Council Bluffs, IA Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)
Key Facts
- Curfew hours
- Midnight to 5:00 a.m.
- Covered minors
- Under age 18
- Minor's fine range
- $25 to $100
- Minor's community service
- 20 to 200 hours
- Parent's fine range
- $50 to $100, or jail to 30 days
- Key exemptions
- Employment, errand, assembly, emancipated minor
Summary
In the City of Council Bluffs, minors under eighteen may not be on streets, sidewalks, parks, or in a vehicle in public between midnight and 5:00 a.m. under CBMC Chapter 8.18. Parents who knowingly let their minor break curfew face their own fine, separate from the minor's penalty.
It is unlawful for any minor to be upon the streets, sidewalks, parks, playgrounds, public places and vacant lots, or to ride in or upon, drive or otherwise operate or be a passenger of any automobile, bicycle or other vehicle in, upon, over or through the streets, or other public places between the hours of twelve a.m. and five a.m. within the city of Council Bluffs. ... It is unlawful for the parent of a minor to knowingly permit or allow such minor person to violate CBMC 8.18.040. ... Any minor found guilty of a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) or a sentence of community service of not less than twenty (20) hours nor exceeding two hundred (200) hours. Any parent found guilty of a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) or be imprisoned for a term not exceeding thirty (30) days.
Full Breakdown
CBMC 8.18.040 bars any minor from being upon streets, sidewalks, parks, playgrounds, public places, and vacant lots, or riding in, driving, or operating a vehicle in public, between twelve a.m. and five a.m. within the city. CBMC 8.18.050 separately makes it unlawful for a parent to knowingly permit or allow a minor to violate that curfew. The findings in 8.18.010 explain the council's intent that minors travel straight home after a parentally approved errand or a constitutionally protected event ending in that window, and 8.18.020 requires the chapter to be read so as not to unconstitutionally interfere with religious or political assembly, citing City of Maquoketa v.
Russell. CBMC 8.18.060 exempts a minor accompanied by a parent, traveling to or from employment, a religious, political, economic or cultural assembly, or a legitimate parentally approved errand, an emancipated or married minor, a minor traveling interstate with parental consent, or a minor on the sidewalk in front of their own or a consenting neighbor's home. CBMC 8.18.030 defines a legitimate parentally approved errand as a necessary task whose nonperformance until non-curfew hours would cause injury or undue hardship.
Violations & Fines
CBMC 8.18.070 sets curfew penalties apart from the general misdemeanor schedule: a minor convicted of violating the curfew faces a fine of twenty-five to one hundred dollars, or twenty to two hundred hours of community service. A parent convicted of knowingly permitting the violation faces a fine of fifty to one hundred dollars, or up to thirty days' imprisonment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hours does the Council Bluffs juvenile curfew cover?
Can a parent be fined for a minor's curfew violation?
Is a minor coming home from work exempt from curfew?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Council Bluffs
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