Santa Barbara County, CA Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

Sec. m. m. Pacific Daylight Time) and sunrise. Sec. 3 carves out nine exceptions, including when accompanied by a parent or authorized adult, on an emergency errand, coming from work, school, religious or civic activities, exercising First Amendment rights, traveling interstate, legally emancipated, or on the sidewalk abutting their own residence with a parent's permission. Sec. 4 separately makes it unlawful for a parent or guardian to knowingly permit a minor to violate curfew, though before any enforcement action Sec. 6 requires a deputy sheriff or officer to "ask the apparent offender's age and reason for being out in a public place after curfew hours" and to withhold a citation or arrest unless no Sec.

3 defense applies. A second, separate daytime curfew under Sec. 1 bars compulsory-education-age minors from public places during school hours on days school is in session, with its own lawful-excuse and exception list tied to Education Code Sections 48200-48410. Daytime curfew penalties are graduated and specific under Sec. 6: a fine up to $100 and/or 10 hours community service for a first violation, up to $200/20 hours for a second, and up to $250/25 hours for a third or later violation, with parents facing separate escalating fines up to $500 under Sec. 7.