Do You Need an Entertainment Work Permit for Your Child Actor?

Entertainment Work Permit Office, Van Nuys, CA

One of the many tasks that I had to take care of shortly after we came to Los Angeles was getting an entertainment work permit (a.k.a. a work permit)  for my daughter.

I knew very little about this until my daughter booked her first student film. The director and producer told me she had to have a work permit before starting work.

I asked her talent manager about it, and he gave me a number to call in Van Nuys. I know I called over 50 times before someone finally answered (it is a very busy office).

The Entertainment Work Permit Application

They mailed me a work permit application with  instructions, and I got it two days later.

As soon as the work permit application arrived, I quickly filled it out, had it completed and approved at my daughter’s school, and gathered the documents required. I then drove to the work permit office in Van Nuys.

It sounds simple enough, but for me, driving to a new location in the L.A. area was always a challenge. I got directions and eventually managed to find the building, find parking, and find the work permit office.

Getting the Entertainment Work Permit

The person at the counter typed the work permit while I waited and handed it over the counter to me. I had three days to spare before filming started, so I was relieved.

Unfortunately, the process seemed to get worse each time we needed her work permit renewed. The lines got longer, and they started requiring a self-addressed, stamped envelope so it could be mailed to you.

Sometimes we were told it would be 2 or 3 weeks before we’d get it in the mail, especially in late January to mid-March (pilot season, when all the masses converge on the L.A. area).

Since the start date on the new permit is the date the renewal is actually completed in the work permit office and not the expiration date of the old permit, the dates gradually shifted, so we ended up renewing her work permit in February (long lines) and August (summer break).

In August, since school was not in session, we had to take a copy of her report card to get the work permit renewed (how easy was that!).  When the renewal arrived four days later, I noticed the expiration date of the permit was in three weeks.

I was so sure it was a mistake that I drove back down to Van Nuys to have it fixed, but I found out it was done that way intentionally.

So we had to get her work permit renewal again one week after school started, with the approval stamp from the school, even though school had been in session for only one week.

Since no one really knows how a child is doing after just one week in school, this process never made sense to me. Perhaps it is a way for them to verify that the child is indeed enrolled in school at the start of the school year.

I got so frustrated with the whole work permit process, that at some point I just started  mailing my daughter’s work permit applications to the office in Bakersfield to avoid the drive to Van Nuys and the delays.

So, problem solved. Or is it?

If you and your child are just starting a show business career, you may be wondering “Do  you need to get an entertainment work permit for your child?” And you are probably wondering how you go about getting that work permit.

Continue reading to find out more about the current process for getting an entertainment work permit.

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