Queen Creek, AZ Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

Section 9-20-4 of the Town Code sets two curfew bands. It is unlawful for any minor under the age of sixteen to be in, about or upon any place in the Town away from the property where the youth resides between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. the following day. A minor sixteen or seventeen years old faces a narrower window: it is unlawful to be away from the residence between midnight and 5:00 a.m. A parent or guardian who knowingly permits, or through insufficient control allows, a minor to violate either band commits a separate offense, and a parent who refuses to take custody of an arrested minor when a police officer demands it is likewise in violation.

The ordinance defines nine defenses to prosecution, including that the minor was accompanied by a parent or guardian, traveling in interstate commerce with permission, going to or from employment by the most direct route, responding to an emergency, engaged with parental permission in a supervised school, religious or recreational activity, exercising First Amendment rights with permission, married and sixteen or older or in the military, or on the sidewalk in front of the family home or a consenting neighbor's property.

Before enforcing, a police officer must first try to determine the minor's age and reason for being out, and may not cite or arrest unless the officer reasonably believes an offense occurred and no defense is likely present. An officer who arrests a minor may demand that a parent or guardian retrieve the child, or take the minor to a location for pickup; if no one takes custody, the officer may take the minor home.