Portland, ME Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)
Key Facts
- Curfew hour
- 9:00 p.m., Sec. 17-16
- Covered age
- under 15 years old
- Liable party
- parent/guardian/caretaker, not the minor
- Work exception
- lawfully authorized employment
- Travel exception
- point-to-point travel between fixed locations
- Origin
- 1968 Code § 703.2
Summary
Portland bars any parent, guardian or caretaker from letting a child under fifteen be out on the city's streets, ways or public places after 9:00 p.m. under Sec. 17-16, unless the child is at lawfully authorized work, actively traveling between two specific points, or accompanied by an adult responsible for them.
No parent, legal guardian or other person having the care and control of a child under the age of fifteen (15) years shall permit such child to be or remain in or on any of the streets, ways or public places of the city after 9:00 p.m., unless such child shall be engaged in the performance of some lawfully authorized employment or shall be in the course of active travel over the streets, ways or public places between a specific point of origin and a specific destination or shall be accompanied by such parent, legal guardian or other adult person.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
Sec. cutoff applies year-round, with no separate summer or weekend hours carried in the section's text. Three exceptions let a minor stay out past curfew without violating the ordinance: the child is engaged in lawfully authorized employment; the child is actively traveling over the streets, ways or public places between one specific point of origin and one specific destination, rather than idling or wandering; or the child is accompanied by the parent, guardian, or another responsible adult. 2 and has not been renumbered or substantively amended since; it sits immediately before Sec. 17-17's disorderly conduct provisions, both under the same 'Offenses Against Public Peace' article that also houses the loitering and abusive-solicitation sections.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 17-16 makes the parent, guardian or caretaker, not the child, liable for permitting a curfew violation; the section itself does not carry its own printed fine, so enforcement in Chapter 17 runs through the same officer move-on and citation process used for the article's other public-peace offenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time is Portland's curfew for minors?
Who gets in trouble if a child breaks curfew in Portland?
Are there exceptions to the 9:00 p.m. curfew?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Portland
Compare Portland to another location·View the Maine curfew laws overview
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