Clay County, FL Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

on Friday and Saturday nights (defined as ending Saturday and Sunday mornings). "Minor" means anyone 16 or under, per 15-22(a)(5). Section 15-22(b) creates two offenses: a parent or guardian who knowingly permits, or through insufficient control allows, a minor to remain in a public place or on an establishment's premises during curfew hours, and an establishment's owner, operator or employee who knowingly allows a minor to remain during those hours. Section 15-22(c) lists specific defenses, including the minor being accompanied by a parent, on a direct errand, traveling through the county, coming from work, responding to an emergency, on the curtilage of the minor's or a non-complaining neighbor's home, attending a supervised school, religious or civic activity, exercising First Amendment rights, emancipated, or homeless.

Under 15-22(d), a sheriff's deputy who finds no defense applies must first warn the minor, then may send the minor home, deliver them to a parent or guardian, or temporarily hold them at a sheriff's designated facility until a parent is located, after which the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services takes custody if no parent can be found. Section 15-22(d)(2) sets penalties: a first violation triggers a mandatory meeting with the county attorney's office to discuss the warning and future penalties, a second violation carries a $25 county fine, and a third or later violation within one year carries $50; if a full year passes without a repeat, the next violation resets to a first offense.