Noise Ordinances in Alexandria, VA (2026)
7 verified noise ordinances for Alexandria, Virginia, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Quiet Hours
Alexandria bars any sound inside a residential dwelling that is plainly audible in a neighbor's dwelling, with doors and windows closed, between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. under City Code § 11-5-4(3), enforced with escalating $100/$250/$500 civil penalties under § 11-5-12.
Alexandria Nighttime Noise Curfew 11pm-7am
Some RestrictionsAlexandria City Code §§ 11-5-4(3), 11-5-12
(3)Noise in residential dwellings. Unless otherwise exempted or excepted by this chapter, any person that permits, operates, or causes any source of sound or sound generation to create a sound in his or her residential dwelling that is plainly audible in any other person's residential dwelling with the doors and windows closed between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. ... Sec. 11-5-12 - Pen...
Construction Hours
Construction, demolition and power-equipment noise in Alexandria is barred outside Table I's window: weekdays before 7 a.m. or after 6 p.m., Saturdays before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m., and all day Sunday and holidays, under City Code § 11-5-4(10) and (15).
Alexandria Permitted Construction Noise Hours
Some RestrictionsAlexandria City Code § 11-5-4(10), (15)
(10)Construction or repairing of buildings, streets, walks, railways, sewers, utility lines, etc. The erection (including excavation), demolition, alteration or repair, and any and all activity necessary or incidental thereto, of any building, except as subject to subsection (5) above, any street, walk, railway, sewer, utility line or other construction other than between the hours listed in Ta...
Barking Dogs
Alexandria's nuisance ordinance makes it unlawful for a dog to bark, howl or bay loud enough to be 'plainly audible' in a neighbor's home between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., or for more than five minutes in any ten-minute stretch across property lines during the day, under City Code Sec. 5-7-42.
Alexandria Barking Dog Noise Nuisance Rule
Some RestrictionsAlexandria City Code § 5-7-42(4)
The following conduct is declared a nuisance and is prohibited. It shall be unlawful for the owner or custodian of a dog to: ...(4)Permit the dog to bark, howl, bay, or make any such other sound:a.Between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. that is plainly audible in any other person's residential dwelling with the doors and windows closed and the source of the sound generation is discernible regardless o...
Leaf Blower Rules
Alexandria bans gas-powered leaf blowers and leaf vacuums outright at all times under City Code § 11-5-4(16)(a); other power lawn and garden equipment, including electric blowers, is restricted to Table II hours: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. weekends and holidays.
Alexandria Gas Leaf Blower Ban & Hours
Significant RestrictionsAlexandria City Code § 11-5-4(16)
(16)Power lawn and garden equipment.(a)No person shall operate or permit the operation of any gas-powered leaf blowers or gas-powered leaf vacuums.(b)The operation or permitting the operation of any power lawn or garden equipment is prohibited during the times listed in Table II, except gas-powered leaf blowers or gas-powered leaf vacuums, whose use is prohibited at all times. TABLE II Prohibit...
Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound
Amplified sound in Alexandria's streets, sidewalks, parks and other public outdoor space may not exceed 75 dB(A) from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. or 65 dB(A) overnight, measured 10 feet from the source, under City Code § 11-5-4.1, unless a special permit is displayed.
Alexandria Amplified Sound Decibel Limits
Some RestrictionsAlexandria City Code § 11-5-4.1(a), (c), (d)
(a)Notwithstanding any conflicting provision of this chapter or other law, it shall be unlawful for any person to engage in, or to suffer or permit on or with property under such person's control, any sound generation, as defined in this section, in or on any public or private street, sidewalk or alley, any public park, marina or open space, or any private outdoor property that is open to the p...
Decibel Limits
Alexandria enforces fixed decibel ceilings on noise crossing a property line, sized to the zoning of the source: 55 dB(A) for residential, 65 dB(A) daytime and 60 dB(A) at night for commercial, 70 dB(A) for industrial, and 60 dB(A) for institutional uses under City Code Sec. 11-5-5. Violations bring escalating civil penalties enforced by the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services.
Alexandria Noise Decibel Limits by Zone
Some RestrictionsCity of Alexandria, VA Code Sec. 11-5-5 - Noises prohibited—decibel provisions
(1)Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, it shall be unlawful to project a sound or noise beyond the boundaries of the property from which such noise emanates which exceeds any of the limiting noise spectra set forth in Table III of this subsection which are applicable to that property. ... TABLE III MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE SOUND LEVELS Use Areas Maximum dB(A): Residential 55; Commercial Be...
Vehicle Noise
Alexandria requires every motor vehicle exhaust to discharge through a muffler under City Code § 11-5-4(7), and bars sounding a horn or sound-signal device except as a warning of danger under § 11-5-4(1); both carry the chapter's $100-$500 escalating civil penalties.
Alexandria Vehicle Exhaust & Horn Noise Rules
Some RestrictionsAlexandria City Code § 11-5-4(1), (7)
(1)Sound signaling device. The sounding of any sound signal device on any automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle on any street or public place of the city, except as a warning of danger or as provided in subsection 11-5-6. The sounding of any sound signal device attached to a motor vehicle, wagon or manually propelled cart, from which food or any other items are sold, more frequently than once...