How old is too old to trick or treat?

You can expect plenty of little superheroes and princesses making the Halloween trick-or-treat rounds tonight, excited with the prospect of getting some candy dropped into their bags. But occasionally, the costume-wearing person on the other side of the door is a teenager which raises the question: How old is too old to trick or treat?

There are no real rules when it comes to who can go trick-or-treating, though, one town in Canada tried to ban anyone older than 16 from trick-or-treating with the threat of a $200 fine for rule breakers. The town of Bathurst originally banned anyone over age 14 from going door-to-door but that was changed amid public outcries.

In the U.S. Chesapeake, Virginia decided the trick-or-treat cutoff should be age 14, though a spokesperson told TODAY it has not been enforced and is only on the books in case of a disturbance.

Generally, people consider ages 12 to 16 the cutoff for trick-or-treating but that varies widely.

A 2021 survey by YouGov showed people were divided on the question. About one in four of those surveyed said you can never be too old to go trick-or-treating. However, 12% think age 12 should be the cutoff while another 11% said trick-or-treaters should be 13 or younger. Another 8% think it’s OK to go trick-or-treating until age 14 and 7% think a child ages out of the tradition at age 15.

Age plays a role, too, according to a poll. The younger the adult, the more likely they are to say a child should never be considered too old to go trick or treating. Among those 18 to 29 years old, 41% said children or teens are never too old to go trick-or-treating. A similar percentage – 37% - of 30-to-33-year-olds agree but those figures from to 17% among 45 to 65-year-olds and 14% among those 65 and older.

No matter public opinion, the bottom line is unless there’s a local rule about age limits for trick or treating, it’s best to use common sense on when it’s time to hang up the candy bags.