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If you are aged 14-17 you will need an employment certificate, also called working papers, in order to hold a job in New York State.
This rule covers:
Working papers are divided into two age groups (14-15 and 16-17):
14-15-year-olds - Your working papers are blue. If you are 14 and 15 years old, you are issued these working papers because you are not allowed to work in a factory.
16-17-year-olds (in school) - Your working papers are green. The difference between 14-15 year old working papers and 16-17 year old working papers is that you are allowed to work in a factory. You cannot work around certain machines, do construction work, help on a motor vehicle, clean, oil, wipe, or adjust belts on machinery.
16-17-year-olds (out of school) - Your working papers are peach. If you are 16 to 17 years old and are not in school or are leaving school for full time employment, you will need these working papers. You are allowed to work in a factory, cannot work around certain machines, do construction work, help on a motor vehicle, or clean, oil, wipe, or adjust belts on machinery.
Student Non-Factory Employment Certificate - AT-18 (Blue Paper)
Student General Employment Certificate - AT-19 (Green Paper)
Full-Time Employment Certificate - AT-20 (Salmon Paper)
Farm Work Permit
Newspaper Carrier Permits - AT-23
Street Trades Permits - AT-26 (Ivory Paper)
You will need to have had a doctor's exam within the last 12 months saying you are physically fit. A physical given at a school for sports will count for your physical exam. If you are not sure where you can get a physical, ask your guidance office or call your doctor.
You will also need official identification o that you can provide proof of age, such as your birth certificate, a state-issued photo ID, driver's license, or passport. Below is information on how to obtain important documents if you do not have them.
School officials issue all working papers, except for child performer permits.
1. Fill out the application and have your parent or guardian sign the application.
2. When you have filled out the working papers application and had your parent or guardian sign it, you have to take it back to the school's guidance office.
If you have dropped out of school, to get a full-time employment certificate, your parent or guardian must come with you to give consent in person at the issuing office.
If you are 16 years old, have dropped out of school, and live in New York City or Buffalo, you also must have an employer who wants to hire you and will sign a pledge of employment on your application form.
3. Your employer must keep Student Non-Factory, Student General, Full-Time, and Limited Employment Certificates on file at the place where you work, as long as you keep the job.
4. You must keep your Farm Work Permits, Model Permits, Newspaper Carrier Permits, and Street Trade Permits in your possession at all times.
If you are 12 or 13
When you do not need to attend school, you may work for your parents on the home farm or at other work not connected with a business. You do not need working papers and there are no hour limits.
You may work on another farm picking berries, fruits or vegetables. You must be with a parent or give your parent's written permission to the employer. You need a Farm Work Permit and you are limited to work between:
Ages 11-18
If you are 11 to 18 years old, you may work as a newspaper carrier. You need a Newspaper Carrier Permit and you are limited to work between:
No one under 16 may work on the factory floor, but 14- or 15-year- olds may work in delivery and desk jobs in a factory office. The office must be enclosed and separate from the manufacturing area. The office must have a partition at least seven feet high, and must have a separate entrance so that young people may enter or leave without passing through the factory workroom.
A minor of 14 or 15 also may work in a delivery job or at a counter in a service store where goods belonging to customers are cleaned, pressed, altered or repaired, such as a:
You may not:
There are two major jobs related to newspaper sales and delivery. They are newspaper carrier and “street trades.”
A newspaper carrier is one who delivers, or sells and delivers, newspapers, shopping papers, or periodicals to customers at their homes or places of business.
The minimum age for a newspaper carrier is 11. (See footnote on Page XX) All newspaper carriers from ages 11 through 17 must have a permit.
Allowed hours for newspaper carriers ages11 through 17 are:
A Newspaper Carrier Permit is not valid for work as a helper on a newspaper delivery truck that delivers papers to stores or distributors. It is not valid for work as a helper on a motor vehicle that delivers papers to homes. Work as a helper on any motor vehicle is forbidden until age 18.
The newspaper publisher or distributor who supplies the papers or periodicals to the carrier must have Workers’ Compensation insurance for them. A newspaper publisher or distributor who knowingly permits a newspaper carrier to work in violation of the law pays a double Workers Compensation award if the minor is hurt. Only half that award can be covered by insurance. The publisher or distributor must pay the other half out of pocket. If there was no insurance, all of it must be paid out of pocket.
It is against the law to knowingly supply newspapers or periodicals to a newspaper carrier who does not comply with the rules. The Department of Labor and the police have shared power to enforce the law.
(Note: These newspaper carrier rules do not apply to a minor who sells newspapers at a stand owned either by a candy store proprietor or by a newspaper publisher or distributor. This is covered by the parts of the Labor Law that apply to minors employed in other industries or occupations.)
The “street trades” are:
The minimum age for such work is 14. Young persons from ages 14 through 17, who work on the street, must have a street trades permit issued by a school official. They must carry it while working.
Allowed hours for street trades by minors 14 through 17 are:
The Department of Labor and the police have shared power to enforce the street trades rules.
If you are in an approved work-study program, you may work up to 23 hours in a week.
When school is not in session, you may work six days a week, up to eight hours in any one day and up to 40 hours in any one week. (If school is closed for the entire week, then it is not in session.)
Hours regulations do not apply to farm work.
You need working papers for any job except:
Ages 14-18
If you are 14 to 18 years old, you may work at a street trade, such as selling or distributing newspapers or periodicals or shining shoes. You may work for four hours between 6 AM and 7 PM on any day when school is in session and five hours a day on any day when school is not in session. You need a Street Trades Permit.
During school you may work:
Maximum work is 18 hours per week.
Age 16 or 17
You may work in a factory, as well as other places. You still cannot work in construction.
Maximum 28 hrs/wk
Generally, you may not work between 10 PM and 6 AM. To work between 10 PM and midnight on a day before a school day, you need written permission from a parent or guardian and from your school. You need written permission from only your parent or guardian to work between 10 PM and midnight on a day before a nonschool day. Students enrolled in an approved Cooperative Education Program may work up to 6 hours the day before a school day, as long as the hours are part of the program.
During vacation (school must be closed for the entire week), you may work up to 6 days, 48 hours a week, for 8 hours a day between the hours of 6 AM and midnight.
If you work at a street trade, you may work four hours on any school day and five hours on any non-school day; you may not work between 7 PM and 6 AM. You need a Street Trades Permit.
You need working papers for any job except the following:
College Students
A college student does not need working papers if employed by:
To get more details, call the NYS Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards office in your area (link to regional offices).
General information on the provisions of the Labor Law and other laws governing the employment of minors in New York State.
