# Coogan Accounts and Work Permits for Child Actors: A Parent's Guide > What a Coogan account is, how it works in California, New York, and Illinois, how 15 percent of a young actor's pay gets set aside, how to get a California entertainment work permit, what a studio teacher does on set, and a checklist for parents before a child's first booking. - URL: https://www.offbook.com/blog/coogan-accounts-and-work-permits-for-child-actors - Published: 2026-11-08 - Last updated: 2026-11-08 The call comes on a Thursday. Your kid booked the commercial, or the guest spot, or the voice job they auditioned for in your hallway closet. Everyone is thrilled. Then the agent adds, almost in passing: "Make sure the work permit is current, and send production the Coogan paperwork before Monday." If you're new to this, both of those sound like things you should already have, and "Coogan" may be a word you've never heard. The good news is that neither one is hard. They just have an order, and a few deadlines that are easy to miss when you're also figuring out wardrobe and call times. The short version: a **Coogan account** is a protected savings account in your child's name. California, New York, and Illinois each require 15 percent of a young performer's gross earnings to go into a trust account like this, and in California nobody can touch it until your child turns 18 or is emancipated. A work permit is the state's permission for a minor to work, and in California every child employed in entertainment needs one. Open the account first, get the permit, and keep copies of both with you on set. This is general information, not legal advice; the rules are set state by state, so check your own state's labor department before you rely on any of it. ## What a Coogan account is, and why it exists The law is named for Jackie Coogan, the boy Charlie Chaplin cast in *The Kid*. A 2024 [California Senate Judiciary Committee analysis](https://sjud.senate.ca.gov/sites/sjud.senate.ca.gov/files/sb_764_padilla_sjud_analysis.pdf) recounts his story: around his 21st birthday, he found that none of his childhood earnings were left, because under California law at the time, a minor's earnings belonged solely to the parent. California passed its first "Coogan law" in response. The early version had holes. The same analysis explains that a 1999 overhaul required 15 percent of a minor's earnings to be set aside in a Coogan trust account, deposited directly by the employer, invested conservatively, and blocked from use until the minor turns 18 or is emancipated. A 2003 law then tied California work permits to proof that the account exists. So the idea is simple. The money in the account is held for your child, and it waits for them. The Coogan share is the part of the pay the law locks away; the rest is paid out the usual way, after taxes and the usual deductions. ## Which states require one Not every state has a Coogan-style law, and the ones that do don't all work the same way. Here are three, from the states' own sources. ### California California's rule lives in the Family Code. As the Senate analysis summarizes it, Family Code section 6752 says a court order approving a minor's contract must require the employer to set aside 15 percent of the minor's gross earnings, held in trust for the minor. The analysis adds that the 1999 overhaul (SB 1162) applied the 15 percent set-aside to covered contracts whether or not a court approved them, and that section 6753 requires the account to be set up at a designated California financial institution. Because it's figured on gross earnings, the 15 percent comes off the top of the pay, not what's left after taxes. ### New York New York uses the name "child performer trust account." The [New York State Department of Labor](https://dol.ny.gov/child-performer-trust-accounts) says state law requires 15 percent of a child performer's earnings to be placed in trust, and that parents or guardians must set up the account. The Department's [page for employers](https://dol.ny.gov/employers-child-performers-responsibilities) adds that a parent can ask for more than 15 percent to be transferred. New York's rule reaches further than you might expect. The [state's child performer law](https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2021/03/ll-art-4-a-child-performer-11-20-13.pdf) defines a child performer as a child under 18 who either lives in New York, or agrees to perform in New York. A family from New Jersey booking a job in Manhattan is covered. The same law defines gross earnings as total pay before taxes, deductions, or commissions. ### Illinois The [Illinois Department of Labor](https://labor.illinois.gov/laws-rules/fls/child-labor-law.html) describes the state's Child Labor Law as requiring a child performer in an artistic or creative service to have a trust fund set up in their name, where 15 percent of their gross earnings are deposited. ### Everywhere else California's Senate analysis notes that similar protections exist in other states, and the list changes as legislatures act. SAG-AFTRA keeps a [Coogan Law page](https://www.sagaftra.org/membership-benefits/young-performers/coogan-law) in its Young Performers section that's worth reading. Before your child's first job, look up your own state's labor department, and the state where the job will shoot if it's somewhere else. As New York's definition shows, the rules can follow the work, not just your home address. ## How to open a Coogan account In California, the parent or guardian opens the account and manages it as a trustee would. The Senate analysis describes it as an account a parent or guardian must open at an insured financial institution, with annual accounting required. In practice, you find a California bank or credit union that offers Coogan trust accounts and ask to open one for your child. Call before you go; branch staff who rarely see these accounts may need to check how their institution handles them. Ask on the phone exactly which documents to bring for you and your child, plus guardianship papers if you're not the parent. When the account is open, the institution gives you a **trustee's statement**. That one page is the thing everyone will ask for. Here's why it matters so much. The California [entertainment work permit](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/dlseform275.pdf) itself says, citing Labor Code section 1308.9, that for a minor working under a covered contract, the permit is void 10 business days after it's issued unless it's attached to a true and correct copy of the trustee's statement showing a Coogan Trust Account. On a covered contract, no statement means no valid permit 10 business days after it is issued. Then the employer does its part. Per the Senate analysis, the employer must deposit the 15 percent within 15 business days of receiving the required paperwork, and holds the money for your child until it arrives. Send the trustee's statement to payroll with your start paperwork, and check your child's account a few weeks after the job to confirm the deposit landed. ### In New York New York's Department of Labor says on its [information page for child performers](https://dol.ny.gov/information-child-performers) that parents must set up the trust account before the child's first day of paid work, and that a temporary child performer permit gives you up to 15 days to do it. You then tell the employer the account details and attach the trust information to the copy of the permit you give them. Two more New York details are worth knowing. On a job of 30 days or less, the employer transfers the 15 percent within 30 days after the last day of work; on longer jobs, at the end of each payroll period. And if the account information isn't provided within 15 days of the first day of work (or no account exists), the employer sends the money to the State Comptroller, where it's held for your child. That protects the money, but it's far simpler to have the account open before the first day. New York's permit works differently from California's. The regular child performer permit is valid for one year, and a temporary permit also exists. The Department of Labor says one-year permits are issued online, and that children must keep satisfactory school performance while working during the school year. ## California entertainment work permits California is strict about this. The Labor Commissioner's office says on its [minors and employment page](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/DLSE-CL.htm) that minors from 15 days to 18 years old employed in entertainment must have a permit to work. That includes advertising and photo modeling and making recordings, and permits are required even when the entertainment is noncommercial. The employer needs its own permit to employ minors, too. The Labor Commissioner's [entertainment work permit page](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Entertainment-Work-Permit.htm) lays out the two kinds. The **6-month permit** is free, and you renew it every six months until your child turns 18. The 10-day permit is a one-time permit for first-time registrants, online only, and it carries a fee; 16- and 17-year-olds can't get it. A parent or guardian creates the online account in their own name. For the 6-month permit, the [requirements page](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/EWPRequirements.html) lists the "Application with School Record" form, DLSE Form 277, which includes a section for your child's school. The state's 2013 child labor law guide explains that the school confirms the minor's scholastic record, attendance, and health are satisfactory. A permit depends on that confirmation, so ask the school office early instead of the week of the job. A few more rules trip up new families: - Applicants between 14 and 17 must complete sexual harassment prevention training before they can get the permit. - A newborn between 15 days and one month old needs a written certification from a board-certified pediatrician or family-medicine physician, which must be verified before the 10-day permit can be issued. - For same-day service in person, you need a letter from the production company, on letterhead, with your child's legal name and work dates; a letter from an agent or manager won't be accepted, and stage names aren't allowed. - If you apply with proof of an upcoming job, the office expedites it and issues the permit at least 1 to 3 business days before the job. One gap catches people. A 6-month permit that expires the week of a booking doesn't help you, so put the renewal date in your calendar a month ahead. ## What a studio teacher does on set On a California set, you'll meet the **studio teacher** early in the day. Title 8 of the state's regulations says the employer must provide a [studio teacher on each call](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/11755_2.html) for minors from 15 days old to their 16th birthday, and for 16- and 17-year-olds when needed for their education. There's one for each group of ten minors, or each group of twenty on weekends, holidays, and school vacations. The job is bigger than tutoring. A studio teacher also cares for the health, safety, and morals of minors under 16, watches for fatigue, and [may remove a minor from the set](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/11755_3.html) if conditions put the child at risk. The employer pays them. You, the parent, still have to be there: a parent or guardian of a minor under 16 must stay [within sight or sound](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/11757.html) of the child on set. Working hours are strictly limited by age. Under [section 11760](https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/11760.html), a child aged 9 to 16 on a school day can be at work for up to nine hours: no more than five hours of work, at least three hours of school, and one hour of rest and recreation. Ages 6 to 9 get eight hours with four of work; 16 and 17 get ten with six of work. Twelve hours must pass between dismissal and the next day's call. ## Your checklist before the first booking Do the first four steps before your child books, not after, and don't count on the last-minute options. 1. Find out which states' rules apply: where you live, and where the job will shoot. Read that state's labor department page on minors in entertainment. 2. Open the Coogan or child performer trust account in your child's name, at a financial institution that meets your state's rules, and get the trustee's statement (in New York, the account's trust information). 3. Make several copies of the trustee's statement, plus a PDF on your phone. 4. If your child is 14 to 17 and will work in California, have them finish the sexual harassment prevention training first, since the permit isn't issued without it. Then apply for the work permit, with the school form signed if your state requires one. In California, put the 6-month renewal date in your calendar a month early. 5. When you book, send payroll the permit and the trustee's statement together, and confirm the name on both matches your child's legal name. 6. Plan the school side: tell your child's teacher about upcoming work days and ask what they'll miss. 7. After the job, check the account and confirm the deposit arrived within the deadline your state sets. 8. Keep pay stubs, contracts, and account statements in one folder. In California, you're the trustee and annual accounting is required. ## Then help them get ready for the work itself Paperwork done, the part your child cares about is the job. On a set, the schedule is tight and rehearsal time is short, so the child who arrives knowing their lines gets to play, not panic. For short, kid-friendly practice routines, see our guide to [helping a child memorize lines](https://www.offbook.com/blog/how-to-memorize-lines-as-a-kid); it works for sides as well as school plays. Teen actors can do more of this on their own. Turning a speech into first letters with the [free line memorizer](https://www.offbook.com/tools/first-letter-memorizer) is a quick way to test whether the words have stuck, and the [free run lines tool](https://www.offbook.com/tools/run-lines-online) lets them rehearse classic scenes with voices that wait for their line, which is good practice for picking up cues. If your child is about to share the frame with other young performers, our piece on [acting with children and animals](https://www.offbook.com/blog/acting-with-children-and-animals) shows the set from the adult actor's side, including how studio teachers and parents fit in. One last reminder, because it matters: this guide is general information, not legal advice. Child labor and trust account laws change, and each state sets its own. Check the current rules with your state's labor department, and ask a lawyer or the production's payroll company if your situation is unusual. ## Questions parents ask ### Does my child need a work permit for a school play? In California, usually not. The state's [child labor law guide](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/ChildLaborLawPamphlet.pdf) lists exceptions for church, school, and community entertainment, and for school, charity, or children's shows that charge no admission. Paid work is a different story, so check before you assume. ### Can we use Coogan money for classes or headshots? Not in California: the account is blocked until your child turns 18 or is emancipated, so career costs have to come from somewhere else. Keep receipts for anything you spend on your child's work. ### Can we put more than 15 percent in? In New York, yes: the Department of Labor says a parent or guardian can ask the employer to transfer more than 15 percent. Elsewhere, ask your bank and the production's payroll company. ### We live outside California, but the job shoots there. Do we need all this? For the permit, yes. The Labor Commissioner says all minors working in the entertainment industry in California must register, so your child needs a California entertainment work permit, and on a covered contract that permit is void 10 business days after it is issued unless a Coogan trustee's statement is attached. Ask the production or payroll company which trust account qualifies before you open one. Start as soon as the booking is likely; the office expedites applications with proof of an upcoming job.