National City, CA Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

The curfew sits in Chapter 10.60 of the National City Municipal Code, printed under the part headed Offenses by or Against Minors.

Curfew hours run from ten p.m. any evening of the week until five a.m. the following day, so the same hours apply every night with no separate weekend schedule. A minor is any person under eighteen years of age. A public place is any place to which any member of the public has access, including public rights-of-way, public grounds, parks, dedicated open or trail space, and privately owned land that is unsupervised and open to the public, such as vacant lots and the parking lots and common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, housing complexes, shopping centers and malls.

Subsection (B) makes it unlawful for any minor to be present in or remain in any public place within National City during curfew hours. To "remain" is to linger or stay, or to fail to immediately leave premises when a police officer or other person in control of the premises asks. Subsection (C) puts a separate duty on the adult: it is unlawful for any parent or guardian of a minor knowingly to permit, or by insufficient control to allow, the minor to be present in or remain in a public place during curfew hours. A parent includes a natural, adoptive, foster or step-parent, and a guardian is a court-appointed guardian or a public or private agency with whom the court placed the minor.

Subsection (D) lists the defenses to prosecution. The minor was accompanied by a parent, guardian or responsible adult, meaning a person at least eighteen authorized by a parent or guardian to have temporary care and custody; on an errand at the direction of a parent, guardian or responsible adult without any detour or stop; in a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel; working, or going to or from work, without any detour or stop; involved in an emergency; attending an official school, religious or recreational activity supervised by responsible adults or a public agency or civic organization, or traveling to or from one without detour or stop; exercising First Amendment expressive activity rights; or emancipated pursuant to law.