GA · State teen labor law
Georgia teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Georgia follows federal FLSA caps for 14-15-year-olds and imposes no state hour limit on 16-17-year-olds. An Employment Certificate is required for minors under 16 — older teens only need age verification on file with the employer.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Georgia 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 12–13
School year
When school is in session
- Max hours per day
- Not permitted
- Max hours per week
- Not permitted
- Time window
- No state limit
Note: 12- and 13-year-olds may not work in general employment. Limited exceptions for non-hazardous agricultural work with parent or guardian consent, newspaper carriers, and entertainment with permit.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- Not permitted
- Max hours per week
- Not permitted
- Time window
- No state limit
Note: Same exceptions year-round; no general employment permitted.
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 extend evening cutoff to 9:00 PM (June 1 through Labor Day).
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: Georgia imposes no state hour limit on 16- and 17-year-olds; federal FLSA also has no hour cap for this age group in non-hazardous work.
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
Georgia requires a work permit for minors aged 12–15.
Minors 12-15 must obtain an Employment Certificate from their school issuing officer before starting work. The minor presents a Statement of Intent to Employ from the employer plus proof of age. 16- and 17-year-olds do not need a state-issued permit but the employer must keep proof of age.
Form: Georgia Employment Certificate
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Georgia, 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: O.C.G.A. §39-2-2
Operating power-driven hoists or elevators
Federal: HO-7
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Georgia hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Georgia-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Georgia 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 Georgia 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
Georgia 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)).
The federal minimum applies instead.
Georgia's own minimum-wage statute is set below the federal rate and exempts FLSA-covered employers, employers with five or fewer employees, and several other categories — so the federal FLSA governs almost every Georgia worker, including the $4.25 youth wage for the first 90 calendar days for under-20s. Georgia creates no youth subminimum of its own.
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.
Agricultural work carve-out
Georgia 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.
Georgia does not regulate agricultural employment of minors at the state level — O.C.G.A. Title 39 Chapter 2 contains no ag-specific provisions, and the Georgia Department of Labor confirms there are no state restrictions on age, hours, or work-permit requirements for minors working in agriculture. Federal FLSA § 213(c) and federal Ag HO-1 through Ag HO-11 (29 CFR § 570.71) govern entirely: minimum age 14 for off-family-farm ag work outside school hours; 12 with parental consent on small farms not subject to FLSA minimum-wage coverage; a 10-11 hand-harvest waiver during short-season crops; the federal parent-owned farm exemption applies (no minimum age on parental farm, plus parental waiver of Ag HOs for under-16 family-farm work). 16+ minimum for federal Ag HOs (tractors over 20 PTO HP, harvesters, working from heights, etc.). No state Employment Certificate is required for agricultural work in Georgia.
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: O.C.G.A. Title 39, Chapter 2 (Employment of Minors) — agricultural work not regulated by state statute; Georgia Department of Labor, Child Labor Law Exceptions
Family-business carve-out
Georgia 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.
Georgia's child-labor law (O.C.G.A. Title 39, Chapter 2) carries the federal parent-owned-business framework — Georgia historically tracks the federal FLSA exemptions and does not impose stricter state-level work-permit or hour-cap requirements on minors working for their parents in non-hazardous, non-mining, non-manufacturing businesses. For under-16 minors working in a parent-owned non-agricultural business, no state Employment Certificate is required, and the state's hour caps for under-16 (4 hrs/school day, 8 hrs/non-school day, 40 hrs/non-school week with 9 PM curfew during the school year) under § 39-2-2 apply more leniently — verify with the Georgia Department of Labor for the specific business context. Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply, as do Georgia's hazardous-occupations restrictions at § 39-2-11. The exemption never reaches a minor in a parent-owned manufacturing business, mining operation, or HO-listed occupation.
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: O.C.G.A. § 39-2-2 (definition of minor employment), § 39-2-3 (Employment Certificate exemption for parent-employed minors), § 39-2-11 (hazardous occupations)
Entertainment-industry work
Georgia 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 Georgia 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: O.C.G.A. Title 39, Chapter 2 (§§ 39-2-1 to 39-2-19)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://dol.georgia.gov/general-information-child-labor
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Georgia Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Georgia?
- Yes — under Georgia 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 Georgia work permit is required.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in Georgia?
- When school is in session, Georgia 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 Georgia require a work permit for minors?
- Yes — Georgia requires a work permit for minors aged 12-15 (form: Georgia Employment Certificate). Minors 12-15 must obtain an Employment Certificate from their school issuing officer before starting work. The minor presents a Statement of Intent to Employ from the employer plus proof of age. 16- and 17-year-olds do not need a state-issued permit but the employer must keep proof of age.
- Can a teen be paid less than minimum wage in Georgia?
- Yes, for a limited window. Georgia 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 Georgia Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Georgia?
- Georgia 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 O.C.G.A. Title 39, Chapter 2 (§§ 39-2-1 to 39-2-19) citation on this page for the statutory source.