Work Permit Application Instructions

Work Permit Officer Access

To obtain access to issue Employment of Minors Permits, Street Trades Permits, and Age Certificates for the State of Wisconsin, please complete the following steps. You are only required to complete this process 1 time.

To obtain a DWD logon visit:
DWD Logon Creation

Read the User Acceptance Agreement at the bottom of the page and click ‘Accept’. You will be redirected to a page with a web form. Fill out the form and click ‘Submit’ at the bottom of the page. Please keep the Logon ID and Password you create here for your records*. You will need to use this Logon ID and Password each time you log on to the Equal Rights Division Work Permit Application.
To request access visit:
Work Permit Officer Application Page

You will be prompted for the Logon ID and Password you created in step 1. Fill out the form. At the top of the form, you will need to select the permit office in which you will be working.
You will receive an email regarding your request within 2 business days:
The State of Wisconsin Equal Rights Division will either grant or deny your request. Either way you will receive an email to notify you of the decision.
If you forgot your password you can reset it by visiting our help section.

At the top right of screen there is a white menu titled Customer ID Menu. Click ‘Forget Your Account Information?’. Enter the email address you provided when you signed up for your DWD account.
If you have signed up for multiple accounts with this email address, you will see an error message. Call the IT Solutions Center at (608) 266-7252.

Work Permit Application

To issue an Employment of Minors Permit, Street Trades Permit, or Wisconsin Age Certificate, visit Issue a Work Permit. You will be prompted for the DWD Logon ID and Password that you created in Step 1 of the previous section.

Update Your Personal Information

The first time you visit this page, you will be prompted to update your personal information. You are only required to update your personal information once, but you can come back and do it again at any time.

Default School

When choosing the default school (at the bottom of the form) choose the school for which you expect to issue the most permits. Fill out the form and click ‘Update’.

Click ‘Return to main menu’. You will need to visit this Main Menu each time you issue a work permit, so you may want to bookmark the page (In Internet Explorer, at the top of the screen, click Favorites > Add to Favorites and then click OK).

You should see 6 menu options. Most of the time you will choose ‘Issue an Employment of Minors Permit’ or ‘Issue a Street Trades Permit’. The process for each is identical.

Stepping through the process of creating an Employment of Minors Permit

On the Main Menu, click ‘Issue an Employment of Minors Permit’. You will be directed to a new page with four boxes (for Minor, Employer, Nature of Business, and Type of Work).
Provide a Minor: In the box at the upper left of the page, click ‘Select Minor’. You will be directed to the Search for a Minor page.
Search for a minor by entering a last name or social security number. You may also narrow your search results by entering a date of birth (optional). Click ‘Search’. The results of your search will be listed at the bottom of the page.

If the minor was found:

You will see list of minors matching the last name or social security number you entered. To choose a minor, click on a first name or last name. You will be directed to a page displaying information about the minor. All permits that have been previously issued to that minor are listed below. To select this minor and issue to him/her an Employment of Minors Permit, click ‘Select this Minor’. Remember that an Employment of Minors Permit cannot be issued to a person 18 years of age or older. If you wish to search for a different minor, click ‘Minor Search’ (in small text at the top of the page, above the minor’s information). Note: If you find the correct minor but the address is incorrect, click ‘Enter a new minor’ at the top of the Search page and enter a new minor.

If the minor was not found:

You will need to enter a new minor. On the Search page, click ‘Enter a new minor’ (located directly above the text boxes for last name and social security number). You will be directed to a page with a web form. Fill out the web form and click ‘Submit’. The new minor’s information will be displayed. Verify that it is correct and click ‘Issue Permit’. You will be directed back to Part 1: Prohibited Employment (the page with the four boxes).

Provide an Employer: In the box at the lower left, click ‘Select Employer’. You will be directed to the Search for an Employer page.

Searching for an employer is similar to searching for a minor. Enter the employer name. You may narrow your search with a zip code (optional).

If the employer is found: Click on the employer name to review the employer information. Click ‘Select this Employer’ to use the employer. If you wish to use a different employer, return to the Search for an Employer page by clicking on ‘Employer Search’ (in small font at the top of the page).

If the employer is not found:

On the search page click on ‘Enter a new employer’. A web form will appear. Enter the employer information and click ‘Submit’. The employer information will be displayed. If it is incorrect, click ‘New Employer’ at the top of the screen. Otherwise, click ‘Issue Permit’. You will be brought back to Part 1: Prohibited Employment (the page with the four boxes).

Select Nature of Employer’s Business: In the box at the upper right, click ‘Specify’. You will be directed to the Select Employer’s Nature of Business page.

Enter a search term (‘restaurant’, ‘warehouse’, etc.)
A list of options matching the search term will appear in the two boxes. To select the employer’s nature of business, Click on an option to highlight it and then click the ‘Add >’ button, located under the box.
If necessary, you may repeat this process as many times as you wish to add multiple natures of business. The terms that you have selected will appear in box on the right, under the word ‘selected’.
To remove a nature of business, highlight a term in the box on the right and click ‘remove’ below the box on the right. If the nature of business you are searching for is not listed, you may enter a new term in the field at the bottom of the page under ‘Other Nature of Business Not Listed’. At least one Nature of Business is required.
When complete, click ‘Continue’ at the bottom of the page.

Select Type of Work Minor Will Perform: Under the final box at the lower right of the screen, click ‘Specify’. The process for selecting Type of Work is identical to the previous step. Once again, remember to highlight each selection before clicking ‘Add >’. Click ‘Continue’.
You will be directed back to Part 1: Prohibited Employment (the page with the four boxes). Indicate whether or not the minor’s parents own the business and click ‘Continue…’ at the bottom of the page. At this point, if the minor is too young to for the nature of business/type of work selected, then the permit cannot be issued based on the information provided. An error message will be displayed.
Provide Additional Information: Indicate whether or not the minor is a high school graduate and whether or not the work is being performed as restitution. Indicate the proof of age the minor has presented. Click ‘Next.’ You will be directed to the School District Information page.
School Attendance Information: Provide the minor's school district and school information.

Initially, this page is set to display information from the default school you chose when updating your personal information. If the minor attends school in a different school district from the one listed, click ‘Change School District’ at the top of the page, select a school district from the drop down list, and click ‘Change District’.

Once you have selected the correct school district, choose a school from the drop down list (in the center of the page) and click ‘Select School’. The school information will be displayed below. Notice the option for ‘Home Schooled’. If the minor is home schooled, you can select this option and enter the home school information in the form below. When complete, click ‘Next’ at the bottom of the page. You will be directed to a page displaying the permit information.

Note: If the minor attends a school from out of state, click ‘Change School District’ at the top of the page, and then select ‘OUT OF STATE’ from the drop down list and click ‘Change District’. The school drop down list on the center of the page will now contain a list of all out of state schools previously entered from other work permit officers, as well as an option for ‘Out of State – Enter New School’. Select the school the minor attends or create a new entry if you are unable to find the school in the list.

Review Permit Information: Make sure the permit information is correct. This step is the last chance to back up and make any changes. Click ‘Issue Permit’ to create a PDF copy of the new Employment of Minors Permit.
Print the Work Permit: A PDF version of the work permit should open in a new window. If it does not, click ‘Click Here to View the Work Permit Document’ at the top of the screen.

Note: In order to view the PDF in the new browser window, you may be prompted for your Logon ID and Password again. These are the same DWD Logon ID and Password that you used earlier.

Print 4 copies of the Employment of Minors Permit (in the new window displaying the PDF, at the top of the screen, click File > Print , change the number of copies to 4 and click OK). You will need to send one copy to each of the following: Employer, Minor, Permit Office, and School District.