Cumberland County, NC Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

Cumberland County's noise ordinance, adopted June 1, 1998 and codified at Code of Ordinances Sec. 5-25, bars two related categories of amplified sound in the unincorporated county. they cannot create excessive and unnecessary noise across a residential property line or inside a posted noise sensitive zone, and at any hour they cannot exceed the decibel ceilings set in the ordinance's Table 1 (60 dB(A) daytime/55 dB(A) nighttime for residential use). on weekends and holidays, unless the sheriff has issued a special permit for noncommercial public speaking or assembly under Sec.

5-27. A separate, alternative rule at Sec. 5-30 reaches amplified sound in public places and vehicles around the clock: playing a radio, tape recorder, CD or mp3 player, amplifier or speaker on public property, a public street or park, or from a vehicle on a public street or parking lot is unlawful if the sound is audible 30 feet away, with no time-of-day exception. Possession of the device on that property is treated as prima facie evidence that the person operated it. The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office holds primary enforcement responsibility under Sec. 5-31 and can cite or, for a refusal to identify or stop, arrest a violator.