AK · State teen labor law
Alaska teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Alaska requires a Work Permit for every minor under 18 and caps 14-15-year-olds at 23 hours per school week with a unique 9-hour combined school + work daily ceiling. 16-17-year-olds face no state restrictions beyond federal hazardous-occupation rules.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Alaska 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
- Max hours per day
- 9 hr
- Max hours per week
- 23 hr
- Time window
- 05:00 – 21:00
Note: Alaska caps combined school + work at 9 hours per day. School-week cap of 23 hours total. No work during school hours.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- 9 hr
- Max hours per week
- 40 hr
- Time window
- 05:00 – 21:00
Note: Summer hours apply when school is not in session. 9-hour daily cap remains.
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
- No state limit
Note: No state hour or time-of-day restriction on 16-17-year-olds. Federal FLSA hazardous-occupation rules still apply.
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
Work permit
Alaska requires a work permit for minors aged 14–17.
Every minor under 18 must obtain a Work Permit from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development before starting work. The minor's parent or guardian completes the application along with the employer's signed offer. Permits are job-specific and reissued for each new employer.
Form: Alaska Work Permit (Form 09-1206)
Alaska work-permit reference (official source) →
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Alaska, 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
Commercial fishing and crab-pot retrieval for minors under 16
State: AS §23.10.350
Sale or service of alcohol for minors under 21
State: AS §04.16.049
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Alaska hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Alaska-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Alaska 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 Alaska 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
Alaska sets its own minimum wage and minors generally earn the full rate — there is no general youth subminimum a teen can be paid. The structure is stable; the dollar amount changes almost every year, so confirm the current figure with the Alaska Department of Labor.
- How minors are paid
- Full state minimum
- State minimum wage
- Set by state law
- Below-minimum youth rate
- Not permitted
- Subminimum structure
- The only below-minimum path is a student-learner rate of at least 75% of the state minimum, and it is certificate-gated — the employer must apply for and receive approval from the Alaska Department of Labor. There is no automatic youth or first-job rate.
A teen earns the full minimum; any lower rate needs a special DOL certificate.
Alaska sets its own minimum wage well above the federal rate and indexes it for inflation, and it did not adopt the federal $4.25 under-20 youth wage. A minor earns the full state minimum; the only sub-rate (student-learner, at least 75% of the minimum) requires a Department-approved permit, so an ordinary first-job teen cannot be paid under it. A separate coverage exemption for under-18s working part time is not a discount on the cash wage.
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: Alaska Stat. §§ 23.10.065, 23.10.070
Agricultural work carve-out
Alaska 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.
Alaska's child-labor act regulates agricultural employment at a higher minimum age than the federal floor: 14 outside school hours and 16 during school hours (Alaska does not recognize the federal '12-13 with parental consent' tier for ag). AS § 23.10.350 carries a broad family-member exemption that covers ag work — minors employed by a member of the minor's family (spouse, parent, stepparent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, and similar relatives whether by blood, adoption, or marriage) are exempt from the state act's general restrictions, broader than the federal § 213(c)(1)(C) parent-only carve-out. AS § 23.10.350(c) also exempts ag minors and family-employed minors from the otherwise-required 30-minute break for minors working 5+ consecutive hours. AS § 23.10.350's catching/trapping/cultivating/farming/netting fisheries provision additionally exempts aquaculture work. No state employment certificate is required for ag work (the under-18 Alaska Work Permit applies to non-agricultural employment only). Federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 govern at 16+ off the family farm. Note that Alaska's separate state prohibition on commercial fishing and crab-pot retrieval for minors under 16 (per AS § 23.10.350) operates independently of the ag carve-out.
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: AS §§ 23.10.350 (agricultural and family-member employment exemptions; 30-minute break carve-out for ag minors and family-employed minors)
Family-business carve-out
Alaska extends the federal parent-owned-business carve-out beyond the federal "parent only" rule — the rules below apply for family-owned non-agricultural businesses in this state.
Federal hazardous orders always apply — the parent-owned-business carve-out never reaches mining, manufacturing, or HO-listed work.
Alaska's broad family-member exemption at AS § 23.10.350 lifts the state's universal under-18 Work Permit requirement and the under-16 hour caps for minors employed by an enumerated family member in a non-hazardous occupation. Unlike federal § 213(c)(1)(C) — which limits the carve-out to the minor's own parent or person standing in the place of a parent — Alaska's exemption extends through grandparent, sibling, uncle, and aunt by blood, adoption, or marriage. AS § 23.10.350(c) also exempts family-employed minors from the otherwise-required 30-minute break after 5 consecutive hours of work. The exemption does NOT reach hazardous occupations: federal HO-1 through HO-17 always apply (no parent-or-family-business carve-out exists for them), and Alaska's separate state prohibition on commercial fishing and crab-pot retrieval for minors under 16 operates independently. Manufacturing and mining employment for under-16 remains barred by federal law regardless of family-business status.
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: AS § 23.10.350 (family-member employment exemption — spouse, parent, stepparent, grandparent, sibling, uncle, aunt by blood, adoption, or marriage)
Entertainment-industry work
Alaska 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 Alaska 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: Alaska Statutes §§ 23.10.325-23.10.370 (Employment of Minors)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://labor.alaska.gov/lss/whyouth.htm
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Alaska Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Alaska?
- Yes — under Alaska law a 14-year-old can work up to 9 hours per school day, up to 23 hours per week, between 05:00 and 21:00. A Alaska work permit is required.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in Alaska?
- When school is in session, Alaska allows a 15-year-old to work up to 9 hours per school day, up to 23 hours per week, between 05:00 and 21:00. During summer or school breaks the cap rises to up to 9 hours per school day, up to 40 hours per week, between 05:00 and 21:00.
- Does Alaska require a work permit for minors?
- Yes — Alaska requires a work permit for minors aged 14-17 (form: Alaska Work Permit (Form 09-1206)). Every minor under 18 must obtain a Work Permit from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development before starting work. The minor's parent or guardian completes the application along with the employer's signed offer. Permits are job-specific and reissued for each new employer.
- Can a teen be paid less than minimum wage in Alaska?
- Generally no. Alaska sets its own minimum wage and minors earn the full rate — there is no general youth subminimum, and any below-minimum rate requires a special DOL certificate. Minimum-wage dollar amounts change almost every year, so confirm the current figure with the Alaska Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Alaska?
- Alaska 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 Alaska Statutes §§ 23.10.325-23.10.370 (Employment of Minors) citation on this page for the statutory source.