VA · State teen labor law
Virginia teen labor law — work hours, permits, and restricted jobs
Virginia requires an Employment Certificate for minors 14-15 through the state DOLI portal and follows the federal FLSA hour caps for that age group. 16-17-year-olds face no weekly hour cap and the only time restriction is a midnight curfew.
Quick facts
School year vs summer hour caps
Virginia 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 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
- — – 00:00
Note: Virginia imposes no state weekly hour cap on 16-17-year-olds. Minors under 18 may not work past midnight without 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: No state hour limit during school breaks; federal FLSA has no cap for this age group in non-hazardous work.
Work permit
Virginia requires a work permit for minors aged 14–15.
Minors 14-15 apply through the Virginia DOLI online portal. The employer provides a Statement of Intent to Employ; a parent or guardian and the school sign off on the application. The certificate is job-specific. 16- and 17-year-olds do not need a permit but the employer must keep age verification on file.
Form: Employment Certificate for Minors Under 16
Virginia work-permit reference (official source) →
Jobs by age
Age-specific guides to common allowed jobs in Virginia, 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: VA Code §40.1-100.1
Tobacco-products sales for minors under 16
State: VA Code §40.1-100
See the full federal hazardous orders (HO-1 to HO-17) for plain-English summaries, or the Virginia hazardous-orders deep-dive for the federal floor plus Virginia-specific additions.
Breaks & meal periods
Virginia 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.
No child may work more than 5 hours continuously without a meal interval of at least 30 minutes. Although the statute reads "no child" without naming an age, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry applies the break requirement only to workers under 16, consistent with the chapter's under-16 hour rules. The provision was retained in the 2025 amendments. The break is unpaid, and Virginia has no general adult break law.
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: Va. Code § 40.1-80.1(B)
Pay & minimum wage
Virginia 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 Virginia 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
- Training wage: the greater of the federal minimum or 75% of the Virginia minimum, for up to 90 days in a training program (Va. Code § 40.1-28.10(A)(2)). Several minors are exempt from the state minimum entirely (see note).
Virginia pays covered employees the full state minimum, but two structures let a minor be paid less. (1) A training wage — the greater of the federal minimum or 75% of the Virginia minimum — applies for up to 90 days to workers in a training program. (2) Several minors are exempt from the Virginia Minimum Wage Act altogether, including those under 16 and full-time students under 18 working 20 hours or fewer per week; an exempt minor falls to the federal floor. Virginia issues no subminimum-wage certificates.
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: Va. Code §§ 40.1-28.10, 40.1-28.9
Agricultural work carve-out
Virginia 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.
Virginia explicitly carves agricultural work out of its general minor-employment regulations — 16 VAC 15-50-50 states that the "general industry regulations" do not apply to agriculture, so neither the standard state hour caps nor the state Employment Certificate is required for farm work. § 40.1-100 sets two farm-specific allowances: 14- and 15-year-olds may perform work as a helper on a truck or commercial vehicle while engaged exclusively on a farm, in a garden, or in an orchard, and 16- and 17-year-olds may operate (or assist in operating) a truck other than a tractor-trailer, or a farm vehicle, on a farm. Practical age tiers under § 40.1-100 + federal: 12 and 13 may work outside school hours on farms, in orchards, or in gardens with the consent of a parent (mirroring the federal '12-13 with parental consent' tier). 16 VAC 15-50-20 mirrors the federal Ag HO list — corn pickers, hay balers, anhydrous ammonia handling, breeding stock, chain saws, certain tractors — at 16+ off the family farm, with student-learner and 4-H tractor-certification carve-outs at 14-15. 16 VAC 15-50-50 provides the family-farm exemption: a parent (or person standing in place of a parent) employing a child below 16 on a farm owned or operated by such parent is exempt from the hazardous-occupation restrictions.
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: Va. Code § 40.1-100; 16 VAC 15-50-20, 16 VAC 15-50-50 (hours and general regs do not apply to agriculture)
Family-business carve-out
Virginia 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.
Virginia § 40.1-79.01(C) exempts from the Employment Certificate requirement "a child who is employed by his or her parent or person standing in the position of a parent in an occupation other than a hazardous occupation as defined in this chapter." The federal § 213(c)(1)(C) parent-owned-business framework governs hour caps and time-of-day restrictions — no state hour cap applies to a minor working for a parent in a parent-owned non-hazardous business under § 40.1-79.01(C). Federal hazardous orders HO-1 through HO-17 always apply, and Virginia's state hazardous-occupations list under § 40.1-100.1 carries through regardless of parent ownership. Verify exact procedural details (whether a written wage agreement is required even when no Employment Certificate is) with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry.
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: Va. Code § 40.1-79.01(C) (Employment Certificate exemption); § 40.1-100 (family-farm carve-out); 16 VAC 15-30 (general regs)
Entertainment-industry work
Virginia 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 Virginia 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: Virginia Code §§ 40.1-78 to 40.1-116 (Child Labor Law)
US DOL Wage & Hour Division: https://www.doli.virginia.gov/labor-law/child-labor-laws/
Last verified:
Informational only — verify with the Virginia Department of Labor before hiring or starting work.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a 14-year-old work in Virginia?
- Yes — under Virginia 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 Virginia work permit is required.
- How many hours can a 15-year-old work during school in Virginia?
- When school is in session, Virginia 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 Virginia require a work permit for minors?
- Yes — Virginia requires a work permit for minors aged 14-15 (form: Employment Certificate for Minors Under 16). Minors 14-15 apply through the Virginia DOLI online portal. The employer provides a Statement of Intent to Employ; a parent or guardian and the school sign off on the application. The certificate is job-specific. 16- and 17-year-olds do not need a permit but the employer must keep age verification on file.
- Does a minor get a meal break in Virginia?
- Yes. Virginia 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 Virginia?
- Sometimes. Virginia lets some teens, or inexperienced first-job and trainee workers, be paid below the standard state minimum wage without a special certificate. Training wage: the greater of the federal minimum or 75% of the Virginia minimum, for up to 90 days in a training program (Va. Code § 40.1-28.10(A)(2)). Several minors are exempt from the state minimum entirely (see note). Minimum-wage dollar amounts change almost every year, so confirm the current figure with the Virginia Department of Labor. See the Pay and minimum wage section on this page.
- What jobs can a minor not do in Virginia?
- Virginia 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 Virginia Code §§ 40.1-78 to 40.1-116 (Child Labor Law) citation on this page for the statutory source.