Albemarle County, VA Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

Albemarle County's noise article, County Code Chapter 7, Article I, treats an outdoor amplified music system or outdoor public address system as its own prohibited act. Section 7-105(B)(5) makes it unlawful to run such a device, including one used with an agricultural activity like a farm stand, if the sound is not otherwise covered by the vehicle, place-of-public-entertainment or dwelling-unit categories in subsections (B)(1) through (4) and is audible from inside a dwelling unit or hotel room. "Audible" has a specific test in § 7-103: the sound must be detectable at least four feet from the wall nearest the source, with the complaining dwelling unit's doors and windows closed, and the dwelling unit must be on a different parcel than the sound source.

The rule applies around the clock, not just at night, because subsection (B)(5) carries no time window the way the construction and yard-maintenance provisions do. 25(e), and it exempts an outdoor music festival authorized by a special use permit under the zoning ordinance, Chapter 18. Section 7-102 also makes clear this noise article only applies where the sound is not already regulated by the separate noise standards in Chapter 18's zoning ordinance. The Chief of Police is the Board of Supervisors' designated enforcement agent for the whole article under § 7-101, assisted as needed by Community Development staff.