Ogden, UT Noise from Specific Sources: Low-Frequency Bass Limits (2026)

Ogden City Code Chapter 14 (Noise) does not carry a decibel threshold aimed only at bass or sub-bass frequencies. Instead the chapter's enforcement hinges on the definition of "clearly audible" in Section 12-14-3: any sound a person can detect with unaided hearing counts, and the code gives bass as its worked example, treating detection of "the rhythmic bass component of the music" from a sound amplification device as proof the sound is clearly audible. , or clearly audible inside a residence at any hour when doors and windows are shut.

In practice, a bass line that carries through walls or across a property line late at night is exactly the scenario the "clearly audible" test was written to capture, without requiring a meter reading. Ogden Police enforce Chapter 14; under Section 12-14-10, a violation is a class B misdemeanor subject to Title 1, Chapter 4 penalties, and the operation of equipment in violation is separately declared a public nuisance subject to abatement. D adds that the content of the sound played is never a factor.

Residents can also ask for a numeric measurement under Section 12-14-5's sound level limits if they want an objective reading rather than the audibility test, but the bass-specific language exists only as an example within the "clearly audible" definition.