Clark County, IN Noise from Specific Sources: Bar & Nightclub Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Business noise exemption
- only if customary, incidental, normal range
- Audibility standard
- clearly audible 50 feet from property line
- First offense fine
- $25
- Third+ offense fine
- $100
- Enforcement
- County Sheriff, County Police Department
Summary
Bars and nightclubs in unincorporated Clark County are not automatically exempt from the county noise ordinance: sound that carries 50 feet past the property line still violates 90.04 unless it is customary, incidental and within the normal range for the business.
No person shall play, use or operate, or permit to be played, used or operated, any machine or device for the producing or reproducing of sound... if such machine, device or vehicle is located in or around any of the following: (1) Any public property... or (2) Any private property, and the sound generated therefrom is clearly audible by another person at a distance of 50 feet or more outside of said private properly line. ... The following are exempted from the provisions of this section: ... (8) Sounds associated with the normal conduct of legally established non-transient businesses, when such sounds are customary, incidental and within the normal range appropriate for such use;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2019 S-0: Code: Local legislation current through Ordinance 31-2014, passed 12-18-2014).
Full Breakdown
04(A) prohibits operating any sound-producing device, which by its terms includes the loudspeakers, sound systems, live music and PA equipment a tavern or club would run, if the sound is clearly audible to another person 50 feet or more from the source on public property or from the private property line. ' That exemption is narrower than a blanket business exception: it protects ordinary operating sounds appropriate to the use, not amplified music or crowd noise pushed to a volume that carries well past the establishment's property line late at night.
04(C) to issue further rules implementing the chapter, and complaints against nightlife establishments are handled the same way as any other noise complaint, through the County Sheriff's Department or County Police Department rather than through a separate entertainment-licensing noise standard.
Violations & Fines
A first violation under 90.99(C)(1) is fined $25, a second $50, and a third or later violation $100, with each night of continued excessive noise a separate offense. Fines are paid to the County Auditor within 30 days of the citation; contested cases proceed in County Superior Court No. 3, which may order up to $150 per proven violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are bars exempt from Clark County's noise ordinance?
What triggers a noise citation against a nightclub?
Who investigates nightlife noise complaints in Clark County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clark County
Compare Clark County to another location·View the Indiana noise from specific sources overview
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