Rapides Parish, LA Noise from Specific Sources: Bar & Nightclub Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Cited section
- Rapides Parish Code § 19-53
- Nightly cutoff
- 11:00 p.m.
- Maximum fine
- $100
- Maximum jail term
- 30 days
- Adopted
- Ordinance of Aug. 11, 1936
- Enforcing agency
- Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office
Summary
Rapides Parish Code § 19-53 bars any business or public place from running radios, loudspeakers or amplifying devices in a way that disturbs nearby residents, and flatly prohibits operating such equipment after 11:00 p.m. if the sound reaches the surrounding area. A violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail or a $100 fine.
(a)Disturbing others. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation conducting any public place or business to operate therein or in connection therewith any radios, loudspeakers, amplifying devices or any other such things of a similar nature in a manner calculated to disturb the inhabitants of the vicinity.(b)Hours. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to operate, after the hour of 11:00 p.m., any such amplifying devices where the amplification is thrown to the area surrounding such public place.(c)Violation, penalty. It is hereby declared to be a misdemeanor for any person to violate any of the provisions of this section and any person, firm or corporation found guilty of the violation thereof shall be punishable by imprisonment of not exceeding thirty (30) days in the parish jail or a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) or both at the discretion of the court.
Full Breakdown
Section 19-53, titled Amplifying devices, dates to an ordinance adopted August 11, 1936 and was renumbered from former § 19-1 when Supplement No. 82 to the Code was published. Subsection (a) makes it unlawful for any person, firm or corporation conducting any public place or business to operate radios, loudspeakers, amplifying devices or similar equipment in a manner calculated to disturb the inhabitants of the vicinity, a standard that applies at any hour. , it is unlawful for a business or public place to run any such amplifying device where the sound carries to the surrounding area, regardless of whether it is disturbing anyone at that moment.
m. 1. The Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office is the enforcing agency; the Police Jury itself has no code enforcement officers and relies on deputies to respond to complaints from neighbors of a loud establishment. Because the section applies to any business or public place, it reaches an outdoor patio band, a drive-in restaurant's speaker system, or a club's PA system alike, not just a building's interior sound.
Violations & Fines
A violation of § 19-53 is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment of up to 30 days in the parish jail or a fine of up to $100, or both, at the court's discretion, under § 19-53(c). Each night a business runs amplifying equipment past 11:00 p.m., or disturbs neighbors at any hour, can support a separate citation from the Sheriff's Office.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a bar in unincorporated Rapides Parish play music after 11 p.m.?
What counts as a public place or business under this rule?
What is the penalty for a nightclub that ignores the cutoff?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rapides Parish
Compare Rapides Parish to another location·View the Louisiana noise from specific sources overview
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