Quick summary: In Guatemala a minor who is 14 or older can sign their own work contract (Labor Code Art. 31). The Labor Code (Art. 31) requires no authorization for them; MINTRAB issues a free, same-day minimum-age certificate (constancia de edad mínima de admisión al empleo, service 3299) at office 508, 5th floor, Torre Empresarial, zona 9. Under 14, work is prohibited (Art. 148 e) unless the Inspección General de Trabajo authorizes it in writing in a case of qualified exception (Art. 150). Minors cannot work nights or overtime, and their day shift is shorter (Arts. 148 c and 149). MINTRAB’s 2020 website had a page titled Permiso para Adolescente Trabajador; its text described the Ministry’s rights-awareness programme for adolescent workers and listed no application steps.
Checked on 24 September 2026 against the official service record tramites.gob.gt/servicio/3299 and the Labor Code (Decreto 1441) in the Organismo Judicial’s CENADOJ edition updated to 30 April 2014.
Two ages, two different rules
| 14 to 17 | Under 14 | |
|---|---|---|
| Can they work? | Yes; capacity to contract their own work (Art. 31) | Prohibited by Art. 148 e), except under an Art. 150 authorization |
| Who signs the contract | The minor (Art. 31) | The legal representatives; failing them, it needs Inspectorate authorization (Art. 32) |
| What MINTRAB issues | Minimum-age certificate, service 3299: Q0, immediate, no documents | A written authorization from the Inspección General de Trabajo, only in qualified exceptional cases (Art. 150) |
| Who gets the pay | The minor, who can receive and dispose of it (Art. 31) | Legal representatives or the carer, as the Inspectorate decides in the authorization (Art. 32) |
Article 31 adds that this capacity is for work purposes only: it does not change the person’s status as a minor in anything else.
Shorter day shift (Art. 149). The ordinary day shift of Article 116 (at most 8 hours a day and 48 a week) is cut:
- (a) for minors older than fourteen (mayores de catorce años): by one hour a day and six hours a week;
- (b) for those who are fourteen or younger (esa edad o menos): by two hours a day and twelve hours a week, provided their work is authorized under Article 150, which can also set a smaller cut.
Read literally, a 14-year-old falls under (b), not (a).
What no minor may do (Art. 148)
- Work in unhealthy or dangerous places, as the regulations or, failing them, the Inspección General de Trabajo determine (a).
- Night work or overtime (c).
- Daytime work in cantinas or similar places that sell alcoholic drinks for immediate consumption (d).
- For under-14s, any work at all, except under an Article 150 authorization (e).
Article 147 adds a general rule: the work of minors has to suit their age, physical condition and intellectual and moral development.
14 to 17: the minimum-age certificate (service 3299)
The official record on the government services catalogue describes the service as a process to advise adolescents on their labor rights and obligations and to issue the constancia de edad mínima de admisión al empleo. What it lists:
- Cost: Q0
- Response time: immediate
- Document requirements: none (the record says No hay)
- Result: legal advice and orientation on labor matters, or a referral to another office
- Where: 7a. Avenida 3-33, zona 9, Edificio Torre Empresarial, 5th floor, office 508, Guatemala City; phone 2422-2563
- Legal basis listed: ILO Conventions 138 (1973) and 182 (1999), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Labor Code, the Ley de Protección Integral de la Niñez y Adolescencia (Decreto 27-2003), Acuerdo Gubernativo 250-2006 and Acuerdo Ministerial 260-2019, among others
MINTRAB’s own pages from 2020 (read through the Internet Archive) described an adolescent worker as someone with the legal minimum age who provides paid, subordinate services, and said that a person below that age needs the Ministry’s permission to work. The same site had a page titled Permiso para Adolescente Trabajador: its text described the rights-awareness programme of the Unidad de Protección al Adolescente Trabajador (Dirección General de Previsión Social, 5th floor of the Torre Empresarial) and listed the legal texts, with no application steps.
The certificate is not the employment contract. For the contract itself, see the employment contract template and RECIT contract registration; for pay, see minimum wage in Guatemala.
Under 14: the Inspectorate’s written authorization (Art. 150)
Article 150 lets the Inspección General de Trabajo issue written authorizations, in cases of qualified exception, for ordinary daytime work of under-14s, or to reduce the shift cuts of Article 149. To get one, the people asking must prove:
- That the minor will work as an apprentice, or needs to help the family economy because of the extreme poverty of the parents or carers.
- That the work is light in duration and intensity and compatible with the minor’s physical, mental and moral health.
- That the minor is in some way meeting the requirement of compulsory education.
Each authorization has to state clearly the minimum protection conditions under which the minor works.
If the rules are broken
The Inspección General de Trabajo is the authority named in Arts. 32, 148 and 150, and it is also where labor complaints go: see how to file a labor complaint with MINTRAB. For hours, see work shifts in Guatemala.
Related
- Work shifts in Guatemala: the Art. 116 limits the minor’s shift is cut from
- Employment contract template
- RECIT: registering employment contracts
- Labor complaint to MINTRAB
- Minimum wage by the hour and part time
Official sources: tramites.gob.gt service 3299 (Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social); Labor Code, Decreto 1441, CENADOJ edition, Arts. 31-32, 116 and 147-150. Read on 24 September 2026.