Fort Wayne, IN Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Exemption
- Alarms exempt while being investigated
- Condition
- Must be turned off in reasonable time
- If not
- Becomes unreasonable-noise violation
- Governing chapter
- Chapter 96, Noise Control
Summary
Fort Wayne exempts burglar alarms and other warning devices, including car alarms, from its noise ordinance only if the cause is investigated and the alarm is shut off within a reasonable time.
Burglar alarms or other warning devices when properly installed on publicly or privately owned property, providing the cause for such alarm or warning device sound is investigated and turned off within a reasonable period of time.
(D) Celebrations on Halloween and legal holidays.
(E) Permitted parades or festivals, between the hours or 7:00 a.m. and 12: 00 midnight, Sunday through Thursday; and between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. Friday through Saturday.
(F) Attendant noise connected with the actual performance of athletic or sporting events and practices related to them.
(G) The emission of sound for the purposes of alerting persons to the existence of an emergency, or for the performance of emergency work.
(H) Sounds associated with normal conduction of a legally established non- transient business when such sounds are customary, incidental and within the normal range appropriate for such use.
(I) In the case of motor vehicles, where the noise is the result of a defective or modified exhaust system, if the cause is repaired or otherwise remedied within seven calendar days. (Ord. G-21-93, passed 6-8-93; Am. Ord. G-06-06, passed 6-27-06; Am. Ord. G-4- 17, passed 3-14-17) **** CONSUMER FIREWORKS ****
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-60: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. G-19-26, passed 7-14-26, and Res. 83-19, passed 12-17-19 State legislation current through Legislative Service, 2025 Acts, Pamphlet No. 3).
Full Breakdown
Under the noise chapter, a sounding vehicle or burglar alarm is not automatically a violation. Section 96.05(C) exempts "burglar alarms or other warning devices" from the noise prohibitions, but only while the cause is being investigated and the device is turned off within a reasonable period of time. An alarm left blaring past that point loses the exemption and can be cited as unreasonable noise under § 96.04(B), which bars sound plainly audible from another location between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., or audible more than 50 feet away in a public street or place.
Violations & Fines
Loses its § 96.05(C) exemption and becomes a § 96.04(B) noise violation if not addressed within a reasonable time; cited by Fort Wayne Police under the noise chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a car alarm going off at night illegal in Fort Wayne?
Does Fort Wayne's alarm-licensing chapter cover car alarms?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fort Wayne
Compare Fort Wayne to another location·View the Indiana noise from specific sources overview
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