Yakima County, WA Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Warning-device exemption limit
- 30 minutes per incident
- General audibility threshold
- within 200 feet of a dwelling
- Enforcing agency
- Yakima County Sheriff's Office
- Maximum civil fine
- $500
- Governing chapter
- YCC Chapter 6.28
Summary
Yakima County's noise ordinance treats a car alarm as a warning device: it is exempt from the county's noise-disturbance ban only while sounding, and only for up to thirty minutes per incident. An alarm that keeps sounding past that becomes an enforceable noise violation.
(10) Sounds created by warning devices not operated continuously for more than thirty minutes per incident;
(11) Sounds created by the operation of equipment or facilities of surface carriers engaged in commerce by operating on the railroad;
(12) Sounds created by construction or refuse removal equipment;
(13) Sounds originated from officially sanctioned parades and other public events;
(14) Sounds created by motor vehicles while being driven upon public highways. Such motor vehicles are nevertheless subject to the provisions of WAC Chapter 173-62;
(15) Sounds originating from motor vehicle racing events at authorized facilities;
(16) Sounds created by unamplified human voices from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.;
(17) Sounds created by lawn and garden equipment from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; and
(18) Sounds created by lawfully established commercial and industrial uses. (Ord. 5-1987 (part), 1987)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4871853; v6 updated 2026-04-21; through 04-21-2026).
Full Breakdown
030 makes it unlawful to make or allow any sound from property that is plainly audible inside a dwelling that is not the source, or generated within 200 feet of a dwelling, and that annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others. 030, making the person in possession of the vehicle or property liable. 060 sets the penalty for any violation as a civil infraction with a fine of up to $500. The ordinance was adopted specifically because the board of county commissioners found excessive, prolonged and unusual noise complaints from citizens warranted rules that differ from state Department of Ecology noise regulations, so the county's own 30-minute cutoff, not a state decibel table, is what controls an alarm complaint here.
Violations & Fines
A car alarm or similar warning device sounding continuously for more than 30 minutes per incident loses its exemption and becomes a civil infraction under YCC § 6.28.060, punishable by a fine of up to $500, enforced by the county sheriff's office. Repeated incidents at the same address can support a nuisance complaint independent of the noise chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a car alarm exempt from Yakima County's noise ordinance?
Who enforces car alarm noise complaints in unincorporated Yakima County?
What is the fine for a noise violation after the alarm exemption expires?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yakima County
Compare Yakima County to another location·View the Washington noise from specific sources overview
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