Tempe, AZ Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)
Key Facts
- Under-16 curfew
- 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
- Ages 16-17 curfew
- 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.
- Parent liability
- Knowing or negligent permission is a separate offense
- Penalty
- Class 1 misdemeanor, incorrigible-offense designation
- Defenses
- 8 listed, incl. work, school, emergencies, First Amendment activity
Summary
Tempe City Code Sec. 22-8 bars minors under 16 from public places between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., and 16- to 17-year-olds between midnight and 5 a.m., unless a listed exception applies. Parents or guardians who knowingly allow a violation, or who refuse to retrieve a detained minor, are separately liable.
(b)Offenses.(1)It is unlawful for any minor under the age of sixteen (16) years to be in, about, or upon any place in the City away from the property where the youth resides between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. of the following day.(2)It is unlawful for any minor sixteen (16) years of age or older and under the age of eighteen (18) years, to be in, about, or upon any place in the City away from the property where the child resides between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.(3)It is unlawful for a parent or guardian of a minor to knowingly permit, or by insufficient control, allow a minor to violate section (b)(1) or section (b)(2) as listed above.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: City Code: Supplement 33 Update 4 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 11 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 22-8(b) sets two curfew bands. ' Parents and guardians face their own exposure: subsection (b)(3) makes it unlawful for a parent or guardian to 'knowingly permit, or by insufficient control, allow a minor' to violate the curfew, and subsection (b)(4) requires a parent, guardian or custodian to take custody of an arrested minor when a police officer demands it, with refusal itself a violation. Subsection (c) lists eight defenses, including being accompanied by a parent or guardian, traveling with prior permission, going to or from work or a supervised school, religious or recreational activity, responding to an emergency, exercising First Amendment rights with prior permission, being married and 16 or older or in the military, and being on the sidewalk abutting the minor's own home or a consenting neighbor's property.
' Each curfew violation is a separate offense under subsection (e), and subsection (f) makes a conviction a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable under Sec. ' The ordinance traces to the 1967 Code (Secs. 1) as last amended by Ord. No. 17 in 1995.
Violations & Fines
Being a minor under 16 in public between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., or 16-17 between midnight and 5 a.m., without a listed defense is a Class 1 misdemeanor under Sec. 22-8(f), also flagged as an incorrigible offense in juvenile court. Parents who knowingly permit the violation or refuse to retrieve an arrested minor are separately liable, and each violation counts as a distinct offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Are there exceptions to Tempe's juvenile curfew?
Sources & Official References
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