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Hiring child actors is a unique experience when compared to working with other performers. With underage performers often comes the addition of stage parents, studio teachers, and child labor regulations, all which producers must carefully navigate.
And in this article, we tackle one of the most common circumstances that comes with hiring child actors: the Coogan Law.
Officially known as the California Child Actor’s Bill, the Coogan Law exists for the same purpose as other child actor protection laws that a producer may encounter over the course of a production: to prevent the exploitation and abuse of working minors within the bounds of their employment on a set.
However, the Coogan Law has nothing to do with traditional labor questions of how long children can work or how much kid actors get paid.
Instead, it fills a crucial gap among other child actor laws by requiring that a percentage of every child actor’s earnings be shielded in a trust – a Coogan Account – to which they’ll gain access once they reach adulthood.
The Jackie Coogan Law ensures the financial wellbeing of child actors by mandating that their employer set aside 15% of a child actor’s gross earnings in a Coogan Trust Account where it can be monitored – but not withdrawn – by a legal guardian until the child reaches legal maturity.
In other words, Coogan Law requirements prevent a child actor’s legal guardian or parent from intentionally or unintentionally mishandling the actor’s earnings before they are old enough to access those earnings.
One important disclaimer: If the child is an extra or background actor, this 15% requirement is waived. As an example, say your child actor is an extra making around like $100/day, the requirement to deposit 15% of that $100 is no longer necessary.
The Coogan Law is short for the Jackie Coogan Law, and it’s named for John Leslie Coogan, an actor and comedian extraordinaire whose talent made him one of the first child stars in film history.
Born in 1914, Jackie Coogan was discovered at a vaudeville show when he was only five years old by Charlie Chaplin. Two short years later, Chaplin cast Coogan in his classic silent-era feature film, The Kid, an act that would make the child actor a household name virtually overnight.
In fact, Coogan’s fame grew so intensely that his image was used to merchandise products, and by the mid 1920s, Coogan had established the archetypical dream every child actor would follow.
However, Coogan discovered in 1938 that his mother and stepfather had spent the entirety of his estimated $3 to $4 million in child actor earnings without his knowledge. He was forced to sue, recovered only a small portion of the overall sum, and fell into financial hardship.
Coogan’s legal battle brought to light the vulnerability of child actors and ultimately resulted in the 1939 enactment of the Jackie Coogan Law.
Some may assume that adherence to Coogan Law requirements is entirely up to a child actor’s parents. To be honest, that assumption isn’t completely wrong. After all, a producer doesn’t have to ask, “Can a Coogan Account be closed?” or “Who is the trustee on a Coogan Account?”
A producer’s role in Coogan Law is considerably less complicated than that of a stage parent, but it remains critical in ensuring that the law works as intended.
The bottom line is that 15% of any child actor’s gross earnings must be deposited into their Coogan Bank Account within 15 days of employment, and the producer is responsible for making sure that happens.
However, with Wrapbook, a producer can easily divide up payments into a Coogan account by identifying minors when setting up a project.
Before shooting, a producer should perform the following as far in advance as possible.
The first step in the process is to get the child actor’s Coogan Bank Account information from their parent or legal guardian.
This should consist of:
1. the child actor’s legal name
2. a Coogan Account number
3. a routing number
If the child actor is already a set veteran, getting this information will be no problem. Their parent or legal guardian might even send it to the producing team before being asked for it.
However, if the child (or the parent) is still new to the process, some guidance might be necessary. In that case, a producer must communicate their timeline and point the legal guardians to the right information.
As with all actors, check if they’re in SAG as well.
As soon as the legal guardians have passed along the account details, Coogan law requirements state that the producer must provide the parents with a receipt agreeing that they did in fact receive that information.
This requirement is designed to prevent more nefarious producers from playing dumb and “misplacing” the funds for their child actor’s Coogan Account. The provision is also a concrete gesture to close the first step in the process. Now, the responsibility is on the producer’s shoulders.
Once a producer has the child actor’s Coogan Account information, it’s time to deposit the required 15% of their gross earnings.
If the production team is handling payroll directly, then a person from that team will have to make any and all deposits into the Coogan Account. Depending on the child actor’s contract, a single direct deposit of funds might be all that is necessary.
However, the producer is legally obligated to update the amount with further deposits if the child actor’s earnings increase for any reason over the course of production.
For that reason, a producer may prefer to make the deposits on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis. Either way, the producer will need to communicate directly with the bank to let them know these payments are being made in accordance with the Coogan Law.
However, if a production is working with a payroll company, the majority of the work will fall on its shoulders, dramatically simplifying the process of adhering to the Coogan Law requirements.
All a producer must do is communicate with their designated payroll company representative. Entertainment payroll companies deal with Coogan Accounts all the time. It’s not at all unusual, and they will generally have a standard procedure already in place.
Payroll companies, like Wrapbook, make it easy to input minor status when onboarding.
A producer using Wrapbook will have a clear visual of all actors under the age of 18 when using the software to digitally onboard them onto a production. As mentioned earlier, a producer can easily divide up payments into a Coogan account once the minors have been identified during onboarding.
Obviously, the most basic step will be to provide the payroll company with the child actor’s Coogan Account information, but there may be additional steps or paperwork to take care of that vary from company to company.
For instance, a child actor’s parents or legal guardian may be required to sign a separate Coogan Account Direct Deposit Agreement for the payroll company’s records.
If working with SAG talent, using an approved SAG payroll company is mandatory.
Once 15% of the child actor’s gross earnings are in the Coogan Account, the producer’s job is done.
In the modern production ecosystem, a Coogan Account is a fundamental requirement for any child actor seeking employment. Without proof of a parent or legal guardian having opened a Coogan Bank Account in their name, a child actor will not be able to secure a basic work permit.
Subsequently, a producer will be unable to employ them. A Coogan Account or Coogan Bank Account is actually a kind of Trust; thus, why it’s frequently also referred to as a Coogan Blocked Trust Account or a Coogan Trust Account.
In basic financial terms, a trust is a three-party arrangement in which a “trustor” agrees to give the “trustee” the ability to hold and control assets or property for the “beneficiary.” Once – or if – the beneficiary meets certain agreed-upon requirements, the assets or property should pass directly into their possession from the trustee.
In the specific case of a Coogan Account, a parent or legal guardian (the trustor) agrees to give a bank or other financial institution (the trustee) the right to hold 15% of the gross earnings made by the child actor (the beneficiary) until the child actor reaches the age of majority (generally, 18 years old, but ages vary from state to state).
Because the opening of a Coogan Account is a prerequisite for adherence to other child actor laws (i.e. a child’s ability to obtain a work permit), the Coogan Law effectively guarantees that all child actors are shielded from a total mismanagement of their earnings.
The rise of social media and the attendant industry of “influencers” that followed in its wake created a whole new way for children to make money from their presence on screen.
On August 11, 2023, Illinois became the first state to ensure that children who are shown on social media are paid for their work. When the law takes effect on July 1, 2024, it will require adults who use “the likeness, name or photograph” of a minor in paid online content to set aside a portion of the earnings in a trust.
How much a parent has to place into the trust is based on how much the child appears in the content. For example, if the child is in 100% of an influencer’s videos, at least half of the earnings must be set aside. The law also gives child influencers the right to request a permanent deletion of any video that features them.
Currently, the statute only applies to video content made in Illinois that generates more than 10 cents per view. However, with concerns surrounding child exposure and exploitation growing across social media, more laws in more states may follow.
It’s important to note that not all states require a child actor to maintain an open Coogan Account. California, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, and New York are the only states that adhere to regulations directly analogous to the Coogan Law, and there are significant idiosyncrasies in the specific rules by which a Coogan Account operates even among those five states.
A producer should be aware of basic Coogan Law requirements in any region in which they have a production.
The waters surrounding child actor laws can grow increasingly murky outside of regions such as Los Angeles with clear regulations. Regardless of where a production may take place, be sure to reach out to the appropriate state’s Labor Department to clear up any lingering questions or concerns before bringing a child actor onto set.
In California, the birthplace of the Coogan Law, a Coogan Account is a requirement for a child actor’s employment. Additionally, parents or legal guardians are required to open their child’s Coogan Account with a California bank.
Parents of children who work in Illinois must open a Blocked Trust Account with any bank in any state. A minimum of 15% of the child actor’s gross earnings must be deposited into the account. This requirement does not extend to child extras or background actors. For more information, check out the Illinois General Assembly’s website.
In Louisiana, a Coogan Account is required, but it can be opened with any bank in any state.
In New Mexico, a Coogan Account is only required if a child actor is earning more than $1,000 per employment contract. It can also be opened with any bank in any state.
In New York, parents or legal guardians are required to open what is known as an UTMA or UGMA Compliant Trust Account. However, these trusts don’t differ from a Coogan Account in their regulations around withdrawal and can be opened at any bank in any state, provided they meet the UTMA or UGMA requirements.
Producers have the duty to honor the legacy of the Jackie Coogan Law and do their part to protect children both on screen and on stage.
Have any lingering questions about the Coogan Law? Reach out to us to get the right info from a payroll expert. And for more on industry-specific information relating to child labor, take a look at our Producer's Guide to Child Actor Laws.
At Wrapbook, we pride ourselves on providing outstanding free resources to producers and their crews, but this post is for informational purposes only as of the date above. The content on our website is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, accounting, or tax advice. You should consult with your own legal, accounting, or tax advisors to determine how this general information may apply to your specific circumstances.
The Wrapbook Team consists of individuals who are thrilled about building modern software tools for creators. We’re a team of compassionate and curious people dedicated to solving complex problems with sophisticated solutions. You can find us across the U.S. and Canada.
