Queen Anne's County, MD Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

The decibel limit is in § 18:1-95(T), the County's conditional use standards for special events. Its stated purpose is to set criteria for special events at bed-and-breakfasts, on farms, and on single-family residential properties in the Agricultural (AG) and Countryside (CS) Zones. Criterion (g) says outdoor amplified music shall not exceed 65 dB (decibel) level as measured from adjacent properties or residences. The measurement point is the neighbor's side of the line, not the stage or speaker.

The same list of criteria controls where the music can happen. The event must be on a parcel of at least 20 acres and at least 250 feet from the nearest residence on adjacent property. Hours are set by the Board of Appeals, and for properties outside the Resource Conservation Area the Board of Appeals also decides the annual number of events. Inside the RCA, the standards are in Chapter 14:1, the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area chapter. Lighting must be confined to the lighted property, parking must be on-site and as far from nearby residences as possible, and guest counts are limited to what the Queen Anne's County Health Department and Fire Marshal allow.

A special events zoning certificate is issued annually under § 18:1-138, on top of the conditional use requirements in Part 5, Article XVII of Chapter 18:1.

Short-term rentals are handled elsewhere. Under § 18:1-58(J)(2)(c), outdoor amplified music at a short-term residential rental is discontinued at 8:00 p.m., and guests who are not overnight occupants vacate by 11:00 p.m. The text of § 18:1-95(T)(2)(g) cross-refers to § 18:1-95T(2)(c) for the measurement, which is how the code prints it. The Department of Planning and Zoning administers both rules. The incorporated towns, including Centreville and Queenstown, apply their own codes.