SD · State teen labor law
South Dakota teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
South Dakota gives 14-15-year-olds looser daily/evening windows than federal FLSA (4 hours on a school day, 10:00 PM cutoff) but caps the school week at 20 hours. 16-17-year-olds face no state restrictions.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
South Dakota 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)
- 4 hr
- Hrs/day (Sat / Sun / holiday)
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 20 hr
- Time window
- 07:00 – 22:00
Note: South Dakota allows up to 4 hours on a school day and a 10:00 PM cutoff (looser than the federal 3-hour / 7:00 PM caps). School-week cap of 20 hours.
Summer / school breaks
When school is out
- Max hours per day
- 8 hr
- Max hours per week
- 40 hr
- Time window
- 07:00 – 22:00
Note: Summer hours apply when school is not in session. 10:00 PM evening cutoff applies year-round.
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: South Dakota 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
South Dakota does not require a state-issued work permit for minors.
South Dakota 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 South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation enforces remaining child-labor rules through complaint and inspection.
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in South Dakota, 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: SDCL §60-12-1
Sale or service of alcohol for minors under 21
State: SDCL §35-9-1
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the South Dakota hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus South Dakota-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
South Dakota 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 South Dakota 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
South Dakota 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 South Dakota 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
- South Dakota has no certificate-free state youth or training subminimum. Workers under 18 are entitled to the full indexed state minimum wage. The only below-minimum youth path available in the state is the federal FLSA youth wage (under 20, first 90 consecutive calendar days, $4.25), which the South Dakota Department of Labor applies as a federal overlay rather than a South Dakota-specific rate.
A teen earns the full minimum; any lower rate needs a special DOL certificate.
SDCL § 60-11-3.1 is the tipped-employee minimum-wage statute (a cash wage of not less than 50% of the state minimum), not an under-18 youth minimum. South Dakota did create a separate lower youth minimum for under-18 workers via SB 177 in 2015, but voters repealed it on November 8, 2016 (Referred Law 20), so it never took effect. Today minors under 18 receive the full indexed state minimum, which is above federal, so there is a genuine state minimum and no certificate-free state youth subminimum. The federal youth wage still applies as a federal overlay but is not a South Dakota statutory structure, so it does not move the state's own classification to subminimum-allowed.
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
South Dakota 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.
South Dakota maintains explicit age tiers for agricultural employment that lean more permissive than the federal floor at the youngest tier. 10- and 11-year-olds may work outside school hours hand-harvesting crops such as fruits and vegetables (a state-level extension of the federal hand-harvest waiver for short-season crops). 12- and 13-year-olds may work outside school hours on a farm with parental consent. 14- and 15-year-olds may work outside school hours on a farm or ranch in non-hazardous tasks. 16+ have no state restrictions on agricultural employment. § 60-12-3 expressly exempts minors employed by their parents and minors who have successfully completed a safety course and received a license/permit/certificate from a state or federal agency to operate agricultural equipment (or otherwise be employed in an ag occupation within the scope of the license). 14- and 15-year-olds may perform some otherwise-hazardous farm work if enrolled in a vocational agricultural program with a written training agreement and close supervision (mirrors federal 29 CFR § 570.72(b) carve-out). Federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 govern 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: SDCL § 60-12-3 (state-tiered agricultural employment rules with 10-11 hand-harvest carve-out; parent-owned and certified-operator exemptions)
Family-business carve-out
South Dakota 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.
South Dakota's Employment of Minors framework at SDCL Chapter 60-12 carries the federal parent-employed exemption forward through § 60-12-3's express exemption of minors employed by their parents. South Dakota does not require a state Employment Certificate for any minor employment, so no state administrative layer overrides the federal carve-out. The state's distinctive 4-hour-per-school-day cap on 14-15-year-olds with 20-hour school-week ceiling applies 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 South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation 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: SDCL § 60-12-3 (parent-employed exemption); Ch. 60-12 (Employment of Minors); federal mirror of 29 USC § 213(c)(1)(C)
Entertainment-industry work
South Dakota 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 South Dakota 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: South Dakota Codified Laws Chapter 60-12 (Employment of Minors)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://dlr.sd.gov/labor_law/youth.aspx
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the South Dakota Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in South Dakota?
- Yes — under South Dakota law a 14-year-old can work up to 4 hours per school day, up to 20 hours per week, between 07:00 and 22:00.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in South Dakota?
- When school is in session, South Dakota allows a 15-year-old to work up to 4 hours per school day, up to 20 hours per week, between 07:00 and 22:00. 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 22:00.
- Does South Dakota require a work permit for minors?
- South Dakota 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 South Dakota?
- Generally no. South Dakota 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 South Dakota Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in South Dakota?
- South Dakota 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 South Dakota Codified Laws Chapter 60-12 (Employment of Minors) citation on this page for the statutory source.