Yes. A spouse in L-2 dependent status is employment-authorized incident to that status and may accept employment. Children in dependent status may attend school but may not work, and their status ends at twenty-one. Occupational licensing in the destination state is a separate question from work authorization.
Check the licence before counting the income
For households where the accompanying spouse works in a regulated occupation, the sequence matters. Employment authorization arrives with the status; the right to practise a regulated profession comes from the state and may require examinations, supervised hours or an application that takes months. Find out which category the spouse's occupation falls into in the specific state before the household budgets that income, and start any licensing application early, since it will run on its own timetable regardless of the immigration file. For children, note the twenty-first birthday alongside the principal's status expiry and remember that a five-year limit on the principal's classification also sets the outer edge of the family's stay in these statuses.
Hypothetical example: a grain-moisture analyzer specialist moves with a spouse who is training for commercial piloting and a child finishing secondary school. A first review separates immigration status from aviation licensing, school enrollment and household income. L-2 status may permit the spouse to work, but it does not confer an aviation certificate or shorten local training requirements. Keep copies of each admission record and plan the child’s education around the principal’s authorization. The L-1B five-year cap is particularly important when the family is considering a lengthy licensing pathway.