Noise Ordinances in York County, VA (2026)
7 rules for unincorporated York County, Virginia.
Verified from official government sources
Quiet Hours
York County, Virginia's noise ordinance sets an 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. quiet period under County Code § 16-19.2(f) and (h), barring yelling, shouting or singing above conversational level and outdoor gatherings whose noise runs unabated for thirty minutes or more, when plainly audible across a property line or 100 feet away.
York County VA Nighttime Quiet Hours
Some RestrictionsYork County Code § 16-19.2(f), (h)
(f)Yelling, shouting, etc.. Yelling, shouting, and other vocal sounds in excess of a normal conversational level, whistling or singing, any of which occurs between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. so as to create a sound across a residential real property line or on a public right-of-way or on any public area that is plainly audible to an occupant of a dwelling unit within a building other...
Construction Hours
York County, Virginia limits ordinary construction noise to 7:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m. under County Code § 16-19.2(i), and bars pneumatic hammers, chain saws, pile drivers and similar heavy equipment outside 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. under § 16-19.2(j). The county administrator can grant emergency-work permits; violators face misdemeanor fines under Sec. 16-19.6.
York County VA Construction Noise Hours
Some RestrictionsYork County Code § 16-19.2(i)-(j)
(i)Construction. ... The erection, including excavation, demolition, alteration, or repair of any building or improvement between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., if any resulting sound is plainly audible beyond the real property line of the property on which the work is being conducted, or within any occupied dwelling unit other than the one in which the work is being performed with doors...
Barking Dogs
In York County, Virginia, County Code § 16-19.2(l) makes it unlawful to keep any animal whose barking or other noise is plainly audible across a residential property line, through a shared dwelling partition, or 100 feet from its source, once the noise continues for thirty minutes or longer. The York County Sheriff's Office enforces this animal-noise rule under the countywide noise ordinance.
York County VA Barking Dog Noise Law
Some RestrictionsYork County Code § 16-19.2(l)
(l)Animals. The keeping of any animal which shall be the source of any noise or sound which is plainly audible across a residential property line or through the partitions common to two dwelling units, or at a distance of one hundred feet (100') or more from its source and on property other than that from which the sound originates and which continues for a period of thirty (30) minutes or longer.
Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound
York County bans playing radios, stereos or musical instruments loud enough to be plainly audible 100 feet away or across a residential property line, and flatly forbids it between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. near neighboring homes. A first offense is a misdemeanor fined up to $250.
York County Amplified Sound Limits
Some RestrictionsYork County Code §§ 16-19.2, 16-19.6
Sec. 16-19.2. - Specific prohibitions.The following acts, or the causing or permitting thereof, among others, are unlawful:(a)Radios, stereos and loudspeakers, television sets, musical instruments and similar sound amplification or reproduction devices. Operating, playing or permitting the operation or playing of any radio, stereo system or loudspeakers, television, compact disc player, or othe...
Aircraft Noise
York County, Virginia's noise ordinance does not reach aircraft. County Code § 16-19.5(g) expressly exempts locomotives, other railroad equipment, and aircraft from the specific prohibitions of Sec. 16-19.2 and the decibel tables of Sec. 16-19.3, so overflight noise near Naval Weapons Station Yorktown or from civil aircraft cannot be cited locally.
York County VA Aircraft Noise Exemption
Few RestrictionsYork County Code § 16-19.5(g)
Sections 16-19.2 and 16-19.3 shall have no application to any sound generated by any of the following: ... (g)Locomotives and other railroad equipment, and aircraft.
Decibel Limits
York County, Virginia sets numeric sound-pressure limits in County Code § 16-19.3: outdoor noise reaching a residential property may not exceed 65 dB(A) from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. or 55 dB(A) overnight, with lower indoor limits of 55 and 50 dB(A). The strictest classification applies when a noise source spans districts.
York County VA Noise Decibel Limits
Some RestrictionsYork County Code § 16-19.3
Maximum sound pressure levels. In addition to, and not in limitation of the specific prohibitions of Section 16-19.2, no person shall operate or permit to be operated any noise source which generates a sound pressure level exceeding the limits set forth in the following tables when measured at or outside the property boundary of the noise source or at any point within any other property affecte...
Vehicle Noise
York County, Virginia bars sound trucks and public address systems from amplifying sound between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. when audible across a residential property line under County Code § 16-19.2(b), and separately limits car radios, phonographs and speakers on public streets and parking lots to 100 feet of audibility under § 16-19.2(c).
York County VA Sound Truck & Radio Noise
Some RestrictionsYork County Code § 16-19.2(b)-(c)
(b)Public address systems and sound trucks. Using, operating or permitting the operation of any public address system, sound truck, mobile sound vehicle or similar device amplifying sound therefrom for any purpose between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in such a manner as to permit sound to be plainly audible across a residential real property line, or at a distance of one hundred feet (1...
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