Amplified music rules in Colorado Springs, CO — also called sound permit, PA system, or live music ordinances — set decibel limits, time-of-day restrictions, and when permits are required.
Colorado Springs City Code section 9.8.102 makes it unlawful to operate a motor vehicle sound amplification system that creates excessive or unusually loud noise audible without a meter, with escalating mandatory fines from $75 up to $500 and forfeiture of the equipment on a third offense. General amplified noise that exceeds the section 9.8.104 dB(A) limits for the zone is also unlawful.
Amplified music is regulated under two layers of the City Code. Section 9.8.102 (Sound Amplification Systems) targets vehicle audio: it is unlawful to operate, drive, or possess a stopped, standing, parked, or moving motor vehicle that makes excessive or unusually loud noise caused by a 'sound amplification system' (defined as any radio, stereo, tape player, compact disc player, or other electronic device used for the amplification of sound) audible without an electronic measurement device; 'words or phrases need not be discernible.' Penalties under section 9.8.102(F) are mandatory and non-waivable: not less than $75 (first offense), $150 (second), and $300 (third), each up to $500, with the amplification system forfeited on a third offense per subsection 9.1.205C. Exceptions exist for emergency/medical/public-safety vehicles and for systems used under a hardship permit (section 9.8.109) or with City Manager approval. Separately, any amplified music - from a stereo, band, PA, or speakers - that exceeds the zone-and-time dB(A) limits in section 9.8.104 (55 dB(A) residential day / 50 dB(A) residential night) is unlawful, and section 9.8.101 independently bars excessive noise audible by ear. Outdoor events that cannot meet the limits must obtain a noise hardship permit from the City Manager under section 9.8.109.
Vehicle sound-system violations under section 9.8.102 carry mandatory minimum fines of $75 / $150 / $300 (each up to $500) for first/second/third offenses, with forfeiture of the equipment on the third offense. Non-vehicle amplified music exceeding 9.8.104 limits is prosecuted as excessive noise in Municipal Court.
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