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

Four separate rules in Chapter 18 of the Greensboro City Code reach amplified music. Section 18-50(o) covers public property and public vehicular areas: a sound amplifier connected to a radio, stereo receiver, compact disc player or similar device cannot be plainly audible 30 feet from the building, structure or vehicle it sits in. Section 18-50(p) applies the same 30-foot test, measured from the amplifier, to microphone-connected equipment on public property. Both carry an exception for a protest or rally permitted under Chapter 26, Article IX. Separately, § 18-50(c) makes car stereos unlawful on a public street, in a parking lot, in a park or at a drive-through when audible 30 feet from the equipment.

Section 18-50.1(a) sets the citywide outdoor curfew: from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. no person, business or entity may operate any sound amplification device, amplified musical instrument or sound reproduction device that produces audible sound outside a building or structure. Restaurants and brewpubs, as designated by the Land Development Ordinance, can run an exterior music system or a television using only its built-in speakers until 2:00 a.m., provided the volume stays at or below 70 dB(C). Drive-through audio systems are exempt. Other businesses, such as convenience stores and service stations, can play outdoor music at any hour only if it is not plainly audible beyond their property line. The 11:00 p.m. start moves to 2:00 a.m. on New Year's Eve, St. Patrick's Day, Independence Day, Halloween, and the Friday, Saturday and Sunday before Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Section 18-51 adds decibel limits at homes. Sound is presumed a noise disturbance when it exceeds 70 dB(C) from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and 65 dB(C) from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. in residential districts and TN districts, or 85 dB(C) and 75 dB(C) in Mixed Use and PUD districts. These limits override any conflicting limit elsewhere in the article. Under § 18-52, officers measure on the C-weighting scale at slow response with four consecutive 30-second readings, taken at or within the complainant's nearest residential property line. Any reading above the limit is a violation.