculture, no time-of-day restriction, and no employment certificate. Federal § 213(c) governs: 14+ off-farm in non-hazardous ag outside school hours; 12-13 with written parental consent or on the same farm where a parent is employed; under-12 only on farms not subject to FLSA minimum-wage rules. § 25-8-43 hazardous-occupation prohibitions remain in force for all minor employment but mirror the federal HO list. Federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 govern at 16+ off the family farm, with the federal student-learner and 4-H tractor-certification carve-outs at 14-15.
See the federal agricultural-work reference for the FLSA § 213(c) baseline, parental-exemption rules, and the Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 hazardous list.
Statute: Ala. Code §§ 25-8-33, 25-8-43, 25-8-45 (Alabama Child Labor Law expressly exempts agricultural service)
Family-business carve-out
Alabama largely mirrors the federal parent-owned-business carve-out under FLSA § 213(c)(1)(C). The rules below confirm what applies when a minor works for a parent-owned business in this state.
Federal hazardous orders always apply — the parent-owned-business carve-out never reaches mining, manufacturing, or HO-listed work.
Alabama operates an employer-based Child Labor Certificate system (§ 25-8-45) under which the employer — not the minor — applies online to the Alabama Department of Labor for an annual certificate covering all minors at that worksite. The act's exemptions at § 25-8-44 carry the federal parent-employed-in-non-hazardous-business framework forward: a minor working for the minor's own parent or guardian in a non-hazardous, non-mining, non-manufacturing business owned, operated, or controlled by that parent falls outside the act's general permit and hour-cap reach. Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply (no parent-owned-business carve-out exists for them), and Alabama's hazardous-occupations restrictions at § 25-8-43 — which mirror the federal HO list — carry through regardless of parent ownership. Parent-owned manufacturing employment for under-16 remains barred by both state and federal law. Verify the specific business context with the Alabama Department of Labor before relying on the carve-out.
See the federal family-business reference for the FLSA § 213(c)(1)(C) baseline, ownership-structure rules, and the hazardous-occupations overlay that always applies.
Statute: Ala. Code § 25-8-32 (definitions), § 25-8-44 (exempt occupations), § 25-8-43 (hazardous occupations); federal mirror of 29 USC § 213(c)(1)(C)
Entertainment-industry work
Alabama does not separately regulate child performers (film, TV, theater, modeling). The general age-band hour caps and work-permit rules above apply to entertainment-industry work for minors. Federal FLSA carves out actors and performers from the general 14-year minimum age (29 CFR § 570.122), but neither federal nor Alabama law imposes a blocked-trust requirement on a child performer’s earnings.
States with dedicated child-performer frameworks (Coogan-style trust accounts, on-set studio teachers, performer-specific permits) include California, New York, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
Where these rules come from
State code: Alabama Code §§ 25-8-31 to 25-8-60 (Child Labor Law)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://labor.alabama.gov/childlabor/
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Alabama Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Alabama?
- Yes — under Alabama law a 14-year-old can work up to 3 hours per school day, up to 18 hours per week, between 07:00 and 19:00. A Alabama work permit is required.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in Alabama?
- When school is in session, Alabama allows a 15-year-old to work up to 3 hours per school day, up to 18 hours per week, between 07:00 and 19:00. During summer or school breaks the cap rises to up to 8 hours per school day, up to 40 hours per week, between 07:00 and 21:00.
- Does Alabama require a work permit for minors?
- Yes — Alabama requires a work permit for minors aged 14-17 (form: Class I or Class II Eligibility-to-Work Form). Alabama uses an employer-based permit system: the employer (not the minor) applies online to the Alabama Department of Labor for a Child Labor Certificate covering all minors at that worksite. The minor presents an Eligibility-to-Work form signed by a parent/guardian and the minor's school. Permits are renewed annually.
- Can a teen be paid less than minimum wage in Alabama?
- Yes, for a limited window. Alabama follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which allows a $4.25 youth minimum wage for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days; after that the $7.25 federal minimum applies. Minimum-wage dollar amounts change almost every year, so confirm the current figure with the Alabama Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Alabama?
- Alabama prohibits minors from a number of hazardous occupations, including: all federal hazardous orders ho-1 through ho-17; operating power-driven meat-processing machines; roofing operations and work on or about a roof. The full list of federal hazardous orders (HO-1 through HO-17) also applies. See the Alabama Code §§ 25-8-31 to 25-8-60 (Child Labor Law) citation on this page for the statutory source.