High Point, NC Noise from Specific Sources: Low-Frequency Bass Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Distance threshold
- 30 feet, audible or felt
- Covers
- vehicle radios/stereos/CD players
- First offense
- $200 civil penalty
- Repeat within 1 year
- $500 civil penalty
- Also charged as
- misdemeanor
Summary
High Point bans playing a car stereo, radio, or CD player loud enough that the sound or bass vibration can be heard or felt 30 feet or more from the vehicle, on any public street or private residence.
The playing of any radio, cassette player, compact disc, video tape or disc, or other similar device for reproducing sound located on or in any motor vehicle on a public street, highway, within any public vehicular area, or on the premises of a private residence, if the sound generated or noise vibration there from is audible or can be felt at a distance of 30 feet or more from the ... device that is producing the sound.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 9 | Development Ordinance: Supplement 14).
Full Breakdown
Under the city's noise ordinance, sound equipment inside a motor vehicle, radio, cassette, CD, or video player, cannot be operated so the sound or vibration is audible or can be felt at a distance of 30 feet or more from the device, whether the vehicle is on a public street, in a public vehicular area, or parked at a private residence. The rule targets bass and vibration specifically, not just volume, and applies at any hour.
Violations & Fines
A first citation carries a $200 civil penalty, a second within one year $400, and any further violation within that year $500; the offense is also a misdemeanor, and each day of continued violation is a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is loud bass from a car stereo illegal in High Point?
What happens on a first violation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in High Point
Compare High Point to another location·View the North Carolina noise from specific sources overview
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