Minneapolis, MN Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Citation
- § 389.65(a)(7)
- Car alarm rule
- Exempt from 5-minute alarm shutoff
- Still limited by
- 5 dB(A) above ambient noise cap
- Enforced by
- Minneapolis Police and Health Dept.
- Penalty type
- Criminal, civil, or administrative
Summary
Minneapolis exempts properly maintained car alarms from the citywide five-minute automatic shutoff rule that applies to burglar alarms, but the sounding still must stay within the amplified-sound noise ceiling set in the same chapter.
Operating any electronic theft or burglar alarm which sounds an audible signal without an automatic shutoff device to prohibit the audible signal from sounding continually for more than five (5) minutes...except in the following circumstances: a. Existence of an emergency. b. Testing the device...c. The sounding of a properly maintained car alarm subject to paragraph (6) of this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 72).
Full Breakdown
Minneapolis Code § 389.65(a)(7) bans running an electronic theft or burglar alarm, or any stationary fire, burglar, or civil-defense alarm, siren or whistle, without an automatic shutoff that silences it within five minutes. The same section carves out a specific exception: 'the sounding of a properly maintained car alarm' is allowed, subject instead to the amplified-sound limit in paragraph (6), which caps sound at five dB(A) above ambient noise on adjacent property. So a car alarm isn't held to the five-minute cutoff that governs building alarms, but a chronically blaring one can still be cited as excess amplified sound. Enforcement runs through the city's health and police departments.
Violations & Fines
A car alarm that blares beyond the amplified-sound noise ceiling is enforceable under the chapter's general penalties: criminal citation, administrative fine, or civil abatement action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Minneapolis limit how long a car alarm can sound?
Can a neighbor still complain about a car alarm?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Minneapolis
Compare Minneapolis to another location·View the Minnesota noise from specific sources overview
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