ID · State teen labor law
Idaho teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Idaho largely mirrors the federal FLSA child-labor framework with the addition of a 9-hour combined school + work daily cap for 14-15-year-olds. No state work permit is required.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Idaho 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: Mirrors federal FLSA. No work during school hours. Minors must not exceed 9 hours combined school + work per day under Idaho Code §44-1304.
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
- No state limit
Note: Idaho imposes no state hour or time-of-day restriction on 16- and 17-year-olds.
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
Idaho does not require a state-issued work permit for minors.
Idaho 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). The Idaho Department of Labor enforces remaining child-labor rules; most rules defer to federal FLSA.
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Idaho, 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: Idaho Code §44-1308
Sale or service of alcohol for minors under 19
State: Idaho Code §23-1334
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Idaho hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Idaho-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Idaho 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 Idaho 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
Idaho 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)) — Idaho codifies the same rule in its own statute (Idaho Code § 44-1502(3)), with an anti-displacement clause barring cutting existing workers to hire at the youth rate.
The federal minimum applies instead.
Idaho sets its state minimum at the federal $7.25 figure and writes the federal youth wage into its own law — $4.25 for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days, with no certificate required. Because the standard rate matches federal and the youth wage mirrors the FLSA, the federal structure effectively governs.
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
Idaho 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.
Idaho's child-labor act expressly enumerates the occupations restricted for minors under 14 — mines, factories, workshops, mercantile establishments, stores, telegraph or telephone offices, laundries, restaurants, hotels, apartment houses, and the distribution or transmission of merchandise or messages — and conspicuously omits agriculture. Farm work outside this enumerated list is not regulated by state statute, and the 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. The § 44-1304 9-hour combined school + work cap and the § 44-1305 time-of-day window apply to non-ag employment only. The standard federal § 213(c)(1) parent-owned-farm exemption applies. Federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 govern at 16+ off the family farm. No state employment certificate is required for any employment, agricultural or otherwise.
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: Idaho Code §§ 44-1301 to 44-1308 (state restricts non-agricultural inside employment for under-14; ag is not enumerated)
Family-business carve-out
Idaho 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.
Idaho's Chapter 13 child-labor act is one of the narrowest in scope in the country, regulating only a specific list of non-agricultural inside-employment occupations for under-14 minors. There is no state Work Permit / Age Certificate / Employment Certificate requirement, no state daily/weekly hour cap on 16-17-year-olds, and no state-imposed permit framework for parent-owned-business minors. The federal § 213(c)(1)(C) parent-employed exemption governs as the operating rule: a minor working for the minor's own parent (or person standing in the place of a parent) in a non-hazardous, non-mining, non-manufacturing business owned, operated, or controlled by that parent has no federal age limit, no federal hour cap, and no federal permit requirement. The § 44-1304 9-hour combined school + work daily cap for 14-15-year-olds applies to non-ag employment generally — verify with the Idaho Department of Labor whether it reaches parent-employed work in practice. Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply, and parent-owned manufacturing or mining employment for under-16 remains barred by federal law 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: Idaho Code §§ 44-1301 to 44-1308 (narrowly enumerated state restrictions; no separate state Work Permit requirement); federal § 213(c)(1)(C) governs as the operating rule
Entertainment-industry work
Idaho 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 Idaho 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: Idaho Code §§ 44-1301 to 44-1308 (Employment of Minors)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://www.labor.idaho.gov/dnn/Businesses/Wage-and-Hour/Hiring-Workers-Under-18
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Idaho Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Idaho?
- Yes — under Idaho 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 Idaho?
- When school is in session, Idaho 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 Idaho require a work permit for minors?
- Idaho does not require a state-issued work permit for minors. Employers still must follow federal FLSA rules on hour caps and restricted occupations.
- Can a teen be paid less than minimum wage in Idaho?
- Yes, for a limited window. Idaho 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 Idaho Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Idaho?
- Idaho 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 Idaho Code §§ 44-1301 to 44-1308 (Employment of Minors) citation on this page for the statutory source.