Beginning Friday, August 15, 2025, the City of Cincinnati will enforce an updated curfew for unaccompanied minors (children under the age of 18).

The curfew will be in effect every night year-round.

“As we’ve worked together to reduce crime and disorder downtown this summer, the Mayor, City Council, and Cincinnati Police Department have all advocated for an updated curfew policy that better addresses our specific challenges and prioritizes getting children home safely rather than criminalizing them,” says City Manager Sheryl M.M. Long. “I’m proud of my Administration and thankful to our partners for designing a plan that focuses on community well-being.”

Citywide, all unaccompanied minors must be home by 11PM. A new Special Curfew District covering the central business district and Over-The-Rhine south of Liberty Street requires all unaccompanied minors to vacate the area by 9PM. (See attached for a map of the Special Curfew District.)

“The curfew plan is an essential part of our ongoing strategies to keep our children safe,” says Mayor Aftab Pureval. “Enforcing a curfew is incredibly complicated, and I’m grateful for the hard work of our administration, police and partners to establish an equitable and effective approach.”

Exceptions to the curfew include:

• Minors accompanied by a parent or adult guardian
• Interstate travel
• Traveling to/from work
• Attending or traveling to/from a school, religious, or City-sponsored event
• Running an errand or activity directed by a parent or guardian
• Transit related to an emergency

Unaccompanied minors violating curfew will first be informed by Cincinnati Police (CPD) of the curfew policy and asked to go home. If it is determined the child has charges against them, they will be transported to the juvenile detention center. On Friday and Saturday nights, minors will be transported to the City’s curfew center at Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses in the West End, where contracted staff will work to contact parents or guardians to pick up their children.

If a parent or guardian cannot be reached, the unaccompanied minor would then be transported to Lighthouse Youth & Family Services for additional services and to be offered a place to stay for the night.

The curfew is supported by an amendment to the City Charter, CMC Section 911-27, approved by City Council on August 6, 2025:

Ordinance 265
Ordinance 266

The City’s previous curfew policies had designated different times for different age groups, with no special geographic boundaries. The updated policy mandates a uniform, Citywide curfew of 11PM and creates the Special Curfew District.