McCracken County, KY Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

Section 130.01 makes it unlawful for a minor to be or remain in any public place during curfew hours, and extends liability two more ways: subsection (B) reaches a parent or guardian who allows the minor to remain out, and (C) reaches the owner, operator, or employee of an establishment who allows a minor on the premises during curfew. Section 130.04 defines MINOR as anyone under 18 and CURFEW with the staggered weekly schedule quoted above, while PUBLIC PLACE is defined to include streets, highways, and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, buildings, transportation facilities, and shops.

Section 130.02 gives a law enforcement officer authority to stop and question a minor found in a public place, and, under KRS 630.030, to take the minor into custody for failure to appear on a prior status offense or as a habitual runaway; otherwise the officer may issue a citation and send or take the minor home. Section 130.03 lists defenses: being accompanied by a parent or guardian, interstate travel, going to or from actual employment without detour, an emergency, standing on the sidewalk at one's own or a non-complaining neighbor's residence, attending a school, religious, or county-recognized civic activity, exercising First Amendment rights with signed written notice in hand, or being married.