Noblesville, IN Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)

Section 93.24 of the Noblesville Code of Ordinances lists activities exempted from the noise restrictions that apply within the area described in Exhibit A of Ordinance 40-5-03 (§§ 93.20 through 93.24). Subsection (C) covers alarms directly: 'Burglar alarms and other warning devices when properly installed, providing the cause for such alarm or warning device sound is investigated and turned off within a reasonable period of time.' A comparable exemption for burglar alarms and other warning devices appears again in § 93.25(F)(3) for the rest of the city outside that Exhibit A area, so the same standard, investigate and silence the alarm promptly, applies citywide.

The exemption is conditional, not absolute: it protects an alarm only while it is being investigated and shut off within a reasonable time. An alarm, including a vehicle alarm, that continues sounding well past a reasonable investigation window falls outside the exemption and can be treated as a violation of the underlying noise limits, § 93.22 inside the Exhibit A area or § 93.25 elsewhere, exposing the responsible person to the escalating fines set out in § 93.23(A) or § 93.25(G). Because the code does not set a fixed number of minutes for 'a reasonable period of time,' whether an alarm has overstayed the exemption is judged case by case by the officer responding to the complaint.