Booking child models in United Kingdom (England).
What the official sources say about permits, hours, school, supervision and earnings for models under 18. Checked October 2026.
Who decides
The local authority. For a child living in Great Britain it is the child's home local authority. For a child living outside Great Britain it is the local authority where the applicant lives or has its place of business (Children and Young Persons Act 1963, s.37(1)). The same authority approves chaperones.
Permit or licence
A licence is needed for any child who works as a model where payment, other than expenses, is made to the child or to anyone else (s.37(1)(b)). It is also needed for broadcast performances and performances recorded for broadcast or film (s.37(2)). The licence holder must be the person responsible for the shoot. A third party who cannot take operational decisions on the day cannot sign or hold the licence (DfE advice). The local authority may refuse an application received less than 21 days before the first day of work (Regulations 2014, reg 4(2)). The exemptions in s.37(3), such as the 4 days in 6 months rule and Body of Persons Approval, apply only where no payment is made. DfE advice says they do not apply to paid modelling.
Age bands
The rules apply from birth up to the upper limit of compulsory school age. As a general rule that is the last Friday in June of the school year in which the child turns 16 (DfE advice). The performance tables use three bands: birth to 4, 5 to 8, and 9 to school leaving age.
Working hours
Regulations 20 to 27 set hours for performances, not for paid modelling as an 'activity'. For a paid model the hours are set by the licence conditions. Where a shoot is a performance (for example a TV advert), these apply. Earliest and latest times: under 5, 07:00 to 22:00; 5 to school leaving age, 07:00 to 23:00. Maximum per day at the place of performance / performing / continuous: under 5, 5 h / 2 h / 0.5 h; 5 to 8, 8 h / 3 h / 2.5 h; 9 and over, 9.5 h / 5 h / 2.5 h. Under 5: breaks of at least 15 minutes, and a 45 minute meal break if present 4 or more hours. Age 5 and over, present more than 4 and under 8 hours: one 45 minute meal break and one 15 minute break; 8 hours or more: one more 15 minute break. Overnight break of at least 12 hours (reg 24). No more than 6 consecutive days (reg 26). After 8 weeks at the maximum, 14 days off (reg 27).
School
The licence may not be granted unless the local authority is satisfied the child's education will not suffer (reg 13). If the child misses school, the authority must approve the tutor and course. Education must total at least 3 hours on each school day. This is met by at least 6 hours a week, averaged over each 4 week period, and no more than 5 hours on any day (reg 13(3)(e) and 13(4)). A licence that names the dates counts as authorised absence (s.37(7), per DfE advice).
Chaperone and supervision
A licensed child must be supervised at all times by a chaperone approved by the licensing authority. The exception is when the child is directly supervised by a parent, a teacher from their school or their home tutor (DfE advice). A chaperone may look after at most 12 children at a time, or 3 if the chaperone is also the child's private teacher (reg 15(3)).
Earnings
The licensing authority may set a condition that some or all of the child's earnings be dealt with in a particular way by the licence holder (reg 14). No fixed percentage is stated in the sources checked.
Good to know
The licence holder must arrange suitable travel to get the child home after the work ends (reg 18). A child in a performance must not do any other employment on that day or the next day (reg 20). These rules are for England. Scotland and Wales issue their own regulations.