Work Permits

How to obtain a work permit

Children and young adults (15 days to 18 years) are required to have a work permit to work in the entertainment industry. These permits are also required for minors making phonographic recordings (voice over acting) or who are employed as advertising or photographic models (print ads).

There is no fee to obtain an entertainment work permit. The application for permission to work in the entertainment industry (found here).

If your child attends traditional school...

After completely filling out the work permit application, you (the parent) must bring the form to the child's school for approval first (the approval is based on your child's academic performance).

After receiving approval from the school, you can either mail or hand deliver the completed work permit document along with any required identification (such as birth certificate, social security card or state ID) to any of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement below.

Although an entertainment work permit can be obtained at any of these offices, we recommend using the Van Nuys office because it is the central hub for obtaining these types of permits. Based on our experience, we've found when the permit is hand delivered to this office, this whole process takes between one to two weeks. Mailed permits usually take longer.

Bakersfield
5555 California Avenue, Suite 200
Bakersfield, CA 93309
(661) 395-2710

Redding
2115 Civic Center Drive, Room 17
Redding, CA 96001
(530) 225-2655

San Jose
100 Paseo de San Antonio, Room 120
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 277-1266

El Centro
1550 W. Main St.
El Centro, CA 92243
(760) 353-0607

Sacramento
2031 Howe Avenue, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 263-1811

Santa Ana
28 Civic Center Plaza, Room 625
Santa Ana, CA 92701
(714) 558-4910

Eureka
619 Second Street, Room 109
Eureka, CA 95501
(707) 445-6613

Salinas
1870 N. Main St., Suite 150
Salinas, CA 93906
(831) 443-3041

Santa Barbara
411 E. Canon Perdido, Room 3
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 568-1222

Fresno
770 E. Shaw Avenue, Room 315
Fresno, CA 93710
(559) 244-5340

San Bernardino
464 W. Fourth Street, Room 348
San Bernardino, CA 92401
(909) 383-4334

Santa Rosa
50 "D" Street, Suite 360
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
(707) 576-2362

Long Beach
300 Oceangate, Suite 302
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 590-5048

San Diego
7575 Metropolitan Dr., Rm. 210
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 220-5451

Stockton
31 E. Channel Street, Room 317
Stockton, CA 95202
(209) 948-7771

Los Angeles
320 W. Fourth Street, Suite 450
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 620-6330

San Francisco
455 Golden Gate Ave., 10th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 703-5300

Van Nuys
6150 Van Nuys Blvd., Room 206
Van Nuys, CA 91401
(818) 901-5315

Oakland
1515 Clay Street, Suite 801
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 622-3273

San Francisco--Headquarters
455 Golden Gate Avenue, 9th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 703-4810