10 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Knox County, Tennessee.
Verified from official government sources
Unincorporated Knox County has no general quiet-hours ordinance with set nighttime cutoffs. Code sections 50-4 through 50-25 (offenses) are reserved. Nuisance noise is handled through state disorderly-conduct law and, for specific uses, zoning decibel standards.
Knox County sets no specific start/stop hours for construction noise. The zoning noise performance standards expressly exempt construction, maintenance, and site-preparation noise, so construction sound is not capped by the county decibel limits.
Knox County Zoning Ordinance 4.10.01(A)
These standards shall not apply to... noises resulting from the construction or maintenance of buildings or facilities including site preparation...
Knox County code makes it a violation to keep an animal that habitually barks, whines, or makes objectionable noise that is a nuisance to neighbors. 'Habitually' means continuously for 10 minutes, or intermittently for one-half hour or more.
Knox County Code, Sec. 6-33
The owner having control or custody of any animal or livestock which... habitually barks, whines, meows, squawks or causes other objectionable noise resulting in a nuisance... 'habitually' shall mean continuously for a period of ten minutes, or intermittently for one-half hour or more.
Knox County has no ordinance restricting leaf blowers by decibel, model, or time of day. Lawn-maintenance noise is not separately regulated in the unincorporated county; only nuisance-level noise falls under state disorderly-conduct law.
The unincorporated county has no dedicated amplified-music or PA ordinance. Loud amplified sound is addressed under Tennessee disorderly conduct (TCA 39-17-305). Permitted event uses carry a 40 dB night / 50 dB day property-line cap under zoning standard 4.104.
Knox County does not regulate aircraft noise; airspace and aircraft operations are governed by the FAA under federal preemption. The county zoning noise standards apply only to ground-based uses, not overflights.
Knox County zoning bars any use from creating a sound level at or beyond its lot boundary exceeding the octave-band performance-standard limits. Short bursts, safety signals, railroads, and construction are exempt; measurement uses a slow-response sound meter.
Knox County Zoning Ordinance 4.10.01(A)
No person shall operate, cause to operate or allow to operate any source of sound in such a manner as to create a sound level at any point on or beyond the boundary of any lot or tract which exceeds the limits set forth in these standards.
Knox County's zoning ordinance sets octave-band sound-pressure limits at the property line for uses subject to performance standards, ranging from 77 dB at 63 Hz down to 39 dB at 8,000 Hz, measured on a slow-response sound level meter.
Knox County Zoning Ordinance 4.10.01(B)
The sound pressure level resulting from any use or activity shall not exceed the maximum permitted decibel levels for the designated octave bands... 63 Hz 77; 125 Hz 71; 250 Hz 63; 500 Hz 57; 1,000 Hz 51; 2,000 Hz 45; 4,000 Hz 40; 8,000 Hz 39.
For permitted rural-retreat event uses, Knox County zoning caps noise at any property line to 40 dB between 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. and 50 dB at all other times. General backyard outdoor music has no dedicated county rule beyond state disorderly-conduct law.
Knox County Zoning Ordinance 4.104(I)
Noise generated by the use, as measured at any property line, shall not exceed forty (40) decibels (dB) between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., and shall not exceed fifty (50) decibels (dB) at any other time.
Knox County code requires every motor vehicle to have a working muffler and bans muffler cutouts on county roadways. Excessive or unusual vehicle noise from a defective or modified exhaust is prohibited, mirroring Tennessee state law TCA 55-9-202.
Knox County Code, Sec. 62-263
Every motor vehicle shall at all times be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise; and no person shall use a muffler cutout or similar device upon a vehicle on a roadway within the county.
1 cities in Knox County have their own noise ordinances rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
See every category we cover for Knox County — parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
Knox County Ordinance Hub →