There is no single curfew in Arizona set by the state. Each city, town, and county writes its own, and most of the larger cities have landed on the same pattern: minors under 16 must be off public streets between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., and 16- and 17-year-olds between midnight and 5:00 a.m. The hours apply every night, weekends included. What changes from one place to the next is the list of exceptions, the size of the fine, and whether a county ordinance covers you at all.
Curfew Hours in the Major Cities
Tucson sets the clearest version of the common framework. Minors under 16 cannot be in any public place between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. Those who have turned 16 but are not yet 18 face a curfew from midnight to 5:00 a.m.1American Legal Publishing. Tucson Code Sec. 11-34 – Juveniles; Curfew The hours apply every night of the year.
Scottsdale uses the same split: 10:00 p.m. for minors 15 and under, midnight for 16- and 17-year-olds, seven days a week. Scottsdale also closes its parks to everyone at 10:30 p.m. regardless of age.2City of Scottsdale. Juvenile
Phoenix, Mesa, and Tempe each maintain their own ordinances built on the same 10:00 p.m. / midnight / 5:00 a.m. pattern. Phoenix’s rules sit in Chapter 22 of the city code, which addresses minors under 16 and those 16 and older in separate sections.3Phoenix Municipal Codes. Phoenix City Code Chapter 22 – Minors Small differences in exceptions and penalties do exist from one city to the next, so if you need to rely on a specific rule, read your own municipal code rather than assuming the neighboring city’s language carries over.
If You Live Outside City Limits
Unincorporated land is covered by the county, not a city. State law authorizes county boards of supervisors to adopt “reasonable curfews” for the unincorporated areas they govern, with fines capped at the level of a petty offense.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 11-251 – Powers of Board Maricopa County has done so through Ordinance P-12.5Maricopa County. Ordinances Pima County maintains a curfew chapter for its unincorporated areas as well.
Not every county has adopted one. If no county curfew covers your area and you are not inside a city, there are no nighttime restrictions on minors specific to curfew, though other laws still apply. A teenager driving from Scottsdale into unincorporated Maricopa County at 11:00 p.m. is crossing between two different rulebooks without any sign on the road to mark it.
Daytime Curfews Tied to School
A separate kind of curfew applies during the school day in some Arizona cities. Apache Junction, for instance, makes it unlawful for anyone under 16 who is subject to compulsory education laws to be on a public street, in a park, or in a business between 8:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on school days.6American Legal Publishing. Apache Junction Code 10-1-29 – Truancy Violations are classified as misdemeanors, and parents who knowingly allow the absence can also be charged.
Typical daytime exceptions mirror the nighttime ones: being with a parent, responding to an emergency, carrying an authorized school absence, traveling for lawful employment, or exercising First Amendment rights. Homeschoolers and students on non-traditional schedules should check their local ordinance directly, because not all of them account for those situations cleanly.
When a Minor Can Legally Be Out After Curfew
Every Arizona curfew ordinance carves out situations where a minor is not in violation. Under state law, every county ordinance must at minimum exempt minors who are with a parent or guardian, on an emergency errand, or directed to a specific location for a legitimate purpose by a parent or guardian.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 11-251 – Powers of Board Cities tend to go further. Tucson’s list is one of the broader ones and covers:
- Being accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or other authorized adult.
- Traveling to or from work, or actively working.
- Attending or traveling to and from a school, religious, civic, or recreational event supervised by adults and sponsored by a government entity or civic organization.
- Responding to an emergency.
- Being somewhere specific with parental permission for a legitimate reason.
- Exercising First Amendment rights, including religious practice, speech, and assembly.
- Passing through on interstate travel.
- Being on the sidewalk immediately next to your own home.
Scottsdale’s exceptions are narrower, focused on parental accompaniment, employment, and parental permission for a legitimate activity.2City of Scottsdale. Juvenile If you are counting on a particular exception, confirm it is in your city’s code; it does not necessarily cross jurisdictional lines. Tucson also explicitly exempts emancipated minors.7City of Tucson. Tucson Code Supplement 114 – Sec. 11-34 Juveniles; Curfew Many cities do not name that exemption at all, so an emancipated minor outside Tucson may need to raise it as a defense rather than rely on it on the street.
What Happens If a Minor Gets Stopped
A curfew violation in Arizona is a status offense: unlawful only because of the minor’s age, not because the underlying behavior is criminal. That classification has a concrete effect. A juvenile charged with a status offense cannot be held in a secure detention facility, including a locked holding cell or interview room.8Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board. 2.8 Juvenile Law and Procedures
What usually happens instead is a parental referral. The officer contacts the parent or guardian, releases the minor to them, and may have the parent sign a promise to appear in juvenile court if formal action is warranted. For curfew specifically, officers can issue a citation on an Arizona traffic ticket and complaint form, which routes the matter to juvenile court without any booking. If the minor is taken into temporary custody, release can only be to a parent, guardian, custodian, or directly to the juvenile court.8Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board. 2.8 Juvenile Law and Procedures
Penalties for the Minor and the Parent
Most Arizona cities treat a curfew violation as a misdemeanor. Tucson caps the fine at $250 and allows community service as an alternative, with repeat violations drawing escalating consequences that can include both. County ordinances covering unincorporated areas are capped by state law at petty-offense penalties.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 11-251 – Powers of Board
Parents carry separate liability. Most Arizona curfew ordinances make it unlawful for a parent or guardian to knowingly allow a minor to violate curfew, and Phoenix dedicates a standalone section of its code to parental responsibility on this point.3Phoenix Municipal Codes. Phoenix City Code Chapter 22 – Minors Parent penalties typically start with a warning and move to fines on later offenses. The “knowingly” standard protects a parent who genuinely did not know their child had left, though that defense gets harder after repeated incidents.
Because a curfew violation is a status offense, it does not produce a criminal record in the traditional sense, and a juvenile cannot be committed to the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections for a curfew violation standing alone.8Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board. 2.8 Juvenile Law and Procedures A pattern of violations is a different matter: it can feed into an incorrigibility finding, which opens the door to broader juvenile court intervention.