NC · State teen labor law
North Carolina teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
North Carolina requires a Youth Employment Certificate for every minor under 18, issued online by the NC Department of Labor and reissued for each new job. 16-17-year-olds face no weekly hour cap but cannot work between 11:00 PM and 5:00 AM on school nights without a written waiver.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
North Carolina 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
- No state limit
- Max hours per week
- No state limit
- Time window
- 05:00 – 23:00
Note: No state hour cap, but 16-17-year-olds may not work between 11:00 PM and 5:00 AM when a school day follows. Parent and principal may waive the time-of-day restriction in writing.
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
Note: Time-of-day restrictions lift when no school day follows; federal FLSA has no hour cap for this age group.
Work permit
North Carolina requires a work permit for minors aged 14–17.
The minor and a parent or guardian apply online through the NC Department of Labor's youth-employment portal. The certificate is electronic, free, and reissued for each new employer. The employer must keep a copy on file.
Form: Youth Employment Certificate (YEC)
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in North Carolina, 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
Tobacco harvesting for minors under 14
State: NC Gen Stat §95-25.5(j)
Door-to-door sales for minors under 16 without adult supervision
State: NC Gen Stat §95-25.5(h)
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the North Carolina hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus North Carolina-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
North Carolina 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.
North Carolina's Youth Employment provision bars employing a youth under 16 for more than five consecutive hours without an interval of at least 30 minutes for rest; a break of less than 30 minutes does not interrupt the count of continuous hours. The rule lives in § 95-25.5(e) — not subsection (d), which governs newspaper distribution by youth 13 and under. It does not reach 16- and 17-year-olds: the NC Department of Labor confirms there are no required meal or rest breaks for workers 16 and older. The break is unpaid when the teen is fully relieved of duty, and North Carolina has no general all-employee meal- or rest-break law, so this child-labor rule is the only break mandate.
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: N.C.G.S. § 95-25.5(e)
Pay & minimum wage
North Carolina lets some teens, or inexperienced first-job and trainee workers, be paid below the standard state minimum wage. The structure below is stable, but the dollar amount changes almost every year — confirm the current figure with the North Carolina Department of Labor.
- How minors are paid
- Youth / training subminimum allowed
- State minimum wage
- Set by state law
- Below-minimum youth rate
- Permitted
- Subminimum structure
- Full-time students, learners, apprentices, and messengers (as defined under the FLSA) may be paid 90% of the standard rate, rounded to the lowest nickel (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 95-25.3(b)).
North Carolina sets its minimum at the higher of its own floor or the federal rate (currently the same), and writes a 90% subminimum directly into statute for full-time students, learners, apprentices, and messengers — a rate a first-job teen can fall under without any certificate. The federal $4.25 90-day youth wage is also available because the state ties to the FLSA.
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
North Carolina 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.
North Carolina exempts agricultural employment from its state youth-employment provisions: per N.C.G.S. § 95-25.14(a)(1), any person employed in agriculture as defined under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act is exempt from the state Wage and Hour Act's youth-employment requirements. The NC Department of Labor confirms agricultural employers are not required to obtain a state Youth Employment Certificate to employ youth under 18. Federal FLSA § 213(c) and federal Ag HO-1 through Ag HO-11 (29 CFR § 570.71) govern: minimum age 14 for off-family-farm ag outside school hours; 12 with parental consent on small farms; a 10-11 hand-harvest short-season waiver; the federal parent-owned farm exemption applies (no minimum age, parental waiver of Ag HOs for under-16). 16+ minimum for federal Ag HOs. Important carryover: § 95-25.5's prohibition on federally-declared hazardous occupations still binds even when other state youth-employment provisions are bypassed — meaning a minor cannot work in any FLSA-declared hazardous ag job within NC.
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: N.C.G.S. §§ 95-25.5 (Youth Employment), 95-25.14(a)(1) (Wage and Hour Act — agriculture exemption)
Family-business carve-out
North Carolina 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.
North Carolina's Wage and Hour Act under N.C.G.S. § 95-25.5 carries the parent-employed exemption — a minor employed by his or her parent in a non-hazardous occupation is exempt from the state Youth Employment Certificate and the related hour-cap requirements (3 hrs/school day, 8 hrs/non-school day, 18 hrs/school week, 40 hrs/non-school week for under-16; 11 PM curfew on school nights for 14-15-year-olds). Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply, and § 95-25.5(o) provides the state hazardous-occupations list that carries through regardless of who employs the minor — mining, manufacturing, slaughter, roofing, etc. remain prohibited. Verify procedural details with the NC Department of Labor.
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: N.C.G.S. § 95-25.5(a) (youth employment); § 95-25.5(o) (hazardous occupations); § 95-25.14 (exemptions)
Entertainment-industry work
North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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: NC General Statutes §§ 95-25.5 and 95-25.5A (Wage and Hour Act)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://www.labor.nc.gov/workplace-rights/youth-employment-rules
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the North Carolina Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in North Carolina?
- Yes — under North Carolina 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 North Carolina work permit is required.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in North Carolina?
- When school is in session, North Carolina 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 North Carolina require a work permit for minors?
- Yes — North Carolina requires a work permit for minors aged 14-17 (form: Youth Employment Certificate (YEC)). The minor and a parent or guardian apply online through the NC Department of Labor's youth-employment portal. The certificate is electronic, free, and reissued for each new employer. The employer must keep a copy on file.
- Does a minor get a meal break in North Carolina?
- Yes. North Carolina 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 North Carolina?
- Sometimes. North Carolina lets some teens, or inexperienced first-job and trainee workers, be paid below the standard state minimum wage without a special certificate. Full-time students, learners, apprentices, and messengers (as defined under the FLSA) may be paid 90% of the standard rate, rounded to the lowest nickel (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 95-25.3(b)). Minimum-wage dollar amounts change almost every year, so confirm the current figure with the North Carolina Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in North Carolina?
- North Carolina 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 NC General Statutes §§ 95-25.5 and 95-25.5A (Wage and Hour Act) citation on this page for the statutory source.