You generally cannot get a job at 11 years old in the ordinary sense — no store, restaurant, or office can put an 11-year-old on payroll. Federal law sets 14 as the youngest age for most non-agricultural employment, and 16 as the general standard. But an 11-year-old can still earn money legally through a narrow set of exceptions: working for a parent’s business, casual jobs around the neighborhood, acting and performing, delivering newspapers, and certain farm work.
Why a Regular Job Isn’t an Option at 11
The Fair Labor Standards Act sets a minimum working age of 16 for non-agricultural jobs. The Secretary of Labor allows 14- and 15-year-olds to work in certain occupations outside manufacturing and mining, but that permission stops at 14. Below that, covered employment is essentially prohibited.1U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
State law adds a second layer. Every state has its own child labor rules, and when federal and state rules both apply, the stricter one controls.1U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations The practical result is the same across the country: an 11-year-old cannot be hired for a standard job.
Jobs an 11-Year-Old Can Legally Do
Federal law recognizes a handful of specific categories where younger children can work. These are deliberate exceptions, not loopholes, and each one comes with its own limits.
Working for a Parent’s Business
A child of any age can work for a business owned entirely by their parent, or by someone standing in place of a parent. The limits: kids under 16 still can’t work in manufacturing or mining, and no one under 18 can do work the Secretary of Labor has declared hazardous.2eCFR. 29 CFR 570.126 – Parental Exemption So an 11-year-old can help out at a parent’s bakery, retail shop, or landscaping business. Operating heavy machinery or working in a factory is off-limits regardless of who owns the place.
The exemption only applies when the child works exclusively for the parent. If your child comes along to help you do work for your own employer, the Department of Labor treats the child as employed by both you and that employer, and the exemption is gone.2eCFR. 29 CFR 570.126 – Parental Exemption
Casual Work Around the Neighborhood
The FLSA only governs formal employment relationships. Plenty of the ways an 11-year-old actually earns money fall entirely outside it. The Department of Labor specifically notes that children can perform minor chores around private homes and do casual babysitting without running into federal child labor rules.1U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations Helping a neighbor with yard work also sits outside FLSA coverage.3U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules
Babysitting, mowing lawns, shoveling driveways, walking dogs, watering plants for neighbors on vacation, washing cars, helping at garage sales — all legal, all common. What keeps these outside the rules is that there’s no employer-employee relationship. The child is doing occasional tasks for individuals, not working a scheduled job for a business.
The line moves if the arrangement starts looking like a real job. An 11-year-old who walks one neighbor’s dog a few times a week is doing casual work. An 11-year-old hired by a pet-sitting company to walk dogs on a set schedule is in an employment relationship, and child labor law comes back into play. Keep it informal and it stays outside federal regulation.
Acting and Performing
The FLSA’s child labor rules do not apply to young people employed as actors or performers in movies, theater, radio, or television.4U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules Advisor – Exemptions That doesn’t mean the work is unregulated. It means the regulation happens at the state level. States with significant entertainment industries typically require work permits, cap hours on set, require on-set tutoring during the school year, and add other protections.
Several states also require a portion of a young performer’s earnings to be placed in a protected trust account, often called a Coogan account. California, for example, requires employers to set aside 15 percent of the minor’s gross earnings in a blocked trust preserved for the child.5California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6752 If your 11-year-old lands a role, look up your state’s rules on permits, trust accounts, and hours before the first day on set.
Newspaper Delivery
Federal child labor rules do not apply to delivering newspapers to consumers.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 213 – Exemptions The FLSA sets no minimum age for it, so state law and the newspaper’s own policies control. Traditional paper routes have thinned out considerably, so this exception matters less in practice than it used to.
Farm Work
Agriculture runs on its own set of rules, and they’re more permissive for younger kids. A child under 12 can work outside of school hours in non-hazardous farm jobs on a small farm that is exempt from federal minimum wage requirements, as long as a parent gives written consent. Children of any age can work at any time on a farm owned or operated by their parent.7U.S. Department of Labor. Agricultural Jobs – Under 12
Even on a parent’s farm, certain tasks are off-limits for anyone under 16. The Department of Labor has identified 11 categories of hazardous agricultural work, including operating a tractor over 20 horsepower, using power-driven harvesting or processing equipment, handling pesticides labeled “Danger” or “Warning,” working at heights above 20 feet, and working inside grain silos or manure pits.8U.S. Department of Labor. Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor – Prohibited Occupations for Agricultural Employees These are ordinary tasks in commercial farming, which is why the list is long and strictly enforced.
Work Permits and Parental Consent
Most states require minors to get a work permit or employment certificate before starting a job, and this requirement often reaches down to the exempt categories younger children can work in. Permits are typically issued through the minor’s school, the state labor department, or both.9U.S. Department of Labor. Employment/Age Certificate The application generally requires proof of age (birth certificate or passport), the parent or guardian’s written consent, verification of school enrollment, and sometimes a statement from the employer describing the job and hours.
An 11-year-old performing on stage or in film almost certainly needs a state-issued permit. So does a child working regularly in a parent’s business in many states. Your school guidance office or state labor department website is the right starting point for the exact process where you live.
What About Hour Limits?
The FLSA sets hard hour limits for 14- and 15-year-olds — how much they can work on school days, non-school days, and how late in the evening.10eCFR. 29 CFR 570.35 – Hours of Work and Conditions of Employment Permitted for Minors 14 and 15 Years of Age Those federal hour rules do not directly govern the exempt categories open to an 11-year-old. States often impose their own hour limits on younger workers in a parent’s business or in entertainment, so if your child is working in one of those categories, check your state’s rules for the specific age group.
Taxes on What an 11-Year-Old Earns
Age doesn’t determine tax liability — income does. If your child earns enough, they may need to file a federal return. For the 2025 tax year, a dependent child had to file if earned income exceeded $15,750.11Internal Revenue Service. Check if You Need to File a Tax Return The thresholds adjust annually, so check the IRS for current numbers.
Most 11-year-olds doing casual babysitting or yard work won’t approach that threshold. A child performing regularly in entertainment or working steady hours in a parent’s business could. If the child is an employee, the employer withholds Social Security and Medicare taxes from every paycheck no matter the amount. One useful exception: a child employed by a parent’s sole proprietorship doesn’t owe Social Security or Medicare taxes until age 18.
The federal youth minimum wage of $4.25 per hour applies to workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days on a job.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 206 – Minimum Wages Some states set their own minimum wage higher and don’t allow a youth sub-minimum, in which case the state rate wins.
The short version for parents: an 11-year-old has real ways to earn money, but the options are narrow and the rules matter. If someone offers your 11-year-old what sounds like a regular job and it doesn’t fit one of the categories above, that’s a signal to walk away.