Why Halloween Is a Busy Night
Halloween is one of five holidays when the City of Orlando’s late-night rules let the police chief require off-duty officers outside downtown late-night bars, along with St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve. NHTSA runs its Halloween impaired-driving awareness campaigns from October 25 to 31.
The arrests that follow are mostly DUI, fights (battery, affray, disorderly conduct) and drug possession.
Bail for Common Halloween Charges
In Orange County, the Ninth Circuit bond schedule sets these amounts, which match Florida’s 2026 statewide schedule:
- First-offense DUI: $500 bond, $100 premium.
- Battery or affray: $1,000 bond, $100 premium.
- Cannabis, 20 grams or less: $500 bond, $100 premium.
- Domestic violence, felony battery and aggravated battery: bail must be set by a judge.
Weekend Timing: Saturday, October 31
Because Halloween is a Saturday this year, charges that need a judge go to the weekend first appearance docket:
- Seminole County: 9:00 a.m. (booked after 2:00 a.m. means the next day’s docket).
- Orange County: about 11:30 a.m.
- Osceola County: 11:00 a.m., by video.
- Volusia County: 8:30 a.m.
DUI on Halloween: The Hold
Florida law keeps a DUI arrestee in custody until they are no longer impaired, their alcohol level is below 0.05, or 8 hours have passed since the arrest (Fla. Stat. 316.193(9)). The driver also has 10 days from the notice of suspension to request a review of the license suspension.
If Someone Is Arrested on Halloween
- Get their full legal name, date of birth and the county of arrest.
- Look them up in that county’s official inmate search, or call us at (407) 321-2663.
- Don’t send money to anyone who calls claiming to be the jail.
- Have a ride ready for release. Orange County can take up to 12 hours, and Volusia doesn’t release people from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. without someone there to pick them up.