Pima County, AZ Noise from Specific Sources: Bar & Nightclub Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Daytime distance limit
- 125 feet from property line
- Night curfew
- 10 p.m.-7 a.m., inaudible beyond line
- Covered venues
- Restaurants, bars, inns, resorts
- Penalty class
- Class 1 misdemeanor
Summary
Bars, restaurants, inns and resorts in unincorporated Pima County can't run music or sound systems audible more than 125 feet away, or at all after 10 p.m. beyond the property line.
It shall be unlawful for any person, including the owner or manager of a restaurant, bar, inn, or resort of any kind, to operate or permit to be operated any radio receiving set, phonograph, musical instrument, or sound producing or sound reproducing mechanism, at any time in such a manner as to permit the same to be hear at a distance of more than one hundred twenty-five
(125) feet from the property line or motor vehicle where such radio receiving set, phonograph, or sound producing or sound reproducing mechanism is located, when the sound of such radio receiving set, phonograph, musical instrument, or sound producing or sound reproducing mechanism is operated in such a manner as to create an excessive, unnecessary or offensive noise that a reasonable person of normal sensitivity residing in the area is caused discomfort or annoyance.
B. It shall be unlawful for any person, including the owner or manager of a restaurant, bar, inn, or resort of any kind, to operate or permit to be operated any radio receiving set, phonograph, musical instrument, or sound producing or sound reproducing mechanism, between the hours of 10:00 P.M. and 7:00 A.M. in such a manner that the sound from such radio set, phonograph, musical instrument, sound producing or sound reproducing mechanism may be heard beyond the property line from which it is operated or outside the motor vehicle in which it is operated in such a manner as to create an excessive, unnecessary
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-64: Contains Supplement, with local legislation through Ordinance 2026-9, passed 7-28-2026, current through 7-28-2026).
Full Breakdown
County Code 9.30.050 singles out the owner or manager of a restaurant, bar, inn or resort of any kind: it is unlawful to operate a radio, sound system or musical instrument so it can be heard more than 125 feet from the property line, and between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. it cannot be audible beyond the property line at all if it causes discomfort or annoyance to a reasonable person nearby.
Violations & Fines
A violation is a class 1 misdemeanor under 9.30.090, with each day of continued noise treated as a separate offense; the county administrator can also address it as a public nuisance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the county's crowd-noise exemption cover bars?
Is this rule different from Tucson's?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pima County
Compare Pima County to another location·View the Arizona noise from specific sources overview
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