Middletown, OH Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)
Amplified music rules in Middletown, OH, also called sound permit, PA system, or live music ordinances, set decibel limits, time-of-day restrictions, and when permits are required.
Key Facts
- Nighttime residential distance
- Audible past 80 ft, 11pm-8am
- Street/right-of-way distance
- Audible past 100 ft
- Parade permit holders
- Exempt on streets/right-of-way
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, fourth degree
- Enforcement
- Middletown Division of Police
Summary
In the City of Middletown, Ohio, amplified sound from radios, speakers or musical instruments that annoys people of ordinary sensibilities is unlawful. It is presumed unlawful on private residential property between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. if audible more than 80 feet away, or in the street/right-of-way if audible 100 feet from the source.
§ 648.09 NOISE-PRODUCING INSTRUMENTS AND SOUND-AMPLIFYING DEVICES. ... (a) No person shall generate or permit to be generated unreasonable noise or loud sound which is likely to cause inconvenience or annoyance to persons of ordinary sensibilities, by means of a radio, phonograph, television, tape or disc player, loudspeaker or any other sound-amplifying device, or by means of any horn, drum, piano or other musical or percussion instrument. (b) It is prima facie unlawful for a person to generate or permit to be generated sound by the devices or instruments described in division (a) hereof in the following circumstances: (1) On private property between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. of the following day in a predominantly residential area, regardless of an existing nonconforming use or variance, where the sound is audible more than eighty feet from the property line of the property on which the source of the sound is located; (2) On a street or highway or in the public right-of-way where the sound is audible 100 feet from the device generating the sound. ... (e) Whoever violates this section is guilty of generating unreasonable noise, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
Full Breakdown
09(a)). 09(b)(2)). Holders of a current parade permit under Chapter 644 are exempt from the street/right-of-way provision. 09(c)). 09(d)). 11's decibel-based standard.
Violations & Fines
Generating unreasonable amplified noise under § 648.09 is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, prosecuted by the City in Middletown Municipal Court; property owners who knowingly permit the violation on their premises are separately liable.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is amplified music presumed illegal in Middletown, Ohio?
Does a parade permit let me play amplified music in the street?
Can a landlord be cited for a tenant's loud stereo?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Middletown
Compare Middletown to another location·View the Ohio noise ordinances overview
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