Kootenai County, ID Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)
Key Facts
- Curfew hours
- Midnight to 5:00 a.m., every day
- Covers
- Anyone under age 18
- Exceptions
- Emergency, reasonable errand, business travel
- Enforcing agency
- Kootenai County Sheriff's Department
- Parent penalty
- Misdemeanor under Sec. 1-4-1
- Legal basis
- Idaho Code 20-505
Summary
Kootenai County bans anyone under 18 from being on public thoroughfares or in any public place between midnight and 5:00 a.m. unless accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or adult custodian. Sheriff's deputies can detain a violating minor and must document the stop on a field identification card.
D. Curfew Designated: It is unlawful for any child under the age of eighteen (18) years to be upon, loiter or stroll upon the public thoroughfares or any other public place between the hours of twelve o'clock (12:00) midnight and five o'clock (5:00) A.M. Monday through Sunday, unless the child is accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or any other adult custodian. G. Defense: It shall be a defense to an alleged violation of this section where the child is upon any public thoroughfare or in any public place in violation of the curfew hours of this section because of an emergency, to perform reasonable errands, or for any legitimate business travel. H. Penalties: 1. A violation of subsection E1 or F of this section is a misdemeanor punishable as provided in the general penalty in section 1-4-1 of this Code.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-10: Code current through: Ord. 633, passed December 23, 2025).
Full Breakdown
102 of the Kootenai County Code, the Kootenai County Curfew Ordinance, was enacted under Idaho Code 20-505 (Ord. 233, 9-5-1995; amd. Ord. 513A, 10-31-2017). , Monday through Sunday, unless accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or other adult custodian. Subsection E makes it unlawful for a parent, guardian, or custodian to knowingly allow a child to be out during those hours unaccompanied, a separate violation from the child's own. A deputy who stops a minor may identify the child and send them straight home, detain the child briefly to establish identity if they refuse to identify themselves, or hold the child at a designated location (which the code says is never a jail or detention center, and may be a patrol car, the Sheriff's Department, or an attended care facility) while notifying the parent or guardian to respond and take custody.
Subsection G builds in a defense: a minor out during curfew hours because of an emergency, to run a reasonable errand authorized in advance by a parent or guardian, or for legitimate business travel to or from a job, has not violated the ordinance. Subsection F makes a parent's or guardian's failure to promptly respond to the designated location a separate offense in its own right.
Violations & Fines
Violating the accompaniment duty in subsection E1, or a parent's failure to respond in subsection F, is a misdemeanor punishable under the general penalty in Section 1-4-1 of the County Code. A minor's own curfew violation under subsection D instead triggers a petition under the Juvenile Corrections Act, with the court free to use any juvenile disposition Idaho law allows. The court may also order restitution to the County or other responding agencies for costs such as deputy wages and attended-care charges tied to a subsection D, E1, or F violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time does the Kootenai County juvenile curfew start?
Can my teenager be out after midnight for work?
What happens if my child is picked up after curfew?
Is the parent or the child penalized for a curfew violation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kootenai County
Compare Kootenai County to another location·View the Idaho curfew laws overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.