• Youth Employment Certificate Information

    Youth under the age of 18 who work in North Carolina must have a Youth Employment Certificate. You may contact the N.C. Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Bureau, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. at 1-800-625-2267, if you have questions.

    **NOTE: go to: http://www.nclabor.com/wh/yec.doc for a youth employment certificate.

    NCDOL Website

    Child Labor Teen Audience

    Teen Driving

    USDOL_Wage and Hour Division Child Labor Compliance Materials.March30_2020.pdf

    1. Minimum Age for Employment: Fourteen (14) for non-farm work with limited exceptions.Proof of age includes birth certificate, driver's license or DMV issued identification card, school records, insurance records, or other documentary evidence approved by the Department of Labor.

    2. *ABC On-premises Permit Restrictions: Please be advised that effective December 31, 2023, youth under the age of 16 will not be able to work in an establishment with an ABC on-premises permit (alcohol is served onsite), unless they are working on the outside grounds per North Carolina General Statute 91-25.5(j).  Youth under the age of 16, unless otherwise exempt, must immediately adhere to this change as of the effective date.

    3. Rest Breaks: No youth under age 16 may be employed for more than 5 consecutive hours without an interval of at least 30 minutes for rest (applies to employers who are subject to state labor law only).

    4. Hours Restrictions (14-15 year olds): Only between 7 am and 7 pm (except until 9 pm during the summer when school is not in session); only outside school hours; no more than 3 hours per day or 18 hours per week when school is in session; and, no more than 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week when school is not in session.

    5. Hours Restrictions (16-17 year olds): If regularly enrolled in grades 12 or lower, cannot be employed between 11pm and 5 amwhen there is school the next day for the youth unless the employer receives written permission from the parent/guardian and the principal or principal's designee.This restriction does not apply to youth enrolled in GED programs or who have dropped out of school.

    6. Permitted Occupations (14-15 year olds): Can only work in office or clerical occupations, in retail sales or service occupations including food service and gasoline service stations.Cannot work in manufacturing, construction, or occupations involving the use of power-driven machinery including lawn mowers.

    7. Hazardous/Detrimental Occupations (Not Permitted For Youth Under Age 18)  [*Limited apprenticeship/student learner exemptions]:

    • Manufacturing or storing explosives
    • Motor vehicle driving (limited exemption) and outside helper
    • Logging and sawmilling
    • Power-driven woodworking machines*
    • Power-driven metal forming, punching, shearing*
    • Mining
    • Slaughtering, meat packing, processing or rendering*
    • Power-driven bakery machines
    • Power-driven paper products machines*
    • Manufacturing brick or tile
    • Power-driven circular saws, band saws, or guillotine shears*
    • Wrecking, demolition and shipbreaking operations
    • Roofing operations*
    • Excavation operations*

    **NOTE: For more details on child labor/youth employment, go to: http://www.nclabor.com/wh/joint_state_fed.htm

    • Welding, brazing and torch cutting*
    • Any process where quartz or any other form of silicon dioxide or asbestos silicate are present in powdered form*
    • Any work involving exposure to lead or any of its compounds in any form*
    • Any work involving exposure to benzene or any benzene compound which is volatile or can penetrate the skin*
    • Occupations in canneries, seafood and poultry processing which involve cutting or slicing machines, or freezing or packaging activities*
    • Any work which involves the risk of falling a distance of 10 feet or more, including ladders and scaffolds*
    • Any work as an electrician or electrician’s helper*
    • Any work in confined spaces*
    • Occupations requiring the use of respirators*