How Do You Get a Child Entertainment Work Permit in Southern California?

I just drove down to Van Nuys on Friday to get my daughter’s entertainment work permit renewed.  It was going to expire today, so I was running a little late.

Since I’d mailed her child work permit application to the office in Bakersfield for the last two renewals, it had been a while since I’d driven down to Van Nuys to get a work permit.

And it was the first time I’d driven down to the California work permit office since I’d learned about the recent changes to the child entertainment work permit process.

I was actually looking forward to the trip because I wanted to see for myself how the process for getting an entertainment work permit for minors had changed.

By the time I made a copy of the old work permit, got an envelope and stamp (in case I had to leave a self-addressed, stamped envelope), and stopped by my daughter’s school to pick up the completed work permit application form, it was already late morning.

I was annoyed with myself for procrastinating, especially since it was Friday which meant the traffic coming home might be heavy, especially if things did not go smoothly in the work permit office.

I had a great trip down to Van Nuys, arriving at the state government office building in record time. I was even lucky enough to find street parking near the entrance to the building.

I walked into the building, turned left, and right in front of me was the entertainment work permit office.

I walked right in and up to the counter. I presented the child work permit application and my daughter’s old permit and asked if I could get her new entertainment work permit over the counter.

The young woman behind the counter said, “Yes, if you don’t mind waiting about 15 minutes.”  She politely answered several other questions for me as well.

A parade of moms and dads came filing in right behind me, one with three young children in tow. Many had questions and issues to discuss, and many had multiple work permit applications.

One mom turned away, looking confused, and I asked her if she had a problem. She said she was from Texas, home-schooling her child, but the lady told her she needed an affadavit. But she had no idea what that was or how to get one.

I showed her the sign I noticed with information related to the affadavit form for homeschoolers. (See  “Do You Need an Entertainment Work Permit for Your Child Actor?” for more details related to the  California entertainment work permit policy, including information related to homeschoolers.)  The mom thanked me and wrote it down.

About 35 minutes after my arrival, my name was called, and the lady handed me a new California entertainment work permit.  I was back at my car with 14 minutes left of the 54 I’d put on the parking meter.

Not bad!

So, “How Do You Get an Entertainment Work Permit in Southern California?”

To get a California entertainment work permit for your child, you need to do the following:

• Print the child entertainment work permit application.
• Fill it out and sign it.
• Have it completed by your child’s school (for homeschooled children, attach an affidavit and recent grade report).
• Mail it or hand-deliver it to the work permit office (with a self-addressed, stamped envelope in case it must be mailed to you).
• Either wait for the permit to be issued over the counter (ask if that is possible) or wait for it to get to you by mail, usually within 3-7 days.

Additional documentation (e.g., a certified birth certificate) is required for new work permits (not renewals) and medical information for infants.  (See “Do You Need an Entertainment Work Permit for Your Child Actor?” for more details on the work permit process.)

The State Office Building housing the entertainment work permit office for Los Angeles County is located at 6150 Van Nuys Blvd. in Van Nuys, California.  It is on the corner of Van Nuys Blvd. and Calvart Street.

California entertainment work permits were previously issued from an office upstairs (Room 206), but now they are issued in Room 100, a special office just for entertainment work permits. From my experience, I can tell you that the process is now much improved from what it was as little as a year ago.

There are a number of district office locations around the state of California where you can apply for entertainment work permits.  These addresses and detailed work permit information may be found at the website for the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE).

As of this writing, the office in the Van Nuys location is still listed as Room 206 rather than Room 100.

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