Woodbridge Defends Having The Earliest Halloween Curfew In The State

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Woodbridge Township has one of the earliest Halloween curfews in the state, and parents aren't happy about it.

On Friday night (Mischief Night) and Saturday night (Halloween), anyone under 18 has to be accompanied by a parent, guardian or responsible adult starting at 7 p.m.

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That means tweens and teenagers, such as 11-, 12- and 13-year-olds, and older, cannot be walking through the streets after 7 p.m. on Halloween without an adult.

If Woodbridge Police catch tweens and teens running around town without an adult, they will issue a warning and instructions to return home; those caught alone a second time will be held at police headquarters until they are picked up by a parent or guardian.

"7 p.m. on a Halloween that falls on a Saturday is a bit early," one woman commented on the Woodbridge Police Facebook page, when they announced the curfew. "I saw the 'accompanied by an adult part,' but you're saying 12-year-olds out with friends can't be out until 8 or 9 p.m.?"

"Let us parent, you fix the potholes," she told the town.

Another resident responded that tweens and teens can be out after 7 p.m. — they just have to be accompanied by an adult.

Many New Jersey towns have rules about what time adults need to start accompanying teens on Halloween. Woodbridge's just happens to be one of the earliest.

South Amboy has a similar 7 p.m. curfew, and so does South Plainfield, which even threatens parents with $1,000 fines if their tweens or teens are caught walking after dark alone on Halloween.

Most towns have an 8:00 or 8:30 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied teens. In Wall Twp., the Halloween curfew is 9 p.m. Other New Jersey towns allow teens to stay out alone until as late as 10 p.m.

The Woodbridge town council first put the 7 p.m. curfew in place in 1992, after it said it became aware of "many significant occurrences by Township youth resulting in property damage and general unsafe conditions throughout town," on Mischief Night and Halloween.

That was 34 years ago, in 1992. Since then, town spokesman John Hagerty said many Woodbridge residents have even called Town Hall to thank the town for having such an early curfew for unaccompanied minors.

"The curfew has been, and remains, a measure to ensure that the community enjoys a safe, enjoyable and rewarding Halloween," said Hagerty. "We have received no complaints that the curfew is too early. In point of fact, we have received numerous communications thanking the Township and Woodbridge Police for announcing the curfew."

Here's Woodbridge's 2026 Halloween Curfew