El Paso, TX Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)
Key Facts
- Curfew hours
- 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
- Applies to
- Minors under 17
- Parental liability
- Knowing violation or 2-hr pickup failure
- Statutory review
- Every 3 years, Tex. Loc. Gov't Code § 370.002
- Max fine
- Up to $500, misdemeanor
Summary
El Paso enforces an 11 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew for minors under 17, City Code §§ 10.20.010-10.20.054, most recently readopted with amendments in 2020. The ordinance holds parents liable for knowingly allowing a curfew violation or for failing to retrieve a cited minor within two hours of notice, and the city reviews the ordinance every three years to satisfy Texas Local Government Code § 370.002.
"Curfew hours" means the period beginning at eleven p.m. and ending at six a.m. of the following day. The time shall be determined by the prevailing standard of time, whether Mountain Standard Time or Mountain Daylight Savings Time, generally observed at that hour by the public in El Paso. The time then observed in the El Paso Police Department's communications divisions shall be prima facie evidence of the true and correct time. ... "Minor" means a person who is under the age of seventeen years of age.
Full Breakdown
030 lists eleven affirmative defenses, covering minors accompanied by a parent or an adult 21 or older carrying signed parental permission, minors on a direct-route errand with written parental authorization, interstate travel, employment activities like newspaper delivery, emergencies, minors on their own driveway or a cooperative next-door neighbor's sidewalk, school/civic/religious activities, First Amendment activity, and emancipated minors. 040 lets an officer release the minor to a parent, take the minor to municipal court, or take the minor to a juvenile curfew processing office designated by the chief of police. 002 for home-rule municipalities, and sets the clock for a mandatory review every third year going forward.
Violations & Fines
Under § 10.20.050, a minor who violates curfew is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by the fine set in §§ 1.08.010-1.08.030 (up to $500) and may face juvenile-court action; a parent who violates the parental provisions of § 10.20.020 faces the same misdemeanor fine. Each day of a continuing violation is a separate offense under § 1.08.020.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are El Paso's juvenile curfew hours?
Can parents be punished for a curfew violation in El Paso?
Did El Paso's curfew lapse under the 2023 Texas law that ended blanket curfew authority?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in El Paso
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