Sacramento County, CA Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Events (2026)

Unincorporated Sacramento County regulates amplified music under the exterior noise standards of County Code Chapter 6.68 rather than through a separate party or entertainment ordinance. The base residential limits are 55 dBA from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 50 dBA from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., measured at the affected property. Critically, the ordinance reduces each of these limits by 5 dBA for impulsive or simple-tone noises, or for noise consisting of speech or music. Because amplified music falls squarely in that category, the effective ceiling for music reaching a neighbor's property is about 50 dBA during the day and 45 dBA at night, lower than for ordinary steady noise. This makes loud backyard parties, DJ setups and outdoor sound systems comparatively easy to push over the limit, especially after 10 p.m. The county's Environmental Management Department investigates habitual or mechanical amplified-noise sources, while one-time or nighttime party noise is typically referred to the Sheriff's non-emergency dispatch. Hosts planning amplified music should keep volume well below conversational disturbance at the property line, particularly in the evening, since the music penalty plus the nighttime reduction compounds quickly. The county does not publish a fixed permit-free decibel allowance for residential music beyond these adjusted standards.