Dearborn, MI Noise from Specific Sources: Bar & Nightclub Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Interior sound cap
- 95 dB(A) without warning sign
- Meter setting
- Slow response, at customer location
- Required sign text
- 'WARNING! SOUND LEVELS...HEARING IMPAIRMENT.'
- Governing section
- Code of Ordinances § 13-45(6)
- First offense fine
- $100 civil infraction
- Related outdoor rule
- § 13-44A, downtown outdoor music
Summary
Dearborn caps indoor sound at bars, nightclubs and other places of public entertainment at 95 dB(A) measured at any spot a customer occupies, unless the venue posts a warning sign about hearing impairment. Code of Ordinances § 13-45(6) is a distinct rule from the property-line noise curfews, and violators face the same escalating fine schedule as every other Article II noise offense.
(6) Places of public entertainment. Operating or permitting the operation or playing of any loudspeaker, musical instrument, motorized racing vehicle, or other source of sound in any place of public entertainment that exceeds 95 dB(A), as read on the slow response of a sound level meter at any point normally occupied by a customer, without a conspicuous and legible sign stating: "WARNING! SOUND LEVELS WITHIN MAY CAUSE HEARING IMPAIRMENT."
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-07: Code: Updated through: July 22, 2026 | Zoning: Updated through: July 22, 2026).
Full Breakdown
' A venue may run loudspeakers, live musical instruments, motorized racing displays or other sound sources above 95 dB(A), measured on the slow response setting of a sound level meter at any point a customer would normally occupy, only if it posts a conspicuous, legible sign reading 'WARNING! ' Skip the sign and exceed 95 dB(A) at a customer location, and the operator is in violation regardless of whether a neighbor ever complains; this provision protects patrons inside the venue, not just the surrounding neighborhood.
curfew to radios and loudspeakers that cross a residential or commercial property line, which covers a bar's exterior speakers or amplified patio music bleeding into adjoining lots at night. m. cutoff. All three provisions share the same enforcement path and penalty ladder in § 13-47.
Violations & Fines
A first violation of § 13-45(6) is a $100 civil infraction under § 13-47's fine schedule, rising to $200 for a second offense within six months. A third offense within six months of the second is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $250 and 45 days in jail, and a fourth or later offense in that same window carries up to $500 and 90 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Dearborn nightclub play music louder than 95 dB(A)?
Does this rule cover a bar's outdoor patio speakers late at night?
What agency measures sound levels for a public-entertainment complaint?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dearborn
Compare Dearborn to another location·View the Michigan noise from specific sources overview
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Bar & Nightclub Noise in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Wayne County handle bar & nightclub noise.