Before the job: working papers, and the reference letters the form wants

You found a job posting, a pool or a camp or the town rec department, and before you even get an interview there are two pieces of paperwork in the way. One is a real legal requirement: if you are 14 to 17 in New York, you need an employment certificate, often just called working papers, before anyone can hire you. The other is not a law at all, it is just what this particular application wants: two or three letters of reference from an adult who knows your work. They get confused for the same thing because they both show up at once, but they are solved in two completely different places.

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Checked against New York State Department of Labor, dol.ny.gov/working-papers and dol.ny.gov/youth-ages-14-17. Requirements on this page last reviewed October 1, 2026. The Department of Labor's own pages is always the source of truth.

The legal one: working papers

Working papers are the employment certificate New York requires before a 14 to 17 year old can legally work. Getting one takes four things: a doctor's exam within the last 12 months saying you are physically fit, proof of your age (a birth certificate, a state ID, a license, or a passport), a filled-out application with your parent or guardian's signature, and turning all of it in at your school's guidance office. School officials issue the certificate itself, not an employer and not this page.

Which paper you get depends on your age and whether you are in school: a blue certificate for ages 14 to 15 doing work other than factory work, a green certificate for ages 16 to 17 still attending school, and a peach certificate for ages 16 to 17 who are out of school or working full-time. Each one also caps how many hours you can work: while school is in session, 14 and 15 year olds are limited to 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours a week, and 16 and 17 year olds are limited to 4 hours on a school night and 28 hours a week. The hours allowed go up once school lets out for the summer.

The other one: the application's own reference letters

Nothing in state law asks for a reference letter. That ask comes from the department doing the hiring, and it shows up on real local job postings: a town recreation department's camp or lifeguard application commonly asks for two or three letters from a teacher, a coach, a guidance counselor, or anyone else who has actually seen you work. A page of real, nearby job postings shows exactly what a handful of them ask for, in each department's own words, so you can see the real requirement before you apply rather than guess at it.

Where a page with named adults helps

A reference letter is really just an adult putting their name behind something you did. If you already keep a page of what you did, with the adults who saw it, that part stops being a letter you have to go chase down the week the application is due. Add what you did, ask the adult who saw it to sign it from a link on their own phone, no account needed on their end, and their name shows up next to your sentence about it. Open your page in job order and it is already grouped the way an application reads, jobs first, each one dated and, where someone signed it, their name attached.

What this does not do

It does not get you working papers. That certificate comes from your school's guidance office, after the exam, the proof of age, and your parent's signature. Nothing here issues it or speeds it up.
It does not write your reference letter for you. It gives the adult who saw your work a one-tap way to put their own name and their own sentence next to what you did, in their own words, not yours.
It does not promise the job. Hiring is the department's own decision. This just gives you something true to point to when they ask.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need working papers for every kind of summer job?

There are a few narrow exceptions (things like babysitting, caddying, casual household chores, or working on a family farm), but most paid jobs for a 14 to 17 year old in New York need the certificate. Check with your school’s guidance office if you are not sure your job qualifies for an exception.

Can I apply for a job before I have working papers?

Applying is usually fine; it is being hired and starting work that requires the certificate to already exist. Many teens start the guidance-office process the same week they start applying, so the two finish around the same time.

Who counts as a reference?

Whoever the application names, most often a teacher, a coach, a guidance counselor, or a supervisor. An adult who is not a relative and has actually seen you work is the strongest fit; a parent can sign too, and the page always shows plainly who someone is in relation to you.

What if the adult takes a while to sign?

There is no reminder and no pressure built into asking. If they would rather not sign, nothing happens and nobody is told; an unanswered request just stays unanswered, and you can ask someone else.

Before the first job, and every one after it

Adding what you did and asking someone to sign it costs you nothing. It stays in this browser until you add an email to keep it across your devices. You hold the record, this job application and the next one, long after the working papers and the reference letters are both turned in.

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