DE · State teen labor law
Delaware teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Delaware requires an online Work Permit for every minor under 18 and caps 16-17-year-olds at 30 hours per school week with a mandatory 8-hour daily rest guarantee. Combined school + work cannot exceed 12 hours per day.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Delaware 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)
- 4 hr
- Hrs/day (Sat / Sun / holiday)
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 18 hr
- Time window
- 07:00 – 19:00
Note: Delaware allows up to 4 hours on a school day (vs. federal 3). 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
- Hrs/day (school day)
- 4 hr
- Hrs/day (Sat / Sun / holiday)
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 30 hr
- Time window
- 06:00 – 00:00
Note: School-week cap of 30 hours. Combined school + work may not exceed 12 hours in a single day. Mandatory 8 consecutive non-work hours each day.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- 12 hr
- Max hours per week
- No state limit
- Time window
- No state limit
Note: Up to 12 hours/day with mandatory 8 consecutive non-work hours each day. No state weekly cap during school breaks.
Work permit
Delaware requires a work permit for minors aged 14–17.
Every minor under 18 must obtain a Work Permit through the Delaware Department of Labor online portal. The minor and parent or guardian apply electronically; the school confirms enrollment. The permit is job-specific and reissued for each new employer.
Form: Delaware Work Permit
Delaware work-permit reference (official source) →
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Delaware, 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: 19 Del. C. §504
Sale or service of alcohol for minors under 18
State: 4 Del. C. §706
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Delaware hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Delaware-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Delaware requires a meal break for minor workers. Federal law (the FLSA) mandates no break at any age, so this state rule is the binding one for teens.
- Meal break
- 30 minutes
- Required after
- 5 consecutive hours
- Pay treatment
- Unpaid
Unpaid when the teen is completely relieved of duty.
A minor under 18 may not work more than 5 hours continuously without a nonworking period of at least 30 minutes. The statute calls it a "nonworking period," so it is unpaid. Delaware's separate adult meal-break law (19 Del. C. § 707) only triggers at 7.5 consecutive hours, making the under-18 rule the stricter one.
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.
Statute: 19 Del. C. § 507(e)
Pay & minimum wage
Delaware 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 Delaware Department of Labor.
- How minors are paid
- Full state minimum
- State minimum wage
- Set by state law
- Below-minimum youth rate
- Not permitted
A teen earns the full minimum; any lower rate needs a special DOL certificate.
Delaware once allowed a youth wage (under 18) and a training wage (first 90 days) of up to 50¢ below the minimum, but both were repealed effective December 2021. A minor now earns the full state minimum wage; the only remaining below-minimum path is a special DOL certificate (for example for workers with disabilities), which an ordinary teen job does not use.
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: 19 Del. C. §§ 902, 906; HB 88 (2021)
Agricultural work carve-out
Delaware 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.
Delaware's Child Labor Law defines "employment" to exclude farm work performed in a non-hazardous occupation — meaning ordinary commercial agricultural work is not regulated by the state act at all. A minor is also not subject to the state's child-labor restrictions when engaged in farm labor under adult supervision. As a result Delaware imposes no state minimum age (federal § 213(c) floor 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), no state daily/weekly hour cap on minors in agriculture, and no state employment certificate for ag (the under-18 Delaware Work Permit applies to non-agricultural employment only). For minors under 16, Delaware adopts the federal list of hazardous occupations by reference, so Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 govern at 16+ off the family farm with the standard 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: 19 Del. C. §§ 501 (definitions exclude farm work in a non-hazardous occupation from "employment"), 505, 506; Delaware adopts federal Ag HOs by reference
Family-business carve-out
Delaware narrows the federal parent-owned-business carve-out — the rules below apply when a minor works for a parent-owned non-agricultural business in this state.
Federal hazardous orders always apply — the parent-owned-business carve-out never reaches mining, manufacturing, or HO-listed work.
Delaware operates one of the stricter permit regimes in the country: 19 Del. C. § 503 requires an online Work Permit for every minor under 18 in non-agricultural employment, with the act's exemption list at § 501 limited to farm labor in non-hazardous occupations and domestic service in a private home. Parent-owned non-agricultural businesses are not separately carved out — a minor working in a family-owned restaurant, retail store, or office still needs the Work Permit, and the state's hour caps apply: 14-15-year-olds limited to federal FLSA caps, 16-17-year-olds capped at 30 hours per school week with the mandatory 8-hour daily rest guarantee and the combined school+work 12-hour-per-day ceiling. Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply, as do Delaware's hazardous-occupations restrictions at § 506 (adopted by reference). Parent-owned manufacturing or mining employment for under-16 remains barred by both state and federal law. The practical effect is that Delaware preempts the federal § 213(c)(1)(C) administrative carve-out under § 218(a) by imposing the universal Work Permit and hour-cap framework regardless of parent ownership.
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: 19 Del. C. §§ 501 (definitions; "employment" excludes farm labor and certain casual work), 503 (Work Permit required for all under-18 employment), 506 (hazardous occupations)
Entertainment-industry work
Delaware 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 Delaware 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: Delaware Code Title 19 Chapter 5 (Employment of Children)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://labor.delaware.gov/divisions/industrial-affairs/employment-of-minors/
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Delaware Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Delaware?
- Yes — under Delaware law a 14-year-old can work up to 4 hours per school day, up to 18 hours per week, between 07:00 and 19:00. A Delaware work permit is required.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in Delaware?
- When school is in session, Delaware allows a 15-year-old to work up to 4 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 Delaware require a work permit for minors?
- Yes — Delaware requires a work permit for minors aged 14-17 (form: Delaware Work Permit). Every minor under 18 must obtain a Work Permit through the Delaware Department of Labor online portal. The minor and parent or guardian apply electronically; the school confirms enrollment. The permit is job-specific and reissued for each new employer.
- How many hours can a 16-year-old work during summer in Delaware?
- During summer or school breaks, Delaware allows a 16-year-old to work up to 12 hours per school day. Federal FLSA caps for 16- and 17-year-olds do not limit weekly hours, so the stricter state rule (if any) applies.
- Does a minor get a meal break in Delaware?
- Yes. Delaware requires a 30-minute unpaid meal break once a worker reaches 5 consecutive hours; the rule applies to minors. 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 Delaware?
- Generally no. Delaware 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 Delaware Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Delaware?
- Delaware 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 Delaware Code Title 19 Chapter 5 (Employment of Children) citation on this page for the statutory source.