At what age can a child work?
- A child is a person who has not completed their fourteenth year of age, or the age set in the Right to Education Act if that is higher s. 2. No child can be employed or permitted to work in any occupation or process s. 3(1).
- The exceptions are helping a family or family enterprise in non-hazardous work outside school hours, and work as an artist in audio-visual entertainment or sports, other than the circus s. 3(2).
- Employing a child can bring imprisonment of six months to two years, a fine of ₹20,000 to ₹50,000, or both s. 14(1).
Child and Adolescent Labour Act
This comes from the Child and Adolescent Labour Act, 1986, not the Labour Codes. Its official copy is a scan, and we checked the cited pages by eye: see the official copy.
Last checked 1 Nov 2026 · written from the official text · not reviewed by a lawyer. This explains the law in general and does not decide your case.