Ouachita Parish, LA Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)
Amplified music rules in Ouachita Parish, LA, also called sound permit, PA system, or live music ordinances, set decibel limits, time-of-day restrictions, and when permits are required.
Key Facts
- Anytime limit
- 100 decibels within 15 feet
- Nighttime limit
- 75 decibels, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Applies to
- Music, radios, amplifiers, loudspeakers
- Coverage area
- Unincorporated Ouachita Parish only
- Penalty
- Up to $100 fine or 30 days jail
- Governing law
- Ord. No. 7407 (1974), amended 1990
Summary
Ouachita Parish makes it unlawful to play music or operate phonographs, radios, amplifiers or loudspeakers that produce sound exceeding 100 decibels measured within 15 feet of a neighboring dwelling or business. The rule under Sec. 15-9 covers restaurants, bars, cabarets, lounges and residences in the unincorporated parish, and violators face a misdemeanor fine of up to $100 or 30 days in jail.
It shall be unlawful for any person to play or to permit the playing of any music or musical instruments, including bands or band instruments, or to operate or permit to be operated any phonographs, radios, amplifiers, loudspeakers or other devices or contrivances producing music or sounds in, on or about any structure, including but not limited to restaurants, drive-ins, cabarets, lounges, bars and residences, which devices produce sound levels as hereinafter described:(1)A sound of one hundred (100) decibels measured within fifteen (15) feet of any adjacent dwelling or business establishment where people are present.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 15-9 of the Ouachita Parish Code, first adopted by Ordinance No. 7407 on February 22, 1974 and amended in 1980 and again by Ordinance No. 8172 in 1990, prohibits playing or permitting the playing of music or musical instruments, including bands, or operating phonographs, radios, amplifiers, loudspeakers or similar devices that produce sound above two specific thresholds. m. The prohibition names the same range of premises the parish singles out for enforcement: restaurants, drive-ins, cabarets, lounges, bars and residences, so it reaches both commercial sound systems and a homeowner's stereo or party speakers alike.
Because the police jury only has authority over the unincorporated parish, this section does not reach inside the city limits of Monroe or West Monroe, which enforce their own municipal noise codes. A violation is charged as a misdemeanor under subsection (b), and the parish does not need to prove a nuisance complaint, only that a measured reading exceeded the applicable decibel threshold at the specified distance. The section replaced an earlier 1951 ordinance (Ord. No. 7007) that had restricted musical devices only at businesses offering curb service, broadening the rule to cover any structure in the parish.
Violations & Fines
Violating Sec. 15-9 is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $100, imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both, at the court's discretion. Each instance of exceeding the decibel threshold can be cited separately by parish enforcement officers who take a sound reading within 15 feet of the complaining dwelling or business. The ordinance sets no separate civil or administrative track, so cases proceed through parish court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Ouachita Parish's noise ordinance apply inside Monroe or West Monroe?
How loud can amplified music be at my house in the unincorporated parish?
What is the penalty for violating the parish's music-device restriction?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ouachita Parish
Compare Ouachita Parish to another location·View the Louisiana noise ordinances overview
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