Berkeley, CA Noise from Specific Sources: Delivery Truck Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Restricted hours
- 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- Enforcing agency
- Environmental Health Division / NCO
- Residential exterior limit, nighttime
- 45-55 dBA depending on zone
- Complaint threshold
- 1 complaint (2 in commercial areas)
- Charge level
- Misdemeanor or infraction, BMC Ch. 1.20
Summary
Berkeley bars loud loading and unloading between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. if the racket crosses a residential property line above code limits. The Environmental Health Division enforces it on a two-complaint trigger, with a warning issued before any citation.
6. Loading and Unloading. Loading, unloading, opening, closing or other handling of boxes, crates, containers, building materials, or similar objects between the hours of ten p.m. and seven a.m. such that the sound therefrom across a residential real property line violates the provisions of Section 13.40.050 or 13.40.060.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 8031-NS, passed July 28, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Berkeley Municipal Code Section 13.40.070(B)(6) makes it a prohibited act to load, unload, open, close, or otherwise handle boxes, crates, containers, building materials, or similar objects between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. if the resulting sound crosses a residential property line and exceeds the exterior noise standards in Sections 13.40.050 or 13.40.060. Those standards cap residential exterior sound at 45 dBA overnight (55 dBA daytime) in R-1/R-2 zones and 55 dBA overnight (60 dBA daytime) in R-3-and-above zones, measured under the cumulative-minute schedule in Section 13.40.050(A)(2).
Enforcement runs through the Noise Control Officer (NCO): under Section 13.40.030(C), a violation of this subsection requires both the warning procedure and a follow-up sound measurement before a citation issues, per the cross-reference table in Section 13.40.070. A commercial-area complaint needs two non-anonymous callers; elsewhere one is enough to trigger an NCO investigation under Section 13.40.040. Grocery, restaurant, and warehouse loading docks in residential-adjacent commercial strips are the recurring targets. Emergency utility work and any activity covered by an EHD variance under Section 13.40.090 are excluded from the overnight restriction.
Violations & Fines
A first violation of this subsection follows the standard two-step process in Section 13.40.030(C): the NCO issues a warning, and only a repeat or continuing violation within eight hours becomes chargeable. Under Section 13.40.030(B), any violation of Chapter 13.40 may be charged as a misdemeanor or an infraction under BMC Chapter 1.20, and is separately declared a public nuisance abatable under Sections 11.40.010 through 11.44.030.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a delivery truck unload behind a Berkeley store at midnight?
Does one neighbor complaint stop a 5 a.m. delivery?
What happens the first time a business is caught?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Berkeley
California rules heatmap·Compare Berkeley to another location·View the California noise from specific sources overview
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Delivery Truck Noise in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle delivery truck noise.