Online Jobs for Teens: What's Allowed at Each Age, and How to Stay Safe

The short answer: what teens can do online, by minimum age

Most online jobs for teens run through a parent's account, and the real minimum age for working alone online is usually 18. Here is what each platform's own pages, and the U.S. Department of Labor, say; we read every page listed in October 2026.

Two things stand out. Under 13 there is almost nothing: Etsy and Fiverr bar it, and the DOL's list of jobs for children under 14 is short and mostly offline, such as casual babysitting, newspaper delivery and work in a business owned entirely by your parents. And for 13- to 17-year-olds, the realistic options are things you make or sell through an adult's account, not jobs someone hires you for. Our broader guide on how to make money as a teen covers local, in-person work; this page stays online.

Jobs online a teenager can do through a parent's account

These are the routes where a 13- to 17-year-old can do the work, as long as an adult owns the account and the money.

Selling things you make on Etsy

Etsy's minors page is specific: the parent registers the account with their own information, email and name, all financial details are in their name, and they are listed as shop owner. An account a minor opens alone "may be permanently closed." Handmade goods, art prints and digital downloads all fit. To sell things you already own, our guide to where to sell used items compares fees, though most of those apps also require an adult.

Freelancing on Fiverr

Fiverr allows 13- to 17-year-olds only through a parent's or guardian's account, and when the minor is the main service provider this "must be clearly stated in the Gig components and profile description." Under-18s may not offer dance lessons, modeling, greeting cards and videos, or "your message on" gigs. Simple design, video editing and coding suit this route; see freelance jobs for beginners online for pricing and first clients.

Building games on Roblox

Roblox is the one platform here whose cash-out program starts at 13 on its own terms. The catch is the threshold: DevEx requires at least 30,000 Earned Robux, and at the standard rate of 0.0038 per Earned Robux that minimum converts to about $114. Getting there means building something players pay for. Because DevEx asks for a W-9, a parent should handle the tax side.

Making videos on YouTube

Teen creators can monetize, but the money can't go to them directly. The Partner Program needs 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 long-form watch hours in the last 365 days or 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days. Under 18, a guardian handles payments through AdSense, which will "make all payments to the adult responsible". Super Chat and Super Thanks require the creator to be 18.

Online jobs for 15 year olds and other remote jobs for teens with an employer

Remote jobs for teens with a real employer are legal from 14, but few employers offer them. For 14- and 15-year-olds, the DOL's list of permitted work includes "intellectual or creative work such as computer programming, teaching, tutoring, singing, acting, or playing an instrument". The same page sets hour limits, such as 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week; our teen money guide lists them all. At 16 and 17, federal law sets no hour limits for non-hazardous jobs.

State law can be stricter. The DOL says "where a state child labor law is more restrictive than the federal law, the state law applies", and some states require employment or age certificates (often called work permits); the DOL keeps a state-by-state table of who issues them.

What we see on our own job board

When we counted on October 13, 2026, our part-time feed held 232 US-eligible remote listings, led by FindTutors (25), Embry-Riddle (13) and DeVry University (12): tutoring platforms and universities hiring adults. Our entry-level feed held 215 listings, including 23 internships aimed at college students and graduates.

Our board doesn't filter by age, but every company in our directory that states one sets it at 18, including TP (Teleperformance), Liveops, Prolific, Rev and TranscribeMe. A remote job promised to a 14-year-old with no interview deserves suspicion, not excitement. At 18, our guides to part-time remote jobs and online jobs for college students pick up where this one stops.

Getting paid when you're under 18

The money almost always lands with an adult first, because payment services require one. PayPal's user agreement says an individual must be "at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in your state of residence" to open a US account. Etsy requires the financial information to be in the parent's name. AdSense pays "the adult responsible." UserTesting asks contributors to connect a PayPal account during sign-up, which is one more reason it starts at 18.

That makes the family arrangement part of the job:

• Agree who holds what. The parent owns the account and payout method; the teen does the work.
• Agree how the money moves, for example a monthly transfer into a teen checking account the parent co-owns.
• Keep a log of date, platform, work and amount.
• Expect tax paperwork. Roblox asks for a W-9, and selling or freelancing income is self-employment income; our teen money guide explains the IRS's $400 rule.

Be suspicious of any "employer" who offers to pay a teen through gift cards, crypto or someone else's account. Legitimate platforms build their payment rules around adults on purpose.

Safety first: the scams that target teens looking for online work

Teens meet the same job scams adults do, plus a few aimed squarely at them. The FTC's warnings:

• Paying to start. The FTC says honest employers will never ask you to pay to get a job. A "starter kit", training fee or equipment purchase makes you the customer.
• Checks that bounce. No honest employer sends a check to deposit and then asks you to send part of it on or buy gift cards.
• Job offers by text or chat app. The FTC says to ignore unexpected texts, WhatsApp or Telegram messages about jobs and not to reply "YES" or "INTERESTED".
• Asking for ID or bank details early. Scammers ask for a Social Security, driver's license or bank account number before any interview; real employers ask after hiring.

The "job" that is really grooming or blackmail

Some offers aimed at teens are not about money at all. Watch for "modeling", "chat" or "content" work from someone met in a game or on social media, requests to move to a private app, and anything involving photos of yourself. Fiverr bars under-18s from providing modeling services at all, which shows how a real platform treats that category.

If someone threatens to share images unless you pay or send more, the FTC's advice is direct: ignore their demands, don't pay them, cut off all contact and block them, and tell a trusted adult. Report it to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI; if the images involve a minor, report to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's CyberTipline, and use NCMEC's Take It Down service to help limit their spread. None of this is the teen's fault.

For a scam checker that scores any offer against the FTC's red flags, see our work from home scams guide.

A parent's setup checklist before a teen earns online

If your teen wants to try online jobs for teens, a short setup session together does more than rules announced afterwards.

1. Read the platform's age page together. If it says 18, the answer is no.
2. Open the account in the parent's name and email where required (Etsy, Fiverr).
3. Connect payouts to an account you control.
4. Turn on two-step sign-in and keep recovery details with you.
5. Keep personal details off profiles: no school, home town or birthday.
6. Agree a "show me first" rule for any message that asks to move to another app, asks for photos or IDs, or creates pressure to act fast.
7. Check your state's rules before any employer job; the DOL's state table shows which states issue work permits.
8. Review the log monthly.

The guides hub has more ways to earn by life stage, and our main guide on how to make money from home compares every option we cover for adults, which is where these online skills lead once your teen turns 18.