Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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Instructions for Form WH-14: Application for Federal Certificate of Age

Section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. 203(1), provides in part that an employer may protect against unwitting employment of "oppressive child labor" by having on file a certificate issued pursuant to U. S. Department of Labor regulations, certifying that the named person meets the FLSA minimum age requirements for employment. The regulations addressing federally issued age certificates are contained in Subpart B of 29 CFR Part 570.

Many states require that youths, or their employers, obtain and maintain State issued age certificates or "working papers" prior to the commencement of the employment of a minor. State-issued age, employment, or working certificates, which substantially meet the federal regulatory requirements of certificates of age, are an acceptable alternative to a federally issued certificate. In fact, most age certificates are issued by the states.

The federal age certificate may be obtained in those states that do not issue such certificates by submitting a completed form WH-14. The WH-14 is to be completed by both the prospective employer and the minor for whom the age certificate is requested. Either the employer or the minor may submit the WH-14 to the Wage and Hour Division. The application must be accompanied by acceptable documentary evidence of age. These documents, which are listed in order of preference on the second page of the WH-14, will be returned to the applicant.

Submit completed applications to the Wage and Hour Regional Office with jurisdiction over the state in which the work will be performed. When issued, the federal certificate of age will be forwarded to the employer (if the youth is under 18 years of age) or to the youth (if he or she is at least 18 years of age.) To locate the Regional Office with jurisdiction over a particular state, please click here: http://www.dol.gov/esa/contacts/whd/whdkeyp.htm .

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