Pitt County, NC Noise from Specific Sources: Generator Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing agency
- Pitt County Sheriff's Office
- Daytime residential limit
- 55 dBA, 7am-10pm
- Nighttime residential limit
- 50 dBA, 10pm-7am
- First civil penalty
- $100
- Repeat civil penalty
- $400 each
- Storm-outage generators
- exempt as emergency work
- Last amended
- April 4, 2022
Summary
A generator loud enough to push sound past the limits in Table 1 of Pitt County's Noise Ordinance, measured at the receiving property line, violates county law. The Pitt County Sheriff's Office enforces the standard countywide outside Greenville, Winterville, Ayden and Farmville, but a generator run to restore power after a storm is exempt as emergency work.
Section 5. Maximum Permissible Sound Levels
A. No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit the operation of any source of sound on a particular category of property or any public space or right-of-way in such a manner as to create a sound level that exceeds the particular sound level limits set forth in Table 1, hereto attached and made a part hereof, when measured at or within the property line of the receiving property or the source of the complaint. ... Section 6. Exemptions ... C. Noises resulting from emergency work, to be construed as work made necessary to restore property to a safe condition following a public calamity, or work required to protect persons or property from an imminent exposure to danger.
Full Breakdown
Section 5(A) of the Pitt County Noise Ordinance bars operating 'any source of sound' on any property, public space or right-of-way at a level exceeding the limits set in Table 1, measured at or within the property line of the receiving property or the complaint source. and 40 dBA overnight, noise reaching residential property is capped at 55 dBA daytime and 50 dBA nighttime, and noise reaching commercial or industrial receiving property is capped at 65 dBA and 75 dBA respectively at all times. Section 5(B) requires indoor measurements to be taken with doors and windows closed, in the center of the complainant's room.
' The Ordinance, adopted August 17, 1992 and amended April 4, 2022, is enforced by the Pitt County Sheriff's Office, which can also grant variance permits under Section 4(B)(4).
Violations & Fines
Violating the noise limit is a misdemeanor under N.C.G.S. § 14-4, punishable by a fine up to $400. The county also issues escalating civil penalties: $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second, and $400 for each violation after that, with a separate offense counted for every day the noise continues. Unpaid civil penalties are collectible as debt under N.C.G.S. § 153A-123.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run a portable generator overnight in unincorporated Pitt County?
Does Pitt County exempt generators run during a power outage?
Who enforces Pitt County's generator noise limit and what's the penalty?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pitt County
Compare Pitt County to another location·View the North Carolina noise from specific sources overview
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