Union County, NJ Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)
Amplified music rules in Union County, NJ, also called sound permit, PA system, or live music ordinances, set decibel limits, time-of-day restrictions, and when permits are required.
Key Facts
- Audibility trigger
- Plainly audible at 25 feet = prima facie violation
- Governing section
- Safety Code Section 115-20.A
- Schedule fine
- $49 (Section 115-20A)
- Applies to
- County-owned/leased/controlled property only
- Enforcing agency
- Union County Police
- Exemptions
- Church bells/chimes; bands at County-authorized events
Summary
On Union County parks, playgrounds and other county-controlled property, playing a radio, loudspeaker, sound amplifier or musical instrument loud enough to be heard 25 feet away is prima facie evidence of a noise violation. Union County Police cite offenders under Safety Code Section 115-20.A, a $49 fine on the county's own violations schedule.
The using, operating, or permitting to be played, used or operated of any radio receiving set, television, musical instrument, phonograph, loudspeaker, sound amplifier, or other machine or device for the producing or reproducing of sound in such a manner as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of neighboring inhabitants, or with louder volume than is necessary for convenient hearing for the person or persons who are voluntary listeners thereto. The operation of any such set, instrument, phonograph, loudspeaker, sound amplifier, machine or device in such manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet from the place where it is located, shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this ordinance.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
Union County's Public Safety Code opens with a blanket ban: Section 115-19 makes it unlawful to make or continue any loud, unnecessary or unusual noise that disturbs the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others. Section 115-20 lists specific examples that count as violations, and subsection A targets amplified sound: operating a radio, television, musical instrument, phonograph, loudspeaker or sound amplifier in a manner that disturbs the peace, quiet and comfort of neighboring inhabitants, or louder than necessary for voluntary listeners. The section sets an objective trigger: if the device is plainly audible from 25 feet away from where it is located, that fact alone is prima facie evidence of a violation, so an officer does not need a decibel meter to issue a citation.
B jurisdictional clause, meaning county parks, county recreation facilities and other county land, not private yards or municipal streets, which fall under each town's own noise code. Section 115-22 exempts church bells and chimes and bands or orchestras performing at County-authorized events. Sound trucks are banned outright with no distance test under the separate Section 115-21. C.
Violations & Fines
The Local Supplemental Violations Bureau Schedule (Article IX, added by Ord. No. 686-2009) sets a flat $49 payable fine for a Section 115-20A electronic-noise violation and a separate $49 for Section 115-19 noise prohibited generally. If a violation is not on the schedule, the Code's default penalty under Section 115-2.F applies: a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $200, plus restitution if county property was damaged.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this noise rule apply to my backyard speaker in Elizabeth or Westfield?
How does the county prove a noise violation without a decibel meter?
What does a citation for amplified noise in a Union County park cost?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Union County
Compare Union County to another location·View the New Jersey noise ordinances overview
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