10 rules for unincorporated Prince William County, Virginia.
Verified from official government sources
Prince William County Code Ch. 14 sets nighttime (10 p.m.-6 a.m. for people) rules and decibel caps. Under the re-enacted ordinance (eff. May 1, 2026), residential zones are limited to 60 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime. Daytime is 7 a.m.-10 p.m. weekdays.
PWC Code § 14-5(7)
Talking, yelling, shouting, screaming, singing, or any other form of human sounds produced by any person or group of people between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. in such a manner as to be audible across property boundaries.
Prince William County Code § 14-4(c) lets permitted construction run 7 a.m.-9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays within 100 yards of a home, exempt from the decibel table. Nighttime construction near dwellings is prohibited.
PWC Code § 14-4(c)(1)
Any person, with lawfully obtained permits, who between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. weekdays and between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays... operates... any equipment used in construction... shall not be subject to the levels enumerated in Table 1.
Prince William County Code § 14-5.1 makes it unlawful to let any animal or bird (except farm animals in agricultural districts) create sound audible at least once a minute for ten consecutive minutes inside another's dwelling, or 50 or more feet from the animal.
PWC Code § 14-5.1
It shall be unlawful for any person to allow any animal or bird except farm animals in agricultural districts to create sound such that it is audible at least once a minute for ten consecutive minutes (i) inside the confines of the dwelling unit, house or apartment of another; or (ii) at 50 or more feet from the animal or bird.
Prince William County has no leaf-blower-specific ban or hour rule. Powered lawn equipment must simply stay within the Chapter 14 decibel limits at the property line (60 dBA daytime, 55 dBA nighttime in residential zones), which effectively confines noisy blowers to daytime hours.
PWC Code § 14-4(a)
TABLE 1 - MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE SOUND LEVELS (Leq): Residential 60 dBA Daytime, 55 dBA Nighttime; Mixed Use District 60/55; Commercial 65/60; Office 65/60; Industrial 79/72.
Prince William County Code § 14-5(6) prohibits any sound production device that emits sound audible 50 feet or more from the property boundary, or through walls shared by two residences. Amplified music also must meet the § 14-4 decibel limits (60 dBA day / 55 night residential).
PWC Code § 14-5(6)
The playing of any sound production device which produces, reproduces or amplifies sound in such a manner as to emit sound audible at a distance of 50 feet or more from the boundary of the property from which it is being emitted or audible through partitions common to two or more residences within a building.
Aircraft flight noise is federally regulated by the FAA, not Prince William County. The county code only addresses powered model aircraft, prohibiting their operation outdoors at night under § 14-5(5). In-flight aircraft noise is outside county jurisdiction.
PWC Code § 14-5(5)
Operating or permitting to be operated any powered model aircraft in the outdoors during the nighttime. Any person desiring to use county parks or facilities to operate such aircraft at any time must first obtain permission from the County Department of Parks and Recreation.
Prince William County Code § 14-4 caps industrial-zone noise at 79 dBA daytime and 72 dBA nighttime (Leq). A separate steady-tonal-sound rule limits droning noise (HVAC, transformers, data centers) in residential zones to 73 dB(C) daytime and 68 dB(C) nighttime, effective May 1, 2026.
PWC Code § 14-4(b)
No source of steady tonal sound may exceed the limits outlined below when measured at any location at or within a residential property boundary in a residential zoning district. Maximum permissible C-weighted sound level at the receiving property: Daytime 73 dB(C); Nighttime 68 dB(C).
Under the re-enacted Prince William County Code § 14-4 (eff. May 1, 2026), maximum sound levels measured at the property line are: Residential and Mixed Use 60 dBA day / 55 night, Commercial and Office 65 / 60, and Industrial 79 / 72 (dBA, Leq).
PWC Code § 14-4(a)
TABLE 1 - MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE SOUND LEVELS (Leq): Residential 60 dBA Daytime / 55 Nighttime; Mixed Use District 60 / 55; Commercial 65 / 60; Office 65 / 60; Industrial 79 / 72.
Outdoor music at a home or event in Prince William County must not be audible 50 feet or more from the property boundary (§ 14-5(6)) and must stay within the § 14-4 decibel limits (60 dBA day / 55 night residential). Loud human noise is banned 10 p.m.-6 a.m.
PWC Code § 14-5(6)
The playing of any sound production device which produces, reproduces or amplifies sound in such a manner as to emit sound audible at a distance of 50 feet or more from the boundary of the property from which it is being emitted or audible through partitions common to two or more residences within a building.
Prince William County Code § 14-5 sets a vehicular decibel table (e.g., motorcycles 82 dBA at 35 mph or less, 86 dBA above) measured 50 feet away, and bans tire spinning, engine racing, and missing mufflers. Virginia Code § 46.2-1049 requires a working exhaust system.
Virginia Code § 46.2-1049
No person shall drive and no owner of a vehicle shall permit or allow the operation of any such vehicle on a highway unless it is equipped with an exhaust system in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual levels of noise.
See every category we cover for Prince William County — parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
Prince William County Ordinance Hub →