You can work at 14 in Missouri. Federal law sets the floor and it is the same everywhere; Missouri can add stricter limits and may require a work permit, so both are covered below.
What federal law allows at 14
- Only outside school hours.
- Up to 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week.
- Up to 8 hours on a non-school day and 40 hours in a non-school week.
- Between 7am and 7pm — extended to 9pm from June 1 through Labor Day.
Missouri's own rules
States set their own limits on top of the federal floor — school-week hours, permit or employment-certificate requirements, and which occupations they add to the prohibited list. The Department of Labor maintains the current table for Missouri: state child labor laws. Your state labor office is the authority if anything is unclear.
What the work near you actually is
The USDA classifies Missouri's 115 counties by what their economy depends on. The most common types here are farming (26 counties), manufacturing (15 counties), government (11 counties). That is a useful shortcut for where the jobs are: a manufacturing county has warehouses, shops and suppliers hiring; a recreation county has hospitality and seasonal work that starts young; a farming county runs on agricultural rules that let you work earlier than the ones above.
19 Missouri counties are federally flagged for low post-secondary education. That is the gap a certificate closes, and it is why the funded programs exist.
What you can do at 14
- retail and grocery — cashier, bagging, stocking, price marking
- restaurants — host, busser, serving counter, kitchen work that is not cooking over open flame
- office and clerical work of any kind
- lifeguarding at 15 with certification, at traditional pools and water parks
- creative and computer work — video, design, data entry
- yard work, car washing by hand, and errands
The part almost nobody is told
Federal law funds paid work experience, tutoring and job training for young people starting at age 14 and running to 24. It is called the WIOA youth program, every county in the country is covered by a board that runs it, and the money is already appropriated whether or not anyone claims it.
Find the office covering your ZIP at CareerOneStop and say your age and "the WIOA youth program". That sentence is the whole password.
Where the openings actually are
- Your local workforce board — paid work experience through WIOA, ages 14–24: find your office.
- Your state's exact rules — the U.S. Department of Labor keeps the table: state child labor laws.
- Federal rules in full — YouthRules! from the Wage and Hour Division.
En español
Hay dinero federal para jóvenes de 14 a 24 años. El programa juvenil de WIOA paga experiencia laboral, tutoría y entrenamiento. Busca la oficina de tu código postal en CareerOneStop y di tu edad y "el programa juvenil de WIOA".
A los 14 años puedes trabajar legalmente fuera del horario escolar, hasta 3 horas en días de clase y 18 horas por semana escolar.
Las reglas exactas de tu estado están en el Departamento de Trabajo.