NV · State teen labor law
Nevada teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Nevada requires a court-issued Permit to Work for minors under 16 (issued by the district court, not the school). 16-17-year-olds face a daily 8-hour cap and weekly 48-hour cap with no time-of-day restriction. Gaming-floor work is reserved for those 21 and older.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Nevada 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)
- 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 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
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 48 hr
- Time window
- No state limit
Note: No state time-of-day restriction. Daily cap of 8 hours and weekly cap of 48 hours apply year-round (with overtime owed past 40 hours under Nevada wage law).
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 48 hr
- Time window
- No state limit
Work permit
Nevada requires a work permit for minors aged 14–15.
Minors under 16 must obtain a Permit to Work from the district court in the county where they live. The minor's parent or guardian presents proof of age and the application; the court verifies the minor's school enrollment before issuing. 16- and 17-year-olds do not need a permit; the employer keeps age verification on file.
Form: Nevada Permit to Work for Minors Under 16
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Nevada, 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
Gaming or casino work for minors under 21 (gaming floor)
State: NRS §463.350
Door-to-door sales for minors under 16 without adult supervision
State: NRS §609.245
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Nevada hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Nevada-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Nevada 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
- 8 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); not required when total daily work is under 3.5 hours.
Nevada has no minor-specific break statute (Chapter 609 covers only age, hours, and prohibited occupations), so teens are covered by the general all-employee law, NRS 608.019. An employer may not work an employee a continuous 8 hours without allowing a meal period of at least 30 minutes (a break under 30 minutes does not interrupt continuous work). Separately, employers must permit a paid 10-minute rest period for each 4 hours worked or major fraction, counted as hours worked — no rest break is required when total daily work is under 3.5 hours. The meal period is unpaid. The law does not apply to a business with only one employee or to workers under a collective bargaining agreement.
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: Nev. Rev. Stat. § 608.019
Pay & minimum wage
Nevada 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 Nevada 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.
Nevada's minimum wage is set by the state Constitution (Art. 15, § 16) at a single flat rate above the federal $7.25, and the Nevada Supreme Court has held the constitutional exemptions supersede the older statutory ones. An ordinary teen at a regular for-profit first job is a covered 'employee' and must receive the full state minimum certificate-free. The constitution's only youth-relevant carve-outs are (1) a minor employed by a nonprofit organization for after-school or summer employment, and (2) a person employed as a trainee for no longer than 90 days — defined by reference to the federal FLSA § 206(g) youth-wage mechanism rather than a distinct Nevada dollar rate. Because Nevada creates no certificate-free general youth, training, or opportunity wage of its own, this is full-state-min-no-subminimum.
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: Nev. Const. art. 15, § 16; NAC 608.100; NRS ch. 608
Agricultural work carve-out
Nevada 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.
Nevada's child-labor framework explicitly carves agricultural work out of two of its most prescriptive provisions: § 609.180's judicial-permission requirement for inside employment of children under 14 expressly does not apply to farmwork (alongside housework and motion-picture performance), and § 609.240's under-16 hour cap of 48 hours per week / 8 hours per day expressly does not apply to minors working on a farm. Family-farm work is exempt from the limitations on hours and types of work that would otherwise apply by age group, though even on family farms the federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 prohibitions on hazardous occupations remain in force for minors under 18. The federal § 213(c) floor governs commercial agricultural employment: 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 employment certificate is required for agricultural work — Nevada's court-issued Permit to Work for minors under 16 is for non-farm employment.
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: NRS Chapter 609 (Employment of Minors) — § 609.180 (judicial permission for under-14 excludes farmwork); § 609.240 (under-16 hour cap excludes farm work)
Family-business carve-out
Nevada 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.
Nevada's Chapter 609 child-labor framework carries the federal parent-employed exemption forward. The state's distinctive court-issued Permit to Work requirement (Nevada is one of the few states where minor work permits are issued by the district court rather than the school) does not separately reach minors working in a parent-owned non-hazardous business — federal § 213(c)(1)(C) governs, and the related § 609.180 judicial-permission requirement for under-14 inside employment expressly excludes work performed for parents. NRS § 609.240's under-16 hour cap of 48 hours per week / 8 hours per day applies 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 Nevada's distinctive prohibition on gaming-floor work for under-21 carries through regardless of parent ownership. Parent-owned manufacturing or mining employment for under-16 remains barred by federal law. Verify the specific business context with the Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner before relying on the carve-out.
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: NRS Chapter 609 (Employment of Minors); § 609.190 (parent-employed exemption from under-14 inside-employment restriction); federal mirror of 29 USC § 213(c)(1)(C)
Entertainment-industry work
Nevada 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 Nevada 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: Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 609 (Employment of Minors)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://labor.nv.gov/Other/Minors/
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Nevada Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Nevada?
- Yes — under Nevada 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 Nevada work permit is required.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in Nevada?
- When school is in session, Nevada 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 Nevada require a work permit for minors?
- Yes — Nevada requires a work permit for minors aged 14-15 (form: Nevada Permit to Work for Minors Under 16). Minors under 16 must obtain a Permit to Work from the district court in the county where they live. The minor's parent or guardian presents proof of age and the application; the court verifies the minor's school enrollment before issuing. 16- and 17-year-olds do not need a permit; the employer keeps age verification on file.
- How many hours can a 16-year-old work during summer in Nevada?
- During summer or school breaks, Nevada allows a 16-year-old to work up to 8 hours per school day, up to 48 hours per week. 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 Nevada?
- Yes. Nevada requires a 30-minute unpaid meal break once a worker reaches 8 consecutive hours; the rule applies to all employees, including minors. Nevada 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 Nevada?
- Generally no. Nevada 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 Nevada Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Nevada?
- Nevada 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 Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 609 (Employment of Minors) citation on this page for the statutory source.