Bradenton, FL Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)

Car alarm noise in the City of Bradenton is handled inside the Sound Control Ordinance, Article V of Chapter 38, in the subsection on emergency signaling devices. The operative sentence of § 38-154(a)(2)i says that the sounding or the permitting of the sounding of any exterior fire or burglar alarm or motor vehicle burglar alarm, unless such alarm is automatically terminated within 15 minutes of activation, shall be prohibited.

The standard is a shutoff design requirement rather than a decibel cap. An alarm can sound, but it must terminate automatically within 15 minutes of activation. An alarm that keeps sounding past that point is a violation, and the wording reaches both the person who sounds the alarm and anyone who permits it to sound, which puts the vehicle owner on the hook for a faulty system.

The same subsection sets separate testing rules for stationary emergency signaling devices. Outdoor testing of any fire, burglar or civil defense alarm, whistle or similar device cannot occur before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m., must use the minimum cycle test time, and cannot exceed 60 seconds. Testing of a complete emergency signaling system, including personnel response, is limited to once in each calendar month, only on weekdays and not before 7:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m.

Section 38-157 exempts sound from any safety signal, warning device or emergency pressure relief valve used to alert the public of an emergency or to perform emergency work, although testing of those devices stays subject to § 38-154(a)(2)i. It also exempts horns or warning devices permitted by state law.

Enforcement runs through § 38-158. The Bradenton Police Department and the code enforcement division of the planning and community development department enforce under F.S. ch. 162. An officer who finds a violation gives notice and sets a reasonable correction period, which is 15 minutes absent special circumstances. Officers can skip the correction period for repeat violations, meaning the same provision violated within five years, or for violations that are itinerant or transient in nature. Persons who willfully refuse to sign a citation commit a second-degree misdemeanor.