San Leandro, CA Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing article
- SLMC Ch. 4-1, Article 3
- Nighttime curfew hours
- 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
- Daytime curfew hours
- 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., school days
- Minor defined as
- Under 18 years old
- Parental liability
- Knowing or negligent violation, § 4-1-310(b)
- Adopting ordinance
- Ord. No. 2012-012, 9/4/12
Summary
San Leandro bars unemancipated minors from public places between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. under SLMC § 4-1-310, and separately bans loitering by school-age minors from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on school days under § 4-1-305, with parents liable for knowingly letting a minor break the nighttime rule.
It is unlawful for any unemancipated minor to loiter, wander, stroll or play in or upon any public street, highway, road, alley, park, playground, or other public place, public building, place of amusement, eating establishment or vacant lot during the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. of the following day. It is unlawful for any parent or guardian of an unemancipated minor to knowingly permit or, by insufficient control, to allow the minor to loiter... during the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. of the following day.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4967405; v8 updated 2026-07-06).
Full Breakdown
Article 3 of Chapter 4-1, added by Ordinance No. 2012-012 in September 2012, sets two curfew windows. on days the minor's school is in session, with a rebuttable presumption that school is in session whenever San Leandro school facilities are open. the following day, and it separately makes it unlawful for a parent or guardian to knowingly permit, or through insufficient control allow, a minor to violate that curfew. Both curfews carry the same defenses: being accompanied by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult; running an emergency or parent-directed errand; commuting directly to or from work, a health appointment, or a school-related program; exercising First Amendment rights without detour; or, for the nighttime rule, simply being on the sidewalk next to the minor's own residence.
"Loiter" is defined in § 4-1-300 as delaying an activity with aimless idle stops or purposeless distractions, or remaining or hanging around in an idle manner without real necessity, and "minor" means anyone under 18.
Violations & Fines
Article 3 does not set its own fine schedule, so a curfew violation by a minor or a parent's knowing violation under § 4-1-310(b) falls back on the Code's general enforcement scheme in Chapter 1-12: under § 1-12-200, an unspecified Code violation defaults to a misdemeanor of up to $1,000 and six months in County Jail, or the City can instead prosecute it as an infraction, up to $100 for a first offense and $200 for a second within a year, with a third becoming a misdemeanor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time does San Leandro's youth curfew start?
Can my child be cited for walking to a night job?
Are parents responsible if their kid breaks curfew?
Is there a separate daytime curfew for school-age kids?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Leandro
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