How Memphis Handles Noise Ordinances: A Practical Guide

Memphis maintains 129 local ordinances across all categories, and 6 of those deal specifically with noise ordinances. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Memphis falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Aircraft Noise

Memphis's vehicle noise ordinance sets no decibel limit for aircraft. Section 11-56-2(A) instructs officers measuring vehicle noise to disregard traffic, aircraft and other background transportation sounds when reading a car or truck's sound level, unless that background noise interferes with the reading. The city's separate Airports and Aircraft chapter, 12-76, regulates flight altitude and safety, not noise.

Key details: Aircraft noise: Not assigned a dB(A) limit citywide. Measurement carve-out: § 11-56-2(A) excludes aircraft from vehicle-noise readings. Aviation chapter: Ch. 12-76 covers safety, not noise. Minimum flight altitude: 1,000 ft above obstructions, § 12-76-2. Airport authority: Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, § 12-76-1.

Memphis Code creates no citation, fine or complaint category for aircraft noise; Section 11-56-2(A) affirmatively excludes it from the vehicle noise chapter's enforcement measurements. The city's aircraft chapter, 12-76, penalizes altitude and flight-safety violations, not noise, and where it sets no separate fine, the Code's general misdemeanor penalty in Section 1-24-1 applies: up to $50 per violation.

Memphis is more permissive than most cities when it comes to aircraft noise. That said, there are still limits.

Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound

Memphis Code § 9-68-3 prohibits using a drum, loudspeaker or other instrument to create noise for the purpose of attracting attention to a performance, show, sale or display of merchandise anywhere in the city. The ban applies regardless of decibel level or time of day, though § 9-68-13(3) exempts reasonable use of amplifiers or loudspeakers for noncommercial public addresses.

Key details: Prohibited devices: Drum, loudspeaker, instrument to attract attention. Applies to: Performances, shows, sales, merchandise display. Time restriction: None stated: applies at all hours. Exemption: Noncommercial public addresses, § 9-68-13(3). Maximum fine: $50.00 general penalty, § 1-24-1(A).

Chapter 9-68 is not among the chapters listed in § 1-24-1(C) for a mandatory $200.00 minimum, so a first violation of § 9-68-3 is punished under the general penalty in § 1-24-1(A): a fine of up to $50.00, plus an automatic additional penalty of up to $200.00 under § 1-24-1(C). Each day the noise-making continues is charged as a separate offense.

Compared to other cities, Memphis takes a harder line on amplified music & outdoor sound. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Construction Hours

Memphis Code § 9-68-6 prohibits building erection, demolition, alteration, repair, and street or highway excavation in residential districts outside fixed hours: 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays, and never on Sundays. Off-hours work requires a chief building inspector emergency permit capped at 30 days.

Key details: Weekday hours: 7:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.. Saturday hours: 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.. Sunday work: Prohibited without emergency permit. Emergency permit issuer: Chief building inspector. Permit duration cap: 30 days maximum.

Violating § 9-68-6 is a misdemeanor under the Code's general penalty section, § 1-24-1(A): a fine of up to $50.00 per separate violation, since Chapter 9-68 is not among the chapters (9-72, 9-80, 9-92, 9-100) carrying the Code's enhanced $200.00 minimum penalty. Each day construction continues outside the permitted hours without a valid emergency permit is treated as a separate offense, so fines compound day over day, and city judges set the exact fine within that $50 cap at their discretion.

Quiet Hours

Memphis Code § 9-68-5 bans yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on public streets, with particular emphasis between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., whenever the noise annoys or disturbs the quiet, comfort or repose of people in a nearby hospital, dwelling, hotel or other residence, or anyone else in the vicinity.

Key details: Governing section: Memphis Code § 9-68-5. Emphasis hours: 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.. Prohibited conduct: Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling, singing. Standard: Disturbs quiet/comfort/repose of nearby residents. Related construction curfew: 7am-6pm weekdays, 8am-4pm Sat., § 9-68-6.

A § 9-68-5 violation is enforced like the rest of Chapter 9-68: fined up to $50.00 under the general penalty in § 1-24-1(A), since noise control is not among the chapters carrying the $200.00 mandatory minimum under § 1-24-1(C), though an automatic additional penalty of up to $200.00 still applies. Each night the yelling, shouting or singing continues to disturb neighbors is treated as a separate offense.

Barking Dogs

Memphis Code § 9-68-7 makes it unlawful to keep any animal, bird or fowl whose frequent or long-continued noise disturbs the comfort or repose of anyone nearby. There's no decibel meter or fixed duration test: it's a nuisance standard enforced on a complaint basis by animal services or code enforcement.

Key details: Governing section: Memphis Code § 9-68-7. Covers: Any animal, bird, or fowl. Standard: Frequent or long-continued noise disturbance. Enforcement: Complaint-driven, Memphis Animal Services. Fine: Up to $50 per violation.

A § 9-68-7 violation is a misdemeanor under the Code's general penalty, § 1-24-1(A): a fine of up to $50.00 for each separate violation, set within that cap at the city judge's discretion, with continuing daily disturbance treated as a new offense each day. Chapter 9-68 doesn't carry the enhanced $200.00 minimum penalty that applies to the Health and Sanitation chapters.

Memphis is more permissive than most cities when it comes to barking dogs. That said, there are still limits.

Vehicle Noise

Memphis Code § 11-32-15 requires every motor vehicle on city streets to run a muffler "in good working order and in constant operation" to cut excessive noise, smoke and gas; § 11-32-16 separately bans muffler cutouts outright. A companion horn rule in § 11-32-17 forbids sirens, unauthorized whistles and any unnecessarily loud horn blast.

Key details: Muffler standard: Good working order, constant operation: no numeric limit. Muffler cutouts: Banned outright under Sec. 11-32-16. Horn audibility: Must be heard from at least 200 feet. Sirens/whistles: Reserved for police, fire and emergency vehicles. State authority: T.C.A. § 55-9-202.

Driving without a working muffler, running a muffler cutout, or blasting an unauthorized horn or siren is a traffic offense under Chapter 11-32 and, absent a separate forfeiture listed for these sections, is punishable as a misdemeanor under the general penalty provision, Sec. 1-24-1. A police officer can cite a vehicle on sight for excessive exhaust noise or an illegal cutout without needing a decibel measurement, since the standard is equipment condition, not a numeric sound limit.

The Bottom Line

Compared to many U.S. cities, Memphis gives residents more room on noise ordinances. 2 of the 6 rules here are rated permissive. But permissive does not mean unregulated. There are still requirements, and the city does enforce them when violations are reported.

Keep in mind that Memphis can amend these rules at any council meeting. For the most current version of any rule mentioned here, check the specific ordinance page, where we track updates as they happen.