Permits, hours & minimum wage: what Washington 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 Washington can look like: Washington puts the permit obligation on your employer rather than on you, the state keeps setting hour limits after you turn 16, where most of the country stops, and the minimum wage is $17.13. They come from three different rulebooks, and two of them change on your 16th birthday.
Where the jobs are: Seattle and the Puget Sound region carry the strongest year-round market and some of the highest teen wages in the country, with agriculture in the eastern half of the state shaping summer hiring.
Not you, but your employer does. Employers must hold a minor work permit endorsement on their business license to employ anyone under 18. There is nothing for you to file yourself, but a business that has not sorted its own paperwork cannot legally put you on the schedule, which is worth asking about at interview.
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 Washington adds is the entire limit you are working under.
These are the federal limits, and they apply in Washington:
| 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. |
Washington is one of the states that does set rules here:
| Limit | Rule |
|---|---|
| School week | 4 hours per school day, 8 hours Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and 20 hours per week |
| School vacations | 8 hours per day, 6 days per week, and no more than 48 hours per week |
| Time window | No earlier than 5:00 a.m. and finish by midnight |
| Sunday before school resumes | Must finish by 10:00 p.m. |
An employer can apply to L&I for a variance to go beyond 28 hours a week. From July 1, 2026 eligible 16- and 17-year-olds in college or CTE programmes may work school-week hours equal to non-school weeks.
Federal law requires no breaks at any age, so anything you get in Washington 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 Washington's current rule with the state labor department before you assume a long shift comes with one.
As of January 1, 2026 the Washington minimum wage is $17.13 an hour.
| Situation | 2026 rate |
|---|---|
| Most employees | $17.13/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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Employer holds it | $17.13 | State limits |
| Oregon | Employer holds it | $15.55 | No state cap |
| Idaho | None required | $7.25 | No state cap |
| Montana | None required | $10.85 | No state cap |
| Alaska | Under 17, plus 16- and 17-year-olds whose employer is licensed to sell alcohol | $13.00 | 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. Agriculture is the big exception to watch here: farm work runs on a separate and generally looser set of federal age rules than non-farm jobs, which is why some younger teens can legally work a harvest but not a cash register. Before accepting anything involving machinery, ladders, or a commercial kitchen's slicers and mixers, check the current list with the Washington labor department.
Not personally. In Washington, the obligation sits with the employer rather than with you: employers must hold a Minor Work Permit endorsement on their business license to employ anyone under 18.
Washington sets specific limits at 16 and 17: school week — 4 hours per school day, 8 hours Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and 20 hours per week; school vacations — 8 hours per day, 6 days per week, and no more than 48 hours per week; time window — No earlier than 5:00 a.m. and finish by midnight; sunday before school resumes — Must finish by 10:00 p.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 Washington as they do everywhere.
$17.13 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 Washington 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 Washington'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 Washington 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 Washington are different from the employment rules on this page.