TN · State teen labor law
Tennessee teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Tennessee follows the federal FLSA caps for 14-15-year-olds and imposes no weekly hour limit on 16-17-year-olds. The only state-specific restriction for older teens is a 10:00 PM curfew on school nights. No state work permit is required.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Tennessee 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: 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 from the day after school closes through Labor Day.
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
- 06:00 – 22:00
Note: No state hour cap, but 16-17-year-olds may not work between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM on nights preceding a school day. Up to midnight with written parental consent.
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 on non-school nights; federal FLSA has no cap for this age group.
Work permit
Tennessee does not require a state-issued work permit for minors.
Tennessee does not require a state-issued work permit. Employers must keep age verification on file (driver's license, certified birth certificate, or state ID) and a copy of the school's certification of compliance for minors under 18 who are still enrolled.
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Tennessee, 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: T.C.A. §50-5-107
Sale or service of alcohol for minors under 18
State: T.C.A. §57-3-406
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Tennessee hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Tennessee-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Tennessee 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
- 6 consecutive hours
- Pay treatment
- Unpaid
Unpaid when the teen is completely relieved of duty.
A minor scheduled to work 6 consecutive hours must get a 30-minute unpaid meal or rest break, and it may not be scheduled during or before the first hour of work. The trigger is 6 hours. Tennessee's general all-employee rule (§ 50-2-103) uses the same 30-minute / 6-hour language, but for minors the Child Labor Act provision governs.
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.
Pay & minimum wage
Tennessee 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
- Federal $4.25 youth minimum for under-20s during the first 90 consecutive calendar days (29 USC § 206(g)).
The federal minimum applies instead.
Tennessee sets no minimum-wage rate of its own. Its only related statute (Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-2-114) simply requires employers to pay at least the federal minimum rather than creating an independent state rate. So the federal structure controls: a $7.25 standard minimum and a $4.25 youth minimum for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days.
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
Tennessee 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.
Tennessee's Child Labor Act of 1976 excludes agricultural work from its general age, hour, and permit provisions — § 50-5-107 lists farm-work minors among the exempt categories. § 50-3-920 expressly bars the state from regulating or enforcing changes in federal child-labor regulations relating to work on farms, meaning Tennessee will not impose state-level restrictions beyond what the federal Wage & Hour Division enforces. The federal § 213(c) floor governs entirely: 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 federal minimum-wage rules. § 50-5-107 also exempts any child engaged in farm work for the child's parent, covering family farms at any age. Federal Ag HO-1 to Ag HO-11 govern at 16+ off the family farm. No state employment certificate is required for agricultural work, and Tennessee does not impose daily/weekly state hour caps on minors in agriculture.
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: T.C.A. §§ 50-5-107 (exempt minors), 50-3-920 (no state enforcement of federal farm-labor changes)
Family-business carve-out
Tennessee 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.
Tennessee's Child Labor Act at § 50-5-107 explicitly exempts minors employed by a parent (or person standing in loco parentis) in a non-hazardous occupation from the act's age, hour, and certificate provisions. For a parent-owned non-agricultural business in Tennessee, no state employment certificate is required, and the state's hour caps under §§ 50-5-103, 50-5-105 do not apply to the parent-employed minor. Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply, and Tennessee's hazardous-occupations list at § 50-5-106 carries through regardless of parent ownership — mining, manufacturing, slaughter, roofing, and other HO-listed occupations remain prohibited regardless of who the employer is.
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: T.C.A. § 50-5-107 (exempt minors); § 50-5-106 (hazardous occupations)
Entertainment-industry work
Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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: Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 50-5-101 to 50-5-121 (Child Labor Act)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://www.tn.gov/workforce/employees/labor-laws/labor-laws-redirect/child-labor.html
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Tennessee Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Tennessee?
- Yes — under Tennessee 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 Tennessee?
- When school is in session, Tennessee 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 Tennessee require a work permit for minors?
- Tennessee does not require a state-issued work permit for minors. Employers still must follow federal FLSA rules on hour caps and restricted occupations.
- Does a minor get a meal break in Tennessee?
- Yes. Tennessee requires a 30-minute unpaid meal break once a worker reaches 6 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 Tennessee?
- Yes, for a limited window. Tennessee 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 Tennessee Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Tennessee?
- Tennessee 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 Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 50-5-101 to 50-5-121 (Child Labor Act) citation on this page for the statutory source.