Memphis, TN Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Chapter 11-56 of the Memphis Code of Ordinances is the city's only source of numeric decibel limits, and it applies to motorized ground vehicles: cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, motorbikes, minibikes and go-carts. Section 11-56-2(A), the measurement-procedure subsection, tells the officer taking a reading with a sound level meter to disregard 'traffic, aircraft and other transportation noise sources and other background noises' when recording the primary sound being tested, except where that background noise actually interferes with the reading. In practice, this means aircraft overflight noise is written out of the enforcement process for the vehicle noise chapter rather than being assigned its own dB(A) ceiling.

The Memphis Code does contain a separate chapter for aviation, Chapter 12-76, Airports and Aircraft, adopted under the city's Charter authority to regulate the landing and operation of aircraft above the city (Charter § 834) and referencing the state's aviation statute, T.C.A. § 42-1-101 et seq. Section 12-76-2 sets minimum flight altitudes over the city, generally 1,000 feet above any obstruction and 2,000 feet horizontally from one, and treats a violation of Federal Aviation Regulations as presumptive evidence of unreasonable or improper operation. That chapter's 30 sections address altitude, acrobatic flying, permits, restricted areas and airport authority rulemaking; none of them sets a decibel limit, quiet-hours restriction or noise-complaint procedure for aircraft, and the word 'noise' does not appear anywhere else in the chapter.