Noise Ordinances in Tucson, AZ (2026)
7 verified noise ordinances for Tucson, Arizona, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Quiet Hours
Tucson's noise ordinance sets stricter decibel ceilings overnight: residential property lines can't exceed 62 dB(A) between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., versus 70 dB(A) during the day. Commercial and industrial property get the same nighttime cut too. Violations are civil infractions enforced by Tucson Police and the city attorney.
Tucson Quiet Hours: Lower Noise Limits After 10 PM
Some RestrictionsTucson City Code § 16-31(a), Table I
(a) Maximum permissible sound levels. No person shall conduct or permit any activity that produces a dB(A) beyond that person's property line exceeding the levels specified in Table I. Where property is used for both residential and commercial purposes, the residential sound levels shall be used only for measurements made on the portion of the property used solely for residential purposes. TABL...
Construction Hours
Tucson's excessive-noise ordinance bars audible construction noise, repair, remodeling, demolition, drilling, wood cutting or excavation, from 8:00 p.m. through sunrise Monday through Saturday, and at any time on Sundays and legal holidays. Homeowners working on their own residence get a narrower window instead. Violations are a civil infraction.
Tucson Construction Noise: 8 PM to Sunrise Barred
Some RestrictionsTucson City Code § 16-31(b)(5)
(b) Other noises prohibited; standards for excessive noise. ... The following activities are prohibited if they produce plainly audible sound beyond the property line of the property on which they are conducted and they disturb the peace and quiet of a neighborhood or person: ... (5) Any noise created by construction activities including, but not limited to, repair, remodeling, demolition, dril...
Barking Dogs
Owning or harboring an animal or bird that frequently or continuously howls, barks, or squawks and disturbs a neighborhood violates Tucson Code § 16-31(b)(3). Any peace officer or county animal control officer can issue a citation directly.
Tucson Barking Dog & Animal Noise Ordinance
Some RestrictionsTucson Code § 16-31(b)(3)
(3) Owning, possessing, harboring or permitting any animal or bird which frequently or for continuous duration howls, barks, meows, squawks or makes other sounds. Any peace officer or any county animal control officer is hereby authorized to issue citations to owners for any violation of this subsection.
Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound
Playing a radio, amplifier, or musical instrument audible beyond your property line for 15+ minutes violates Tucson's noise code if it disturbs a neighborhood, regardless of decibel reading. Vehicle sound systems face a separate 50-foot audibility test.
Tucson Amplified Sound & Music Noise Rules
Some RestrictionsTucson Code § 16-31(b)(1), (k)
(1) Allowing or causing any continuous or intermittent noise that persists for a period of at least fifteen (15) minutes and which is caused by using, operating or permitting to be played any radio, television, tape deck, record player, amplifier, musical instrument, or instrument, machine or device used for the production, reproduction or emission of sound... (k)(1) Except as authorized by law...
Aircraft Noise
Tucson's Airport Environs Zone splits land near Tucson International Airport into Noise Control Districts NCD-65 and NCD-70, and any new house, office, or public-accommodation use inside them must be sound-attenuated to an interior Ldn of 45 or less. Both districts ban new day care centers outright, and NCD-70 also bans new elementary and secondary schools.
Tucson Airport Noise Control District Rules
Significant RestrictionsTucson Unified Development Code § 5.6.6.A.1,3; B.1,5
A. NCD-65 1. Within Noise Control District-65, the following uses shall be provided with sound attenuation, to reduce the interior noise level to an Ldn of 45 or less, as specified in Section 9-03.0.0, Sound Attenuation within the Airport Environs Zone, of the Technical Standards Manual: a. Site-built residential uses; b. Places of public accommodation; and, c. Administrative and Professional O...
Decibel Limits
Tucson caps property-line sound at 70 dB(A) daytime / 62 dB(A) nighttime for residential property, 72/65 for commercial, and 85/70 for industrial. The night limit runs 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.; violations are civil infractions enforced by police and the city attorney.
Tucson Noise Decibel Limits by Zone & Time
Some RestrictionsTucson Code § 16-31(a)
No person shall conduct or permit any activity that produces a dB(A) beyond that person's property line exceeding the levels specified in Table I... TABLE I Use of Property Receiving the Sound: 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. / 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. — Residential 70 / 62; Commercial 72 / 65; Industrial 85 / 70. All limits expressed in dB(A).
Vehicle Noise
Tucson requires a working muffler on every gasoline-powered vehicle and bans cutout or bypass devices outright. Car stereos and other vehicle sound systems cross the line once they're plainly audible fifty feet away or loud enough to annoy a neighborhood, regardless of a decibel reading. Both are civil infractions under Chapter 16's excessive-noise article.
Tucson Bans Loud Car Stereos and Muffler Cutouts
Some RestrictionsTucson City Code § 16-31(g), (k)
(g) Mufflers required on mechanical devices; cutouts prohibited. No person may operate any mechanical device operated by gasoline, or otherwise, without having a muffler, in good working order and in constant operation, to prevent excessive or unusual noise and smoke; and no person shall use a muffler cutout, bypass or similar device. ... (k) Sound amplification systems in vehicles. ... (1) Exc...
Looking for Pima County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Tucson city rules.
Noise Ordinances in Pima County →