Fountain Valley, CA Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

In the City of Fountain Valley, minors face a nightly curfew from ten p.m. until six a.m. the following day, every day of the week (§ 8.32.020). A minor is anyone under eighteen. Section 8.32.030(a) makes it unlawful for a minor to be in any public place or on the premises of any establishment in the city during those hours. Public place is defined to include streets, highways and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities and shops. Subsection (b) reaches parents and guardians: it is unlawful to knowingly permit, or by insufficient control allow, the minor to be out.

Section 8.32.040 lists ten defenses: the minor was accompanied by a parent, guardian or responsible adult, meaning someone at least eighteen authorized by a parent or guardian; on an errand for a parent without detour or delay; in a motor vehicle in intrastate or interstate travel; working or going to or from work; involved in an emergency; on the sidewalk adjacent to the minor's residence; at an official school, religious or adult supervised recreational activity or traveling to or from it; exercising First Amendment rights; emancipated; or a business invitee of an establishment.

Section 8.32.050 limits police action. Before enforcing, an officer must ask the apparent offender's age and reason for being out, and cannot cite or arrest unless the officer reasonably believes an offense occurred and no defense applies. Under § 8.32.010 the City Council based the curfew on the vulnerability of minors and on evidence that enforcement decreased crime and the victimization of juveniles.