Sauk County, WI Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

Sec. 11.13 defines curfew hours as 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and bars any minor, meaning anyone under 18, from loitering, idling, remaining or being present in a public place or on the premises of a business establishment during those hours. The ordinance reaches three separate people: subsection (2)(a) penalizes the minor directly, (2)(b) penalizes a parent or guardian who knowingly permits or fails to control a minor who is out during curfew, and (2)(c) penalizes an establishment's owner, operator or employee who knowingly lets a minor loiter on the premises.

Eight exceptions in subsection (3) cover a minor accompanied by a parent or guardian, interstate travel, going to or from work without a detour, an emergency, being on the minor's own residence property, a supervised school, religious or civic activity, exercising First Amendment rights, and being married. An establishment that promptly calls law enforcement when a minor refuses to leave is not liable. Because Sec. 11.13(3)(c) and (d) exempt any incorporated municipality of 5,000 or more residents, or one with its own police department, the curfew binds only unincorporated Sauk County and any smaller municipality that adopts a resolution opting in, so Baraboo, Reedsburg and the other incorporated communities set their own curfew rules. A deputy can detain a minor until a parent or guardian reports to take custody, and citations issue under Chapter 20 of the Code.