Saint Paul, MN Noise from Specific Sources: Car Alarm Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Citation
- Saint Paul Legislative Code § 293.02(e)(3)
- Standard
- No dedicated car-alarm ordinance
- Exception
- Genuine danger or traffic warning
- Penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine or 90 days jail
- Enforced by
- Saint Paul Police Department
Summary
Saint Paul has no standalone car-alarm ordinance; a triggered alarm is regulated instead under Legislative Code § 293.02(e)(3), which bans sounding "any horn or signal device" on a vehicle, except as a danger or traffic warning, in a way likely to annoy a reasonable neighbor. Violations are misdemeanors under the Chapter 293 penalty.
(3)Horns and other signals. It is a violation of this section to sound any horn or signal device on an automobile, motorcycle, bus or other vehicle, except as a danger signal or traffic warning, which would be likely to cause significant discomfort or annoyance to a reasonable person of ordinary sensitivities in the area.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 133 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
" A factory or aftermarket alarm system's siren is a "signal device" mounted on the vehicle in the ordinance's plain sense, and its purpose, summoning attention to a suspected break-in, is not a "danger signal or traffic warning" in the sense the exception contemplates, so a car alarm that repeatedly cycles or fails to shut off falls within the prohibition once it becomes annoying to a reasonable neighbor. 02(e)(2), which separately targets amplified stereo noise, together the three subsections cover the full range of vehicle-generated sound the city treats as a public nuisance.
Because the ordinance turns on annoyance to a "reasonable person of ordinary sensitivities" rather than a fixed decibel or duration limit, enforcement is complaint-driven: Saint Paul police respond to a neighbor's call about a car alarm that won't stop and can cite the vehicle's owner, if present, or the person in control of the vehicle at the time.
Violations & Fines
A § 293.02(e)(3) violation is a misdemeanor under the Chapter 293 penalty at subsection (f): up to a $1,000 fine, up to 90 days in jail, or both, with each day of a continuing violation chargeable separately. Saint Paul police issue the citation to the vehicle's owner or the person controlling it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Saint Paul have a specific car-alarm ordinance?
Who gets cited if my alarm goes off while I'm not there?
Is honking my horn to warn another driver ever a violation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Saint Paul
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