Madera, CA Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

the following day. 02(A) makes it unlawful for any minor, defined as anyone under 18, to be present in any public place or on the premises of a privately owned business open to the public during those hours. Subsection (B) extends liability to a parent, guardian, or minor who knowingly permits, or through insufficient control allows, the curfew violation, and subsection (F) separately makes it unlawful for a parent or guardian to allow a minor to violate any provision of the chapter. Nine defenses are listed in subsection (C): being accompanied by a parent, guardian, or a responsible adult at least 18 years old; running an errand for a parent or guardian without detour; traveling in a vehicle on an interstate trip; going to, from, or working an employment activity without detour; responding to an emergency; standing on the sidewalk abutting the minor's own residence; attending a city-, school-, or civic-sponsored supervised activity; exercising First Amendment rights; or being a legally emancipated minor.

Before citing or arresting anyone, subsection (D) requires an officer to first ask the person's age and reason for being out, and the officer may not act unless no defense reasonably applies. 08 makes any violation a misdemeanor, though a juvenile offender is handled under the California Welfare and Institutions Code and juvenile court procedure rather than adult criminal court. 09 lets the city charge the minor or parents a fee, capped at actual cost, for administrative and transportation expenses of returning a detained minor home.