CO · State teen labor law
Colorado teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Colorado follows the federal FLSA caps for 14-15-year-olds with slightly more permissive time-of-day windows. 16-17-year-olds face only a 12:30 AM to 5:00 AM school-night curfew. No state work permit is required.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Colorado applies similar caps year-round, with small calendar adjustments shown below. 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
- 05:00 – 21:30
Note: Colorado allows a 5:00 AM start on non-school days (earlier than the federal 7:00 AM) and a 9:30 PM evening cutoff.
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 – 00:30
Note: No state weekly hour cap. 16-17-year-olds may not work between 12:30 AM and 5:00 AM when a school day follows.
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
Colorado does not require a state-issued work permit for minors.
Colorado does not require a state-issued work permit. Employers must keep proof of age on file (driver's license, certified birth certificate, or state ID). Under the Youth Employment Standards Rules effective February 1, 2026 (7 CCR 1103-20), employers must retain a minor's age-verification and eligibility records until three years after the minor turns 18 or three years after employment ends, whichever is sooner. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) enforces the Youth Employment Opportunity Act through complaint and inspection.
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Colorado, 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
State: C.R.S. §8-12-110
Marijuana cultivation, manufacturing, or sale (any minor)
State: C.R.S. §44-10-1101
Retail liquor stores, marijuana dispensaries, casinos, and adult-entertainment venues (any minor under 18)
State: 7 CCR 1103-20 (Youth Employment Standards Rules, eff. Feb. 1, 2026)
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Colorado hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Colorado-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Colorado applies one general meal-break rule to all employees, including minors. Federal law (the FLSA) mandates no break at any age, so this state rule is the binding one for teens too.
- Meal break
- 30 minutes
- Required after
- 5 consecutive hours
- Pay treatment
- Unpaid
- Paid rest break
- Required — in addition to the meal break
Unpaid when the teen is completely relieved of duty.
Paid 10-minute rest period for each 4 hours worked (or major fraction), on the employer's time.
Colorado's meal and rest rules come from the COMPS Order (the wage order reissued each year, currently #40), a general rule that covers most minors rather than a child-labor-specific statute. An uninterrupted, duty-free 30-minute meal period is required when a shift exceeds 5 consecutive hours (unpaid when the worker is fully relieved; an on-duty meal must be paid), plus a paid 10-minute rest period for each 4 hours worked. COMPS coverage is industry- and duty-based, so a few exempt roles fall outside it, but most teen jobs (retail, food service) are covered. The Colorado Youth Employment Opportunity Act adds stricter hour and occupation limits for under-18s but no separate break rule.
See the federal breaks & meal-period reference for how the FLSA treats paid rest breaks vs unpaid meal periods, and why a mandatory teen break can only come from state law.
Pay & minimum wage
Colorado lets some teens, or inexperienced first-job and trainee workers, be paid below the standard state minimum wage. The structure below is stable, but the dollar amount changes almost every year — confirm the current figure with the Colorado Department of Labor.
- How minors are paid
- Youth / training subminimum allowed
- State minimum wage
- Set by state law
- Below-minimum youth rate
- Permitted
- Subminimum structure
- Unemancipated minors may be paid up to 15% below the state minimum wage — automatic, with no certificate. Emancipated minors must receive the full minimum. The 15% reduction applies to the state minimum but not to higher local minimum wages (e.g. Denver).
Colorado's COMPS Order lets employers pay an unemancipated minor 15% less than the standard state minimum with no permit or certificate — a true non-certificate youth subminimum a first-job teen can fall under. Emancipated minors earn the full minimum. The 15% cut is keyed to the state minimum and cannot drop pay below a higher local minimum wage, and the minor is still subject to Colorado's youth-employment hour limits.
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: 7 CCR 1103-1 (COMPS Order) Rule 3.3; Colo. Const. art. XVIII § 15
Agricultural work carve-out
Colorado narrows the federal agricultural carve-out — the rules below override the federal floor when a minor works on a farm in this state.
Mirrors federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11.
Colorado's Youth Employment Opportunity Act explicitly permits agricultural work for 12+ outside school hours under § 8-12-107(c), excluding occupations declared hazardous under the federal FLSA. The general § 8-12-105 hour caps still apply to minors under 16 in commercial agriculture (3 hours per school day, 8 hours per non-school day, 40 hours per week, no work between 9:30 PM and 5:00 AM before a school day). § 8-12-107(d) carves out a piece-rate harvest exception for the culture, harvest, or care of perishable products: 14+ may work up to 12 hours in any 24-hour period and up to 30 hours in any 72-hour period during peak harvest, except that a 14- or 15-year-old may exceed 8 hours per day on only 10 days in any 30-day period. § 8-12-104 exempts minors employed by their parent or guardian (including on a family farm). Hazardous agricultural occupations follow the federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 floor at 16+. No state employment certificate is required for agricultural work; the CDLE relies on age-verification documents kept by the employer.
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: C.R.S. §§ 8-12-104, 8-12-105, 8-12-107(c)-(d) (Colorado Youth Employment Opportunity Act)
Family-business carve-out
Colorado 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.
Colorado's Youth Employment Opportunity Act at § 8-12-104 exempts minors employed by their parent or guardian from the act's general age and hour-cap provisions. For a parent-owned non-agricultural business in Colorado, no state work permit is required (Colorado does not have a state work-permit requirement for any minor employment generally — employers verify age via documents kept on file), and the § 8-12-105 hour caps do not apply to the parent-employed minor. Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply, and § 8-12-110's state hazardous-occupations list carries through regardless of parent ownership — mining, manufacturing, and HO-listed occupations remain prohibited regardless of who the employer is.
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: C.R.S. § 8-12-104 (Youth Employment Opportunity Act exemptions); § 8-12-110 (hazardous occupations)
Entertainment-industry work
Colorado 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 Colorado 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: Colorado Revised Statutes §§ 8-12-101 to 8-12-117 (Youth Employment Opportunity Act)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://cdle.colorado.gov/laws-regulations-guidance/youth-law
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Colorado Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Colorado?
- Yes — under Colorado 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.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in Colorado?
- When school is in session, Colorado 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 05:00 and 21:30.
- Does Colorado require a work permit for minors?
- Colorado does not require a state-issued work permit for minors. Employers still must follow federal FLSA rules on hour caps and restricted occupations.
- Does a minor get a meal break in Colorado?
- Yes. Colorado requires a 30-minute unpaid meal break once a worker reaches 5 consecutive hours; the rule applies to all employees, including minors. Colorado also requires a separate paid rest break on top of the meal break. Federal law sets no break requirement at any age, so the state rule is the binding one. See the breaks section on this page for the exact age scope and the statute.
- Can a teen be paid less than minimum wage in Colorado?
- Sometimes. Colorado lets some teens, or inexperienced first-job and trainee workers, be paid below the standard state minimum wage without a special certificate. Unemancipated minors may be paid up to 15% below the state minimum wage — automatic, with no certificate. Emancipated minors must receive the full minimum. The 15% reduction applies to the state minimum but not to higher local minimum wages (e.g. Denver). Minimum-wage dollar amounts change almost every year, so confirm the current figure with the Colorado Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Colorado?
- Colorado 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 Colorado Revised Statutes §§ 8-12-101 to 8-12-117 (Youth Employment Opportunity Act) citation on this page for the statutory source.