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

Section 13.5-3(c)(2) makes it unlawful to play, operate or permit the playing of any radio, stereo, compact disc player, loud speaker or other electronic sound-amplification device located inside a motor vehicle, whether the vehicle is being operated or parked, on any public or private property in the county, including public and private streets and alleys, if the sound is audible and discernible at 100 feet or more from the vehicle. The provision sits inside § 13.5-3(c)'s broader vehicle-noise standard, which also sets decibel limits by vehicle class and speed for the vehicle's operating sound itself (86-90 dBA for vehicles over 6,000 lbs., 82-86 dBA for motorcycles, 76-82 dBA for other vehicles, depending on the posted speed limit), and bars sounding a horn continuously for more than ten seconds absent a danger warning.

The 100-foot amplified-sound rule is not tied to a time-of-day exemption window the way general residential noise is; it applies at any hour. It also sits alongside § 13.5-3(d)'s ban on loud, raucous, continuous noise within 200 feet of a school, place of worship, court, hospital, nursing home or assisted-living facility that substantially interferes with the institution's operation. Any owner, operator or person controlling the sound source is liable for a violation, and if the responsible party cannot be identified, any owner, tenant, resident or manager present at the scene is rebuttably presumed to be the one operating or controlling it, per § 13.5-3(f).