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Employment Certificates for Minors

The Illinois Department of Labor oversees the safety of minors in Illinois by regulating the employment of workers under 16 years of age. The law protects children by limiting working hours, prohibiting work in hazardous occupations, and requiring employment certificates (820 ILCS 205/1-22 Child Labor Law).

In an effort to streamline the employment certificate process, the Department is moving towards a paperless system. Employment certificates for minors and Temporary Employment Certificates will only be available online. Hard copies of employment certificate forms will no longer be provided by the Department.

To facilitate this process, please provide the Department with the name and contact information of your issuing officer(s). Employment certificates will only be accepted from issuing officers.

If you are experiencing problems accessing the employment certificate, please try using Internet Explorer or if you use Chrome, right click on the link, download the certificate and select “Save link As”, it will save the pdf to your computer, then open it up with Adobe Reader.

In order to assist your students in obtaining work permits, please follow these guidelines:

  1. Access Employment Certificate Form​ or the Temporary Employment Certificate Form.
  2. Open the form and enter your password. Only the issuing officers may access the electronic form.
  3. Complete the form and "sign" by checking the box. You are accepting responsibility for certifying all information required by law before issuing the certificate.
  4. Submit form electronically to the Department to dol.childlaborlaw@illinois.gov.
  5. Print copy of the form for your records.
  6. Provide printed copies of the form to the employer and the parent.

Please be reminded of the responsibility of your designated issuing officers to ensure the health and safety of minors by verifying records as outlined in the law including but not limited to:

  • minor’s name and contact information,
  • social security number,
  • grade last attended,
  • names of minor’s parents,
  • statement of intention,
  • evidence of age,
  • statement of physical fitness, and
  • whether the work performed does not constitute a hazardous occupation.

For complete information please see Section 12 of the Act and Section 250.400 of the Administrative Code.​​