Riverside, CA Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

Riverside's juvenile curfew, Chapter 9.06, was adopted by Ordinance 5998 in 1992 and amended by Ordinance 6302 in 1996. Section 9.06.020 sets the core rule: it is unlawful for any minor, defined in § 9.06.015 as anyone below 18, to be in or upon any public street, road, sidewalk, highway, park, vacant lot, alley, playground, curb, gutter, driveway, walkway, or other public place, whether inside or outside a vehicle, between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. Section 9.06.030 lists six exceptions: the minor is with a parent or an approved adult over 21; the minor is on an emergency errand or lawful business directed by a parent or guardian; the minor is going directly between home and a job, carrying written proof of employment hours; the minor is coming directly home from a permitted event such as a concert, movie, sporting event, school function, or religious activity, within half an hour of it ending but never past 2:00 a.m.; the minor is traveling interstate or intrastate with parental consent; or the minor is emancipated and carries proof of that status.

Section 9.06.010 frames the ordinance's purpose as protecting minors from crime and gang activity during late-night hours while still letting them move freely for legitimate reasons with parental permission. Enforcement reaches two groups: under § 9.06.040, a parent, guardian, or other person with legal custody who knowingly allows a minor to violate curfew is guilty of a misdemeanor, and under § 9.06.050, the minor themselves is guilty of a misdemeanor and is handled under the state's Juvenile Court law, Welfare and Institutions Code § 200 et seq., rather than the adult criminal process.