Is There a Curfew for Minors in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania has no statewide curfew for minors. Curfew rules are set city by city, borough by borough, and township by township, so the hours, age cutoffs, and penalties that apply to your child depend entirely on where you live. Philadelphia starts its curfew at 9:30 PM for children 13 and under and 10:00 PM for teens 14 through 17; some small boroughs begin as early as 9:00 PM, and others have no curfew ordinance at all. Separately, if your teen drives on a junior license, Pennsylvania restricts their nighttime driving no matter what the local curfew says.

How Local Curfews Work in Pennsylvania

Because the state leaves curfews to local government, a teenager walking home at 10:30 PM may be perfectly legal in one municipality and in violation of the ordinance a few miles away. Each municipality decides whether to adopt a curfew at all, and if it does, it writes its own hours, its own list of exceptions, and its own penalties.

Most Pennsylvania curfew ordinances share the same skeleton. They define a minor as anyone under 18, they prohibit that minor from remaining in a public place during curfew hours unless an exception applies, and they escalate the consequences for repeat violations. Some ordinances also penalize business owners who let minors stay on their premises after curfew.

If you aren’t sure whether your town has a curfew or when it starts, check the borough or township website or call the local police department’s non-emergency line.

Philadelphia’s Curfew Hours

Philadelphia’s curfew applies every night of the week, year-round, and the hours depend on the minor’s age:

Age 13 and under: off public streets and out of businesses by 9:30 PM.
Ages 14 through 17: off public streets and out of businesses by 10:00 PM.

Both age groups must stay off public places until 6:00 AM the following morning.¹

Philadelphia’s ordinance lists eight exceptions. A minor is not violating curfew if they are with a parent or guardian, running an errand directed by a parent, traveling to or from a job, passing through the city in interstate travel, dealing with an emergency, standing on the sidewalk directly in front of their own home or a non-complaining neighbor’s home, attending an official school, religious, or civic activity supervised by adults, or exercising First Amendment rights such as attending a protest or religious service.¹

Curfew Hours in Other Pennsylvania Municipalities

Outside Philadelphia, the hours run all over the map:

York City: 11:00 PM to 6:00 AM for anyone under 18, every night.²
Sinking Spring Borough: 12:01 AM to 5:00 AM for anyone under 18.³
Applewold Borough: 9:00 PM for anyone under 18, one of the earliest curfews in the state.⁴

The difference between a 9:00 PM start and a 12:01 AM start is enormous in practice. Not every Pennsylvania municipality has a curfew ordinance, so the only reliable way to know is to look at your specific local code.

Common Exceptions

Ordinances differ in the wording, but most carve out similar situations. Across Pennsylvania municipalities, a minor is commonly excused from curfew when they are:

Accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or another adult the parent has authorized.⁵
Traveling directly to or from lawful employment. Some boroughs want the minor to carry a letter from the employer.⁵
Attending or traveling directly to or from a school event, religious service, or activity sponsored by a civic organization.
Responding to a medical or other genuine emergency.⁵
Exercising First Amendment rights, such as attending a peaceful protest or religious observance, where the ordinance recognizes that exception.¹

Smaller boroughs sometimes have far fewer exceptions. Applewold Borough’s ordinance, for instance, only exempts a minor accompanied by a parent, guardian, or legal custodian; there are no carve-outs for work, school activities, or emergencies.⁴ Don’t assume the common exceptions apply where you live; read the local code.

The Nighttime Driving Rule for Junior License Holders

One statewide rule sits on top of every local curfew. Under Pennsylvania’s Graduated Driver Licensing law, a 16- or 17-year-old holding a junior driver’s license cannot drive between 11:00 PM and 5:00 AM unless a parent, a person standing in place of a parent, or a spouse aged 18 or older is in the vehicle.⁶

A junior driver may drive during those restricted hours only if they are traveling between home and an approved activity or employment and carry a signed affidavit or certificate from the employer, supervisor, or fire chief (for volunteer firefighters). The documentation has to be surrendered once the activity or employment ends.⁶

This restriction runs independently of any local curfew. A 16-year-old can be fine under the borough’s curfew and still be violating the driving restriction, or the other way around.

Penalties for Curfew Violations

Penalties depend on the municipality, but the pattern is usually the same: warnings first, then escalating fines, with parents rather than the minor generally on the hook for the money.

Penn Township is a fair example. A minor’s first violation triggers a warning notice to the parents. If the minor violates curfew again, the parent is fined $25, and each subsequent parental offense adds another $25, so the second is $50, the third $75, and so on. A parent who refuses to pay can be sentenced to up to 10 days in the county jail. When a minor violates curfew more than three times, the case is referred to juvenile authorities and proceedings begin under Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Act, which can lead to court-ordered supervision, community service, or counseling.⁷

Philadelphia handles it differently. A parent who knowingly allows a minor to be out past curfew at night can receive a non-traffic summary citation. For the city’s separate daytime school-hours curfew, fines can reach $300, though paying $25 within ten days settles the citation.⁸ Philadelphia’s ordinance also carries an important carve-out: if an officer determines the minor is homeless, no penalty applies.

What Happens During a Curfew Stop

Philadelphia’s police directive gives the clearest picture of how a curfew encounter typically plays out. An officer who finds a minor after curfew asks for the minor’s name, age, and address, along with contact information for a parent or guardian. The officer then either takes the minor home or, in certain districts, transports them to a Community Evening Resource Center. If the only offense is the curfew violation and there are no safety concerns, the minor is not handcuffed. At the home, the officer confirms a parent or guardian is present and has that adult sign a form acknowledging custody.⁹

If a parent cannot be reached, officers follow Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Act. Anyone who takes a child into custody must notify the parent or guardian “with all reasonable speed” and either release the child to the parent or bring the child to a court-designated shelter or detention facility. A parent who then fails to bring the child before the court when requested can be compelled by a court warrant.¹⁰

1
American Legal Publishing Code Library. Philadelphia Code 10-303 – Unlawful Conduct of Minors
2
York City Police Department. York City Police Department – Curfew Ordinance
3
Borough of Sinking Spring. Borough of Sinking Spring Curfew
4
Applewold Borough, Pennsylvania Code of Ordinances. Applewold Borough Code of Ordinances 131.01 – Curfew Established; Exceptions
5
Everett Borough Code of Ordinances. Everett Borough Code of Ordinances 130.32 – Curfew; Exceptions
6
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 75 Chapter 15 Section 1503 – Persons Eligible for Licensing
7
eCode360. Chapter 81 Curfew – Township of Penn, PA
8
American Legal Publishing Code Library. Philadelphia Code 10-309 – Daytime Curfew
9
Philadelphia Police Department. Directive 3.8 – Enforcement of Curfew Ordinance
10
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 42 Chapter 63 – Juvenile Matters