Springfield, OH Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

Section 511.02 of the Springfield Codified Ordinances, enacted by Ordinance 93-137 in April 1993, bars any minor, defined in Section 511.01(a) as a person under eighteen, from being or remaining in or upon the streets within the City of Springfield during the curfew window running from 12:00 a.m. midnight to 6:00 a.m. "Street" is defined broadly in Section 511.01(d) to include sidewalks, parking lots, parks, playgrounds, public buildings, and the common areas of public housing developments, not just roadways. Section 511.03 lists exceptions: a minor accompanied by a parent or by an adult the parent has authorized to stand in for a designated time, purpose, and area; a minor exercising First Amendment rights such as religion, speech, or assembly; a minor on the sidewalk of their own home or an adjoining neighbor's who has not objected; a minor returning home by a direct route within thirty minutes of a school activity, religious or voluntary-association activity, or work; and a minor traveling with parental consent through the city in interstate travel.

Section 511.04 separately makes a parent liable for knowingly permitting, or through inefficient control allowing, a minor to violate the curfew, judged by an objective reasonable-parent standard rather than actual knowledge. Section 511.05 directs police to issue a citation and send the minor home rather than deliver every curfew violator to a parent, reserving direct parental delivery mainly for minors under thirteen found near home.