Noise Ordinances in Boulder, CO (2026)
8 verified noise ordinances for Boulder, Colorado, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Quiet Hours
Boulder's nighttime noise curfew runs 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Under Boulder Revised Code § 5-9-6(b), anyone on public property in a residential district during those hours is barred from yelling, screaming, shouting, cheering, or singing louder than normal conversational speech. A related law, § 5-9-5, lets residents get an official warning issued against a repeat noisy neighbor at any hour.
Boulder Nighttime Quiet Hours Curfew
Some RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 5-9-6(b)
(b)Unreasonable Unamplified Noise:(1)Between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., while on public property within a residential district, no person shall yell, scream, shout, cheer, sing, or otherwise make noise with the human voice louder than that which is reasonably necessary for normal conversational speech.(2)It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of violating this subsection that the ...
Construction Hours
Boulder bars audible construction power tools in a residential zone between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. under Boulder Revised Code § 5-9-7(b): if the tool can be heard off the property where it is being used, and the work needs or has a building permit, running it during that overnight window is a violation regardless of decibel level.
Boulder Construction Noise Curfew Hours
Some RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 5-9-7(b)
Between the hours of 9:00 p.m. through 7:00 a.m., no person shall: [...] (b) Construction in a Residential Zone: In a residential zone, use power tools which are audible off the property upon which they are being used as part of construction work for which a building permit has been issued or is required for the work.
Barking Dogs
Boulder Revised Code § 6-1-19 bars any animal guardian from letting a pet disturb the peace with loud, persistent or habitual barking, howling, yelping or similar noise, on or off the owner's property. Before anyone can be charged, the city must have already given a written warning about that specific animal within the prior twelve months.
Boulder's Barking Dog Noise Law
Some RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 6-1-19(a)-(d)
(a) No person owning or keeping any animal shall fail to prevent such animal from disturbing the peace of any other person by loud and persistent or loud and habitual barking, howling, yelping, braying, whinnying, crowing, calling, or making any other loud and persistent or loud and habitual noise, whether the animal is on or off the guardian's or keeper's premises. (b) No person shall be charg...
Leaf Blower Rules
Boulder bans lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and other power lawn or garden tools between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on private property within, or within 100 feet of, a residential district. Boulder Revised Code § 5-9-7(a) sets the curfew; a separate defense in § 5-9-3 otherwise shields lawn equipment used with a good muffler between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Boulder Leaf Blower and Lawn Mower Hours
Some RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 5-9-7(a)
5-9-7. - Unreasonable Noise Prohibited Between the Hours of 9:00 p.m. Through 7:00 a.m. - Lawn Mowers, Leaf Blowers, and Construction. Between the hours of 9:00 p.m. through 7:00 a.m., no person shall: (a)Lawn Mowers and Leaf Blowers: Operate any lawn mower, leaf blower, or other power lawn or gardening tool on any private property within, or within one hundred feet of the boundary of, any resi...
Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound
Boulder limits how far amplified sound may carry from the property where it originates. Under Boulder Revised Code § 5-9-6(a), amplified sound in a residential district may not be audible 100 feet beyond the property line between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., or 200 feet beyond it during the day; in a commercial or industrial district the nighttime distance limit rises to 150 feet.
Boulder Amplified Sound Distance Limits
Some RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 5-9-6(a)
(a)Unreasonable Amplified Noise:(1)Nighttime Hours: Between the hours of 11 p.m. through 7 a.m., no person shall electronically amplify any sound, or make any noise by means of any electronic amplifier, which is loud enough to be audible to a person of normal hearing:(A)One hundred or more feet beyond the property line of the property upon which the loudspeakers are located where they are locat...
Aircraft Noise
Boulder sets no decibel limit for aircraft. Section 9-3-10 instead controls land use around the airport through four overlay zones, running from Zone Four (avigation easement and underground utilities) to Zone One (no new construction except airport construction). No variance is allowed from any requirement of the section.
Boulder Airport Influence Zone Rules
Significant RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 9-3-10
(a) Legislative Intent: The purpose of this section is to enact an airport influence overlay zone map and associated regulations, providing for certain land development controls on the area surrounding the airport which may be affected by aircraft accidents and by noise, vibrations, fumes, dust, smoke, fuel particles and other annoyances and influences from airport operations. ... (A) A person ...
Decibel Limits
Boulder caps sound by the zone of the property receiving it: 55 dBA by day and 50 dBA at night in residential districts, 65 and 60 in mixed use and other districts, and 80 and 75 in industrial districts. Day runs 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Section 5-9-3 also sets construction deeming rules and a meter standard.
Boulder Decibel Limits for Noise by Zone
Some RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 5-9-3
(b) Sound from any source, other than a moving vehicular source located within the public right of way, shall not exceed any of the following limits for its appropriate zone: ... Zoning District of the Property on Which the Sound is Received Maximum Number of Decibels Permitted from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. of the Same Day Maximum Number of Decibels Permitted from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. of the Follow...
Vehicle Noise
Boulder caps the noise a motor vehicle makes in the public right-of-way at 80 dBA (88 dBA for trucks rated 10,000 pounds or more), measured 25 feet from the vehicle, under Boulder Revised Code § 5-9-4. A separate rule, § 5-9-8, bans car stereos and amplifiers audible 25 feet away or that make vibrations people outside the vehicle can feel, at any hour, anywhere in the city.
Boulder Vehicle Noise and Muffler Rules
Some RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code §§ 5-9-4, 5-9-8
(a) Sound from a motor vehicle located within the public right of way shall not exceed eighty decibels on the "A" weighting scale (dBA), except that sound from a vehicle with a manufacturer's gross weight rating of ten thousand pounds and above may exceed eighty dBA but shall not exceed eighty-eight dBA. Such sound shall be measured at a distance of at least twenty-five feet from a vehicle loca...
Looking for Boulder County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Boulder city rules.
Noise Ordinances in Boulder County →