Citrus County, FL Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)
Amplified music rules in Citrus County, FL, also called sound permit, PA system, or live music ordinances, set decibel limits, time-of-day restrictions, and when permits are required.
Key Facts
- Advertising loudspeakers on ROW
- Banned at any time
- Nighttime amplified sound curfew
- 10:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m.
- School exception
- Public school activities exempt
- Enforcing agents
- Code Compliance Division; Sheriff's Office
- Max civil penalty
- $500 per citation
Summary
Loudspeakers and sound amplifiers can't broadcast commercial advertising onto public rights-of-way in unincorporated Citrus County, and any amplified device is barred from disturbing a residential neighbor between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., with a school-activity exception.
(3)Loudspeakers and devices for advertising.a.The use, operation, or playing of any loudspeaker system, sound amplifier or other similar device which produces or reproduces sound which is cast or emitted upon public rights-of-way for the purpose of commercial advertising or for attracting the attention of the public to any building, structure, vehicle or activity, which is being carried on thereon.b.The use, operation, or playing of any loudspeaker system, sound amplifier or other similar device between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day in such a manner so as to cause a noise disturbance across a residential real property boundary. This section shall not apply to public school activities.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 76).
Full Breakdown
Citrus County Code § 21-26(3) is one of the county's specific noise prohibitions layered on top of the general Table I decibel limits at § 21-22. Clause (3)a bars using any loudspeaker system, sound amplifier or similar device to cast or emit sound onto a public right-of-way for commercial advertising or to attract public attention to a building, structure, vehicle or activity being carried on there, regardless of the time of day. the following day in a manner that causes a noise disturbance across a residential real property boundary, but expressly carves out public school activities from that nighttime restriction.
Fixed, non-vehicle amplified audio devices, radios, stereos, and musical instruments are separately addressed at § 21-26(2), which bars any such device from exceeding the Table I levels or being plainly audible, and separately bars playing one on the public right-of-way above those levels. Enforcement runs through the Citrus County Code Compliance Division and Citrus County Sheriff's Office under the same warning-then-citation process at § 21-32 and § 21-33 that governs the rest of Chapter 21, with a special exception process at § 21-29 available for a single temporary event (capped at 15 days) approved by the county administrator.
Violations & Fines
Violating § 21-26(3) is a civil infraction citable under § 21-33, carrying a maximum civil penalty of $500. A second violation of the same offense class doubles the scheduled penalty, and a third violation within the same class requires a mandatory county court appearance under § 21-34.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business run a loudspeaker ad on the sidewalk in front of its store?
Is there a nighttime cutoff for amplified music at a residence?
Can I get a one-time permit to run amplified sound past the curfew for an event?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Citrus County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Citrus County to another location·View the Florida noise ordinances overview
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