Oyster Bay, NY Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Auto-shutoff limit
- 6 minutes
- Covers
- exterior + vehicle burglar alarms
- Routine test cap
- 60 seconds
- Full-system test window
- once a month, 8am-6pm
- First offense fine
- up to $350
Summary
Oyster Bay requires every exterior burglar alarm and motor vehicle burglar alarm to shut itself off automatically within six minutes of going off. Letting a car alarm sound longer than that violates the Town's noise chapter, punishable through the Department of Environmental Resources or the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication.
(c) Sounding or permitting the sounding of any exterior burglar alarm or any motor vehicle burglar alarm unless such alarm is automatically terminated within six minutes of activation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4036544; v24 updated 2023-03-07; through 03-07-2023).
Full Breakdown
Section 156-4B(14) groups car alarms with other emergency signaling devices under the Noise chapter's specific prohibited acts. Subsection (14)(a) bars intentionally sounding a fire, burglar or civil defense alarm outdoors except for genuine emergency purposes or permitted testing. Subsection (14)(c) then targets alarms directly: sounding or permitting the sounding of any exterior burglar alarm or any motor vehicle burglar alarm is prohibited unless the alarm is automatically terminated within six minutes of activation. In practice, an alarm can trip and sound, but the vehicle's own alarm system must be built or set to cut itself off within six minutes; an alarm that keeps sounding past that mark is a chapter violation regardless of who owns the vehicle or why it went off. , but that testing carve-out does not extend the six-minute cap on a triggered car alarm. 2.
Violations & Fines
A first car-alarm violation under Chapter 156 draws a fine up to $350 or up to six months in jail, or both. A second offense within five years runs $350 to $700, and a third or later offense in that five-year window runs $700 to $1,000, with the same six-month cap. The Bureau of Administrative Adjudication can impose a monetary penalty in the same ranges instead of a court case.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can a car alarm legally sound in Oyster Bay?
Is testing a car alarm exempt from the six-minute rule?
Who enforces the car alarm rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Oyster Bay
New York rules heatmap·Compare Oyster Bay to another location·View the New York noise from specific sources overview
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