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

Granville County's Unnecessary Noise ordinance, Code § 26-31, adopted October 4, 1993, treats mounted and street-facing amplified sound as two distinct declared violations. Subsection (b)(16) covers mechanical loudspeakers or amplifiers on trucks or other moving vehicles for advertising or other purposes and requires a specific license from the sheriff's department before use; even a licensed advertising sound truck is capped at not more than three continuous round trips in the fire district between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., and its speakers must stay silent unless the truck is moving at least 15 miles per hour, ruling out parking and broadcasting from a stationary vehicle.

Subsection (b)(18) reaches fixed and portable equipment instead of vehicles: radios, amplifiers, phonographs, or other mechanical instruments or devices of any kind whereby the sound is cast directly from the streets or other public places is a violation, with a single carved-out exception for Christmas or religious music. Neither clause lists a decibel figure; the sheriff's licensing requirement and the speed and hours conditions function as the enforceable limits instead. Because Chapter 26 does not set its own fine for these subsections, the county falls back on the general civil-penalty procedure at Code § 1-6, issuing a warning citation and then a civil penalty citation, each carrying up to 15 days to cure before court action; willful nonpayment of an imposed civil penalty is a separate misdemeanor under § 1-6(c) and G.S. 14-4, punishable by up to a $500.00 fine or 30 days in jail, with each day of continued operation a separate offense.