Permits, hours & minimum wage: what Colorado law actually requires before your first shift, and the federal rule that can legally cut your pay to $4.25 an hour.
Three things decide what your first job in Colorado can look like: Colorado wants a work permit in your hand before your first shift, not after, the state adds no hour limits once you turn 16, and the minimum wage is $15.16. They come from three different rulebooks, and two of them change on your 16th birthday.
Where the jobs are: Two seasons, two markets. Ski towns like Vail, Breckenridge and Steamboat hire hard from November, while Denver and Boulder run year-round retail and food service.
Yes, if you are under 16, when working during school hours. Colorado requires a work permit (an employment or age certificate) before you start work, issued by your school.
The exact form differs by state, but the sequence is almost always the same, and skipping a step is the usual reason a permit gets delayed:
Two rulebooks apply depending on your age. Under 16 the federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets limits that hold in every state. At 16 and 17 federal law sets none at all, so Colorado having no rules of its own is the reason there is no cap on you at that age.
These are the federal limits, and they apply in Colorado:
| Limit | Rule |
|---|---|
| Hours per school day | 3 maximum |
| Hours per school week | 18 maximum |
| Hours per non-school day | 8 maximum |
| Hours per non-school week | 40 maximum |
| Earliest start | 7:00 a.m. |
| Latest finish | 7:00 p.m. |
| Latest finish, June 1 to Labor Day | 9:00 p.m. |
Colorado adds no hour or night-work limits at 16 and 17. Federal law sets none either, which means there is no legal cap on how many hours you work or how late you finish. Your limits are your school schedule, your parents, and what you can actually sustain.
Federal law requires no breaks at any age, so anything you get in Colorado comes from state law rather than federal. Most states do require a break for workers under 18, commonly 30 minutes once you have worked four or five hours straight, and many of those same states require nothing at all for adults. Because the trigger point and the length both vary, confirm Colorado's current rule with the state labor department before you assume a long shift comes with one.
As of January 1, 2026 the Colorado minimum wage is $15.16 an hour.
| Situation | 2026 rate |
|---|---|
| Most employees | $15.16/hr |
| Under 20, first 90 consecutive days | $4.25/hr (federal youth wage) |
| Tipped employees | A lower cash wage plus tips, which must reach the full rate |
Work rules stop at the state line, and if you live near one it is worth knowing which side is easier to get hired on:
| State | Work permit | Min wage 2026 | Hours at 16 to 17 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | Under 16 | $15.16 | No state cap |
| Wyoming | None required | $7.25 | No state cap |
| Nebraska | Under 16 | $15.00 | No state cap |
| Kansas | Under 16 | $7.25 | No state cap |
| New Mexico | Ages 14 and 15 | $12.00 | No state cap |
Federal law bars anyone under 18 from occupations classed as hazardous, and states add their own lists on top. In practice that is why teen jobs cluster in food service, retail, recreation and childcare. The restrictions cover things like operating most power-driven machinery, roofing, demolition, and work at significant heights, and they are stricter at 14 and 15 than at 16 and 17. Resort work is where this bites most often: lift operation, snow machinery and back-of-house kitchen equipment all sit on or near the restricted list, even when the resort is short-staffed. Before accepting anything involving machinery, ladders, or a commercial kitchen's slicers and mixers, check the current list with the Colorado labor department.
Yes, if you are under 16, when working during school hours. The certificate is issued by your school, and it has to be in place before your first shift rather than after you are hired.
There is no legal maximum. Colorado sets no hour or night-work limits for 16- and 17-year-olds, and federal law sets none either, so the only real limits are your school schedule and what you can sustain.
Up to 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week, or 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week when school is out, between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and extending to 9:00 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day. Those are the federal limits and they apply in Colorado as they do everywhere. On top of the hours, a 15-year-old in Colorado needs a work permit from your school.
$15.16 an hour as of January 1, 2026. Federal law separately allows a youth wage of $4.25 an hour for workers under 20 during their first 90 consecutive calendar days with an employer, after which you move to the full rate.
Federal law requires no breaks at any age, so anything you get in Colorado comes from state law rather than federal. Most states do require a break for workers under 18, commonly 30 minutes once you have worked four or five hours straight, and many of those same states require nothing at all for adults. Because the trigger point and the length both vary, confirm Colorado's current rule with the state labor department before you assume a long shift comes with one.
Fourteen for most non-farm jobs, which is the federal floor and applies in Colorado as everywhere else. Below 14 the exceptions are narrow: babysitting, newspaper delivery, working for your parents in a non-hazardous business, and performing. If you are not 14 yet, babysitting is the realistic route, and the age and licensing rules for that in Colorado are different from the employment rules on this page.