The Clay County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) is sending deputies door-to-door to every registered sex offender and predator in the county ahead of Halloween.

The agency's Fugitive and Sexual Offender Apprehension Unit is verifying addresses and conducting compliance checks to ensure offenders follow state law and a county ordinance that prohibits them from participating in Halloween activities, the CCSO said in a post on X on Friday, Oct. 23.

"Our Fugitive and Sexual Offender Apprehension Unit is going door-to-door, talking to every sex offender and predator in the county, letting them know they can't participate in Halloween and must follow the county ordinance," the sheriff's office wrote.

Under the Clay County ordinance, registered sex offenders and predators must avoid all Halloween-related contact with children, turn off all outside residential lighting after 5 p.m. and display no exterior decorations that could attract children to their homes, Action News Jax reported in October 2025 coverage of the restrictions.

The CCSO has not said whether any violations have been found during the checks so far.

In a separate Facebook post, the sheriff's office said there are 268 registered sexual offenders and 87 sexual predators living in Clay County. The publication date of that post is unclear, and those figures may reflect a prior year's count.

The compliance checks come as families across Orange Park and Fleming Island prepare for trick-or-treating on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Parents can look up whether registered offenders live in their neighborhood using the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Sexual Offender Registry on the FDLE website. The FDLE also offers a mobile app available through Google Play and the Apple App Store that includes a search tool for registered offenders' addresses.

Residents who see suspicious activity can call the CCSO at 904-264-6512, dial 911 or report it through the SaferWatch app.