Southfield, MI Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

Southfield City Code Sec. 9.11(3) treats loudspeakers, amplifiers and any similar sound-amplifying device, whether fixed or mounted on a vehicle, as unlawful noise unless the use is noncommercial and follows six listed restrictions. Only music or human speech may be broadcast. Operation is confined to four hours per day, split between 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; no operation at all is authorized on Sundays or legal holidays. A vehicle-mounted sound truck cannot broadcast unless the truck itself is moving at least ten miles per hour, except when stopped or impeded by traffic.

Sound cannot be issued within 100 yards of a hospital, school or church, and the equipment's volume must not be audible beyond 100 feet or be unreasonably loud, raucous, jarring or disturbing within that radius. The last stage of amplification is capped at 15 watts. Church bells and school bells are expressly exempted from all six restrictions. Because Sec. 9.11 is listed among the sections in Sec. 1.704 that are designated municipal civil infractions, a violation is enforced civilly rather than criminally, and the Southfield Police Department is the enforcing agency for this chapter under Sec. 1.18.