OK · State teen labor law
Oklahoma teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Oklahoma mirrors the federal FLSA caps for 14-15-year-olds and imposes no state limit on 16-17-year-olds. No state-issued work permit is required; only federal hazardous-occupation rules apply for older teens.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Oklahoma 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: Oklahoma imposes no state hour or time-of-day restriction 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
Oklahoma does not require a state-issued work permit for minors.
Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma Department of Labor enforces child-labor rules through complaint and inspection.
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Oklahoma, 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: 40 O.S. §75
Sale or service of alcohol for minors under 18
State: 37A O.S. §6-101
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Oklahoma hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Oklahoma-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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
Oklahoma 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
- Because Oklahoma's standard rate is pegged to the federal floor, the federal structure governs: workers under 20 may be paid the federal $4.25 youth wage during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment (or until they turn 20, whichever comes first), with no special certificate required. The federal $7.25 standard minimum also applies.
The federal minimum applies instead.
Section 197.2 sets the Oklahoma minimum wage 'at the same rate as provided under section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act' (29 U.S.C. § 206) — i.e., it tracks the federal $7.25 — so the state is classified defers-to-federal (Oklahoma's own statute is credited here). Oklahoma has no state-specific certificate-free youth, training, learner, or opportunity rate distinct from the federal $4.25/90-day youth wage. Section 197.5 also carves out a lower small-employer rate for non-FLSA employers with fewer than 10 full-time employees below a gross-sales threshold; that rate is below federal, so for FLSA-covered employers the federal $7.25 governs upward.
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: Okla. Stat. tit. 40 § 197.2 (Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act, 40 O.S. § 197.1 et seq.)
Agricultural work carve-out
Oklahoma 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.
Oklahoma's Child Labor Act expressly exempts agricultural work from its general age, hour, and permit requirements. Practical tiers: minors 12+ may work in farm labor outside school hours with written parental consent (mirroring the federal '12-13 with parental consent' tier); 14+ may work in non-hazardous ag outside school hours without consent; 16+ may work in agriculture without state restrictions. The § 71 parent-owned-business exemption also covers family farms — children of any age may work in a business or farm in which a parent owns an equity interest. Federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 govern at 16+ off the family farm, with the standard parent-owned-farm exemption from those hazardous orders. No state employment certificate is required for agricultural 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: 40 O.S. §§ 71-78 (Oklahoma Child Labor Act; agriculture exempt from state act)
Family-business carve-out
Oklahoma 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.
Oklahoma's Child Labor Act at 40 O.S. § 71 explicitly carries the federal § 213(c)(1)(C) parent-employed framework: a minor working in a business or farm in which a parent owns an equity interest is exempt from the act's general age, hour, and permit requirements for non-hazardous, non-mining, non-manufacturing work. Oklahoma does not require a state Work Permit / Employment Certificate for any minor employment — the state relies on employer-maintained age verification. The 14-15-year-old federal FLSA hour caps apply to non-family-business employment; 16-17-year-olds face no state restrictions. Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply (no parent-owned-business carve-out exists for them), and parent-owned manufacturing or mining employment for under-16 remains barred by federal law regardless of parent ownership. Verify the specific business context with the Oklahoma Department of Labor 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: 40 O.S. §§ 71-78 (Oklahoma Child Labor Act — § 71 parent-owned-business exemption); federal mirror of 29 USC § 213(c)(1)(C)
Entertainment-industry work
Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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: Oklahoma Statutes Title 40 §§ 71-78 (Child Labor)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://oklahoma.gov/odol/business-services/child-labor.html
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Oklahoma Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Oklahoma?
- Yes — under Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma?
- When school is in session, Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma require a work permit for minors?
- Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma?
- Yes, for a limited window. Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Oklahoma?
- Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma Statutes Title 40 §§ 71-78 (Child Labor) citation on this page for the statutory source.