Noise Ordinances in Highlands County, FL (2026)
8 rules for unincorporated Highlands County, Florida.
Verified from official government sources
Quiet Hours
In unincorporated Highlands County, the Noise Control Ordinance bars any excessive, unnecessary or unreasonable noise that disturbs a neighborhood, and Table I of Section 5.6-106 layers on fixed nighttime limits. Residential and agricultural property drops from 65 dBA in the daytime to 60 dBA between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.; commercial and industrial land stays at 75 dBA around the clock.
Highlands County Nighttime Noise Curfew
Some RestrictionsHighlands County Code § 5.6-106
(b)Maximum sound level generated across real property lines. The sound from any activity or from any permissible use of property within the applicable zoning district classifications of Highlands County ... shall be deemed excessive, unnecessary, offensive or unusually loud if the total sound level due to both ambient sound and the alleged source ... exceeds the sound levels prescribed in Table...
Construction Hours
In unincorporated Highlands County, running construction, excavation, grading, pile-driving, demolition or building-alteration equipment loud enough to reach across a residential property line is barred between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. A separate exception lets usual construction noise run freely between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., and emergency work is exempt at any hour.
Highlands County Construction Noise Hours
Some RestrictionsHighlands County Code § 5.6-105(2)
(2)Construction equipment. It shall be a violation of this section to operate any equipment used in construction activity, building, excavation, grading, pile driving, pneumatic hammering, demolition, dredging, building alteration or repair work in a manner which is plainly audible across a real property line of any residential zoning district or residential area between the hours of 9:00 p.m. ...
Barking Dogs
Highlands County's Noise Control Ordinance makes it a violation for a dog's owner or custodian to let the dog bark, bay, cry or howl continuously for five minutes, or intermittently for fifteen minutes or more, to the disturbance of any person, day or night, whether the dog is on private property or not. A danger-warning bark is excepted.
Highlands County Barking Dog Noise Rule
Some RestrictionsHighlands County Code § 5.6-105(4)b
b.It shall be a violation of this section for the owner or custodian of any dog to allow that dog to bark, bay, cry, howl or make any other similar noise continuously for a period of five minutes or bark intermittently for fifteen minutes or more to the disturbance of any person at any time, day or night, regardless of whether the dog is physically situated in or upon private property unless th...
Leaf Blower Rules
Unincorporated Highlands County bars landscape maintenance activity, which covers gas leaf blowers along with mowers and trimmers, from creating a noise disturbance plainly audible across a residential property line between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. A related provision separately restricts power tools like saws, sanders and drills used outdoors in residential areas during the same hours.
Highlands County Landscape Noise Hours
Some RestrictionsHighlands County Code § 5.6-105(16)
(16)Landscape maintenance. It shall be a violation of this section for any person to conduct landscape maintenance activities in such a manner as to create a noise disturbance that is plainly audible across a real property line of any residential zoning district or residential area between the hours of 9:00 p.m. of one day and 6:00 a.m. of the next day.
Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound
Unincorporated Highlands County bars radios, stereos, musical instruments and other sound equipment from creating a noise disturbance that is plainly audible across a residential property line between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Vehicle- and vessel-mounted sound systems face a stricter, round-the-clock test: audible 100 feet or more on a waterway, right-of-way or public property is itself a violation.
Highlands County Amplified Sound Curfew
Some RestrictionsHighlands County Code § 5.6-105(1)
(1)Radios, television sets, musical instruments, and similar devices. It shall be a violation of this section to use, operate, or permit to be played, used, or operated any radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, television set, stereo set, cassette player, compact disc player, sound amplifier or other machine or device for the production or reproduction of sound in a manner which ...
Aircraft Noise
In unincorporated Highlands County, the Airport Zoning Ordinance bars new incompatible uses within the noise contours around Sebring Regional and Avon Park Executive airports and requires written notice before any land within the 65 DNL noise contour is sold or leased. The Development Services Department administers airport zoning; violations are misdemeanors of the second degree under Chapter 2.1.
Aircraft Noise Rules in Highlands County, FL
Some RestrictionsHighlands County Code § 2.1-5
(3)Where an airport authority or other governing body operating a public-use airport has conducted a noise study in accordance with 14 C.F.R. Part 150 ... residential construction, educational facilities, other than aviation school facilities, and other incompatible uses ... are prohibited within the noise contours established by any of these studies, except if such uses are specifically contem...
Decibel Limits
Highlands County caps ambient plus source sound at 65 dBA daytime and 60 dBA nighttime in residential and agricultural districts, and 75 dBA around the clock in commercial and industrial districts, under Table I of section 5.6-106. Multifamily units get a stricter interior standard of 55 dBA day and 45 dBA night between units.
Highlands County Decibel Limits By Zoning
Some RestrictionsHighlands County Code § 5.6-106(b)
(b)Maximum sound level generated across real property lines. The sound from any activity or from any permissible use of property within the applicable zoning district classifications of Highlands County or from the use of any vessel or other watercraft on the waters of Highlands County shall be deemed excessive, unnecessary, offensive or unusually loud if the total sound level due to both ambie...
Vehicle Noise
Unincorporated Highlands County requires every internal combustion engine, including a motor boat or motor vehicle engine, to run with a muffler or equally effective device that prevents loud or explosive noise; running one without an effective muffler is itself a violation. A companion rule separately bans a vehicle's stereo from being plainly audible 100 feet away in public.
Highlands County Vehicle Muffler Noise Rule
Some RestrictionsHighlands County Code § 5.6-105(3)
(3)Engine mufflers. It shall be a violation of this section to operate any internal combustion engine, including such an engine associated with a motor boat or motor vehicle, without a muffler or other device, at least as effective as the manufacturer's original equipment, which will effectively prevent loud or explosive noises.
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