6 Trick-or-Treat Rules Virginians Can Be Fined For Breaking

Halloween’s right around the corner, and you might already be preparing.

You probably don’t think about the law when you plan your night.

In parts of Hampton Roads, though, there are Halloween city codes that can lead to fines.

Here’s what you should know as a Virginian before the first doorbell rings.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. City ordinances and penalties are subject to change.

1. Chesapeake’s Age Cap

Trick-or-treating in Chesapeake becomes a misdemeanor for anyone over 14.

A violation is a Class 4 misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $250 and no jail time.

If your child is 14 or younger, you can go along as a parent, guardian or other responsible person.

Before 2019, the age line was 12, and a violation could bring a fine of $25 to $100, up to six months in jail, or both.

In March 2019, the city council voted unanimously to raise the age to 14 and remove jail time.

2. Portsmouth’s Class 3 Misdemeanor

In Portsmouth, you can face a Class 3 misdemeanor for trick-or-treating past age 12 or after 8 p.m.

That’s one class above the Class 4 charge in Chesapeake, Norfolk and Suffolk.

If you’re convicted of a Class 3 misdemeanor, the fine can run up to $500, twice the $250 cap for Class 4.

3. Newport News’ Seventh-Grade Cutoff

Newport News draws its trick-or-treat age line by school grade as well as by birthday.

Anyone beyond the seventh grade or over 12 who goes trick-or-treating there commits a Class 4 misdemeanor.

The fine cap is $250, the same as in Chesapeake.

The code adds a mask rule for chaperones: “no accompanying parent or guardian shall wear a mask of any type.”

If you walk your child around Newport News, leave your mask at home.

4. Suffolk's Meet 'N Treat Day

Suffolk has an official name for Halloween, Meet 'N Treat Day, and the same section of its code sets the trick-or-treat age limit, the hour and the penalty.

Under that section, it's unlawful for anyone over 12 to go door to door in costume asking for treats.

As a parent or guardian going along for a child's safety, you're not covered by the age rule.

Door-to-door treating has to end by 8 p.m.

If you break either limit, you face a Class 4 misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $250.

5. Cutoff at 8 P.M.

Norfolk's trick-or-treat code sets an 8 p.m. cutoff in a separate subsection from its age rule.

That subsection says "any person," with no age written into it.

Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Newport News, Virginia Beach and Hampton write their hour limits as separate subsections too.

Past 8 p.m., the charge is a Class 3 misdemeanor in Portsmouth and Class 4 in the other cities, with fines capped at $500 and $250.

If your family is still knocking on doors at 8:15 p.m., you're past the cutoff.

6. Catch-All Wording

A trick-or-treat code can cover more than the words "trick or treat."

Virginia Beach's code reaches "any other activity of similar character or nature under any name whatsoever."

You'll find the same wording in the Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Newport News and Hampton codes.

In Virginia Beach, the wording sits in both the over-12 rule and the 8 p.m. rule.

If you cross either line, it's a Class 4 misdemeanor, with the same $250 fine cap.

Decades on the Books

The history line under Norfolk's trick-or-treat rule cites the city's 1958 code.

Newport News, Hampton and Virginia Beach cite codes from 1961, 1964 and 1965.

Portsmouth's goes back to a 1973 code, and Suffolk's to 1976.

Chesapeake's starts with an October 1970 ordinance and was amended in March 2019.

Chesapeake's director of public communications said in 2019 that the rule was created in 1970 after an incident involving kids throwing firecrackers.

You can see the dates in the history line printed under each rule in the city codes.

What Cities Said About Enforcement

In October 2019, several Hampton Roads cities weighed in on how often trick-or-treat rules lead to charges.

Hampton said it had no record of anyone fined or arrested under its rule, and that officers there had discretion over enforcement.

Its officers wouldn't be out on Halloween targeting teens who appeared to be trick-or-treating.

Newport News said its officers didn't go looking for children over the age limit and that it had never charged anyone.

If you're sending a teen out with a younger sibling, the city added that its code doesn't prohibit older children from accompanying younger ones.

The same report said police in Chesapeake and many other cities it spoke with had never jailed or charged anyone trick-or-treating on Halloween night.

What Chesapeake Said About Teens

When Chesapeake's trick-or-treat rule went viral in 2018, city officials said they wouldn't actively seek out violations and were trying to keep teens out of trouble.

In 2019, the city's director of public communications described the ordinance as a way for police to keep order if they need to.