Pitt County, NC Noise from Specific Sources: Bar & Nightclub Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing agency
- Pitt County Sheriff's Office
- Nighttime residential limit
- 50 dBA, 10pm-7am
- Commercial receiving limit
- 65 dBA at all times
- First civil penalty
- $100
- Criminal fine cap
- $400 (N.C.G.S. § 14-4)
- Applies only in
- unincorporated Pitt County
- Ordinance adopted
- August 17, 1992
Summary
Amplified music from a bar or nightclub that annoys or disturbs residents nearby is a specific violation under Pitt County's Noise Ordinance, not just a general nuisance. The Sheriff's Office enforces the ban in the unincorporated county, and a venue that lets sound cross into a dwelling above the ordinance's dBA limits faces the same civil and criminal penalties as any other noise source.
Section 3. Loud, Disturbing and Unnecessary Noise
A. Subject to the provisions of this Section, the creation of any unreasonably loud or disturbing noise in the County of Pitt is prohibited. Noise of such character, intensity and duration as to be detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of any individual is prohibited. B. The following acts, among others, are declared to be loud or disturbing in violation of this Section... 3. The playing of any radio, phonograph, electronic amplified sound devices, television set or other machine or device for the producing or reproduction of sound, or musical instrument, in such manner or with such volume, as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of any individual in any dwelling, hotel, retirement or nursing home, hospital or other type of residence.
Full Breakdown
' Section 3(B)(3) singles out amplified sound establishments by name in substance: it declares it a violation to play 'any radio, phonograph, electronic amplified sound devices, television set or other machine or device for the producing or reproduction of sound, or musical instrument' at a volume that annoys or disturbs 'the quiet, comfort or repose of any individual in any dwelling, hotel, retirement or nursing home, hospital or other type of residence,' language that squarely covers a bar or nightclub's sound system reaching neighboring homes.
), so a nightclub whose bass carries into a residential zone late at night is measured against the tighter nighttime residential figure. The Ordinance does not require bars to hold a separate noise permit; it is enforced complaint-by-complaint by the Pitt County Sheriff's Office, which under Section 4(B) can review projects for compliance and grant variances. Because Pitt County's ordinance authority covers only the unincorporated county, a bar physically inside Greenville, Winterville, Ayden or Farmville is governed by that municipality's own noise code instead.
Violations & Fines
A violation is a misdemeanor under N.C.G.S. § 14-4, fined up to $400, in addition to county civil penalties: $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second, $400 for every violation after that, with each day of continuing noise counted as a separate offense under Section 7. The county may also seek an injunction against a bar's noise as a public nuisance under Section 10, and unpaid civil penalties become collectible as debt under N.C.G.S. § 153A-123.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a bar or nightclub in Pitt County get cited for loud music?
Does Pitt County require nightclubs to get a noise permit?
Does the county noise ordinance apply to bars inside Greenville?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pitt County
Compare Pitt County to another location·View the North Carolina noise from specific sources overview
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