Portland, OR Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Cutoff window
- 3 min within any 15 min
- Applies to
- parked or stopped vehicles
- Where
- public right-of-way or public park
- Enforced by
- City parking enforcement officers
Summary
Portland bans parking or stopping a vehicle whose alarm doesn't shut itself off within an aggregate three minutes during any 15-minute period, on any public street or in a public park.
While such vehicle is equipped with a vehicle alarm unless such system is designed to, and does in fact, cease emitting an intermittent or constant sound after an aggregate time of three minutes within a 15-minute period on any public right-of-way or in a public park.
B. To angle load/unload (except within a legal angle parking space) on any street unless specifically authorized by an angle loading permit. Unauthorized angle loading is a traffic hazard and is subject to summary abatement.
C. At an angle to traffic flow except:
1. Where angle parking is designated by official parking space markings or other traffic control devices.
2. That a two or three wheeled vehicle may park in a legal parking area at an angle or perpendicular to traffic flow in accordance with Subsections 16.20.110 C. and D.
D. Outside of or across an official line or mark designating a parking space, or between such lines in a maneuvering area.
E. So as to prevent the free passage of other vehicles, including rail vehicles and bicycles, on any street, alley or City-owned or -operated property.
F. On or over an official fog or edge line.
G. Adjacent to a curb painted or taped yellow if the paint or tape is authorized by the City Administrator.
Full Breakdown
Under Portland City Code § 16.20.120(A), a vehicle with an alarm system is prohibited from parking or stopping in the public right-of-way or a public park unless that alarm is built to stop sounding after a combined three minutes within any 15-minute window. The rule targets the alarm's design and behavior, not a decibel cap: an alarm that keeps re-triggering past the three-minute aggregate puts the parked vehicle itself in violation, separate from any noise-level citation.
Violations & Fines
Parking enforcement officers under the City Administrator can cite the vehicle under Chapter 16.20's general parking-violation authority and, per Portland City Code § 3.30, order towing and storage in enforcement of parking prohibitions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Portland regulate car alarms by decibel level?
Where does this rule apply in Portland?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Portland
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