Warrick County, IN Noise from Specific Sources: Low-Frequency Bass Limits (2026)

Warrick County Code Chapter 158 bars operating 'any radio, television set, musical instrument, tape or record player, amplifier, and/or similar device(s)' so that the sound, including heavy bass, is 'plainly audible across property boundaries or through partitions common to two or more persons within a building,' under § 158.03(A). Section 158.01 defines PLAINLY AUDIBLE broadly as any noise whose information content is ambiguously communicated to a listener, including 'comprehensible musical rhythms,' which covers thumping bass lines and beats even without discernible lyrics. The rule sits inside the county's general noise chapter, adopted by Board of Commissioners Ordinance 2023-14 on July 24, 2023, and applies only in unincorporated Warrick County; Boonville, Newburgh, Chandler, Elberfeld, Lynnville, and Tennyson enforce their own town noise codes.

Section 158.02 backs the specific ban with a general prohibition on any noise that 'unreasonably annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers' a neighbor's comfort or property value. The Warrick County Sheriff's Office enforces the chapter under § 158.07, and citations are filed in Warrick Superior Court by the county's Code Enforcement Officer or the County Attorney. Section 158.06 exempts agricultural sound, emergency alerts, sanctioned school activities, and county park-sponsored special events. Under § 158.99(B), any violation of this chapter other than § 158.04 carries a fine of up to $2,500, with each day of continuing violation counted as a separate offense.