MT · State teen labor law
Montana teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Montana mirrors federal FLSA child-labor caps for 14-15-year-olds and imposes no state restrictions on 16-17-year-olds beyond hazardous-occupation prohibitions. No state work permit is required.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Montana 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.
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: Montana 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
Montana does not require a state-issued work permit for minors.
Montana 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 Montana Department of Labor and Industry enforces child-labor rules through complaint and inspection.
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Montana, 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
Mining and quarrying for minors under 18
State: MCA §41-2-110
Sale or service of alcohol for minors under 18
State: MCA §16-3-301
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Montana hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Montana-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Montana 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 Montana 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
Montana 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 Montana 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
- No youth, training, learner, or opportunity subminimum of any kind. Montana's minimum-wage statute is set as the greater of the federal FLSA rate or a state figure and expressly EXCLUDES the FLSA training-wage provisions, so no state training wage is authorized. All workers, including minors, must receive the full state minimum. A separate, lower rate exists only for businesses with annual gross sales at or below a statutory threshold that are not covered by the FLSA — this is an employer-size carve-out that applies regardless of worker age and is NOT a youth rate.
A teen earns the full minimum; any lower rate needs a special DOL certificate.
Montana's minimum wage (§ 39-3-409) is indexed to CPI and set at the greater of the federal FLSA rate or the state figure, so it sits above the federal $7.25. The statute is calculated 'excluding … the special provisions for a training wage,' meaning Montana does not adopt the federal training/youth wage and authorizes no state youth subminimum — minors earn the full state minimum. The only below-minimum figure is the small-business rate for non-FLSA-covered businesses below a gross-sales threshold; because it is keyed to employer size and applies to all ages, it is not a certificate-free youth rate.
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: Mont. Code Ann. § 39-3-409 (adoption of minimum wage rates — exception); § 39-3-404 (minimum wage)
Agricultural work carve-out
Montana 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.
Montana's Child Labor Standards Act exempts minors engaged in agricultural pursuits outside school hours in connection with a home or farm owned or operated by the minor's parent or guardian — the standard family-farm carve-out. § 41-2-104 also covers minors working in an ag occupation with written parental consent on a farm or ranch where the parent or guardian is also employed. Outside school hours, no state minimum age applies to commercial agricultural employment (federal § 213(c) floor governs). During school hours, the minimum age for ag work is 14. § 41-2-106 layers state-specific hazardous prohibitions on 14- and 15-year-olds in ag: felling, bucking, skidding, loading, or unloading timber with a butt diameter over 9 inches; repairing a building from a ladder or scaffold higher than 20 feet; working inside an oxygen-deficient or toxic-atmosphere fruit, forage, or grain storage structure; working inside an upright silo within 2 weeks after silage has been added; handling or using poisonous agricultural chemicals; handling or using blasting agents; or transporting, transferring, or applying anhydrous ammonia. These layer on top of the federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 list at 16+ off the family farm. No state employment certificate is required for ag work.
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: MCA §§ 41-2-104, 41-2-106 (Montana Child Labor Standards Act exempts agricultural pursuits in connection with a parent-owned/operated home or farm; lists state-specific hazardous ag prohibitions for 14-15-year-olds)
Family-business carve-out
Montana 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.
Montana's Child Labor Standards Act carries the federal parent-employed exemption forward through § 41-2-104's family-employment carve-out, which originally covered agricultural pursuits in connection with a parent-owned home or farm and is generally read alongside the federal § 213(c)(1)(C) non-agricultural exemption. Montana does not require a state Work Permit / Employment Certificate for any minor employment, so no state administrative layer overrides the federal carve-out. The state's general 14-15 hour caps (mirroring federal FLSA) and the absence of 16-17 caps apply to non-family-business employment. Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply (no parent-owned-business carve-out exists for them), and § 41-2-106's state-specific 14-15 hazardous ag prohibitions (timber felling, ladder/scaffold work over 20 feet, oxygen-deficient or toxic-atmosphere storage, upright silos within 2 weeks of silage, ag chemicals, blasting agents, anhydrous ammonia) carry through where they overlap with non-ag family business. 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: MCA §§ 41-2-104, 41-2-106 (Montana Child Labor Standards Act — parent-employed and family-farm exemptions); federal mirror of 29 USC § 213(c)(1)(C)
Entertainment-industry work
Montana 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 Montana 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: Montana Code Annotated Title 41 Chapter 2 (§§ 41-2-101 to 41-2-115)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://erd.dli.mt.gov/labor-standards/child-labor-laws
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Montana Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Montana?
- Yes — under Montana 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 Montana?
- When school is in session, Montana 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 Montana require a work permit for minors?
- Montana 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 Montana?
- Generally no. Montana 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 Montana Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Montana?
- Montana 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 Montana Code Annotated Title 41 Chapter 2 (§§ 41-2-101 to 41-2-115) citation on this page for the statutory source.