'The Challenge’ Rules: Fines, Drink Regulations and More

While some rules in 'The Challenge' house have changed through the years, others have stayed in place — read more

It may be unpredictable, but even The Challenge has rules and regulations that the cast must follow.

The MTV hit series, which launched in 1998, initially followed past members of The Real World and Road Rules, creating teams and competitions that gave the contestants a chance to take home cash prizes.

Over the years, the show has brought in stars from a plethora of other reality shows — and from across the world. Yet, some things remain the same. For example, the cast is allowed to party while in the house and consume alcohol — but not before competing.

Contestants would “probably get kicked off the show” if they showed up to a Challenge drunk, vet Chris “C.T.” Tamburello told Rolling Stone magazine in 2018. “That’s a liability. We do these crazy stunts where we’re hanging above a tall building on harnesses,” he added. “You can’t be doing that if you’re drunk.”

While there wasn’t a limit on how many drinks each cast member could have, that changed a bit in 2021. While filming season 37, the cast were given drink tickets for the first time.

“We kept getting put on, like, punishment. Basically [they said], ‘Listen, you guys are acting crazy to production and the security team. You’re not respecting them. So we’ve got to limit the drinks,’” contestant Cory Wharton said on the “Watch With Us” podcast ahead of the premiere. “It was wild this season. I hope we can find a better system, but we were like kids at a carnival. We had drink tickets! Once your drink tickets ran out, no more drinks for you.”

Respect is one of the most important parts of living in the house — and can affect everything. In March 2021, host TJ Lavin noted that the way he treats certain competitors is directly related to how they react to others.

“How they treat the crew really matters to me. If somebody’s really bad with the crew and I see that then I’m a little bit different toward them. I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s what kind of person you are? OK. We’ll see how it is,’” the Nevada native told Us at the time. “I don’t deal with that at all, and I’m not cool with that at all. I think I probably get that from the showrunner that I’ve known my whole life, Justin Booth. And he’s very big on letting the whole crew first, and he’s very big on treating the crew with a lot of compassion. Basically, all you have to do is be respectful.”

When it comes to meals, cast members can put any food they want in the house on a grocery list and production will deliver it. They also have catering, which brings in breakfast, lunch and dinner regularly. “If you’re not there for it, you miss the meal,” the Teen Mom OG star added.

Scroll through the gallery below for more Challenge rules and regulations: