Permits, hours & minimum wage: what Minnesota 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 Minnesota can look like: Minnesota wants a work permit in your hand before your first shift, not after, the state keeps setting hour limits after you turn 16, where most of the country stops, and the minimum wage is $11.41. They come from three different rulebooks, and two of them change on your 16th birthday.
Where the jobs are: The Twin Cities carry most year-round work, including the Mall of America, and lake-country resorts add a concentrated summer season.
Yes, if you are under 16, when working during school hours. Minnesota 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 what Minnesota adds is the entire limit you are working under.
These are the federal limits, and they apply in Minnesota:
| 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. |
Minnesota is one of the states that does set rules here:
| Limit | Rule |
|---|---|
| Hour cap | None under state law |
| High school students | No work after 11:00 p.m. before a school day, or before 5:00 a.m. on a school day |
| With written parental permission | Extends to 11:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. |
A 17-year-old who has already graduated has no work-hour restrictions at all.
Federal law requires no breaks at any age, so anything you get in Minnesota comes from state law rather than federal. Minnesota requires a documented 30-minute lunch break for anyone under 18 for each 5 hours of continuous work. That is one of the few rules where being under 18 gets you more than the adults working beside you.
As of January 1, 2026 the Minnesota minimum wage is $11.41 an hour.
| Situation | 2026 rate |
|---|---|
| Most employees | $11.41/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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | Under 16 | $11.41 | State limits |
| Wisconsin | Under 16 | $7.25 | State limits |
| Iowa | Under 16 | $7.25 | No state cap |
| North Dakota | Under 16 | $7.25 | No state cap |
| South Dakota | None required | $11.85 | 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 Minnesota 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.
Minnesota sets specific limits at 16 and 17: hour cap — None under state law; high school students — No work after 11:00 p.m. before a school day, or before 5:00 a.m. on a school day; with written parental permission — Extends to 11:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m..
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 Minnesota as they do everywhere. On top of the hours, a 15-year-old in Minnesota needs a work permit from your school.
$11.41 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 Minnesota comes from state law rather than federal. Minnesota requires a documented 30-minute lunch break for anyone under 18 for each 5 hours of continuous work. That is one of the few rules where being under 18 gets you more than the adults working beside you.
Fourteen for most non-farm jobs, which is the federal floor and applies in Minnesota 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 Minnesota are different from the employment rules on this page.