Tigard, OR Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)
Amplified music rules in Tigard, OR, also called sound permit, PA system, or live music ordinances, set decibel limits, time-of-day restrictions, and when permits are required.
Key Facts
- Night limit at a noise-sensitive unit
- 40 dB, 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
- Day limit at a noise-sensitive unit
- 50 dB, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Property with no noise-sensitive unit
- 60 dB overnight, 75 dB at other times
- Public places
- Unnecessarily loud at 100 feet is unlawful
- Vehicle stereos
- Covered by Section 6.02.440.B.2
- Penalty
- Class 1 civil infraction, up to $250 per day
Summary
In the City of Tigard, Oregon, amplified sound and sound equipment must stay within the Tigard Municipal Code noise limits: 40 dB from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and 50 dB from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at a residence, church, school or other noise-sensitive unit. Sound plainly audible inside such a unit overnight is also unlawful.
It is unlawful for any person to produce, or permit to be produced, sounds which: A. When measured at the boundary of or within a property on which a noise-sensitive unit, not the source of the sound, is located, exceeds: 1. 40 dB at any time between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. the following day, or 2. 50 dB at any time between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. the same day; or B. Is plainly audible at any time between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. the following day within a noise-sensitive unit which is not the source of sound; ... B. Except as provided in Section 6.02.450, the following acts are violations of this article if they exceed the noise limits specified in Section 6.02.430: ... 2. Operation of sound-producing devices such as, but not limited to, musical instruments, loudspeakers, amplifying devices, public address systems, radios, tape recorders and/or tape players, compact disc players, phonographs, television sets and stereo systems, including those installed in or on vehicles; ... 8. Use or creation of amplified sound in any outdoor facility;
Full Breakdown
Article V of Chapter 6.02 of the Tigard Municipal Code sets numeric limits in Section 6.02.430 and then lists, in Section 6.02.440, the acts that violate the article when they exceed those limits. Section 6.02.440.B.2 names the equipment: musical instruments, loudspeakers, amplifying devices, public address systems, radios, tape recorders and players, compact disc players, phonographs, television sets and stereo systems, including those installed in or on vehicles. Section 6.02.440.B.8 separately reaches the use or creation of amplified sound in any outdoor facility.
Measured at the boundary of or within a property that holds a noise-sensitive unit, sound cannot exceed 40 dB between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. or 50 dB between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. A noise-sensitive unit is any building or portion of a building containing a residence, place of overnight accommodation, church, day care center, hospital, school or nursing care center. Between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., sound that is plainly audible inside such a unit is unlawful, and the code defines plainly audible as sound whose information content is unambiguously communicated, including understandable speech or comprehensible musical rhythms. Sound that is unnecessarily loud inside a unit, meaning it interferes with normal spoken communication or disturbs sleep, is unlawful at any hour.
Where the receiving property holds no noise-sensitive unit, the limits are 60 dB from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and 75 dB at any other time. In a park, street or other public place, sound that is unnecessarily loud at a distance of 100 feet is unlawful. Enforcement does not depend on a meter: Section 6.02.420 says measurements are not required, but any readings taken must come from a Type I or Type II sound level meter operated by a trained person. Section 6.02.450.J exempts community events such as parades, street fairs and festivals that the city manager or designee has determined in writing to be community events, and Section 6.02.450.K exempts legal fireworks on the dates it lists between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Violations & Fines
A violation of Title 6 is a Class 1 civil infraction under Section 6.01.040.A, processed under Chapter 1.16. Section 1.16.640.A.1 caps the civil penalty or administrative fee at $250 per day, and under Section 6.01.040.B each day the violation continues is a separate infraction. For the plainly audible, unnecessarily loud and public-place limits, Section 6.02.470.A requires evidence from at least two persons from different households, and a police or code enforcement officer who witnessed the sound counts as one. The city can also ask for a voluntary compliance agreement under Section 1.16.115 on a single complaint.
Frequently Asked Questions
What decibel limit applies to a stereo or band at a home in Tigard?
Does the amplified sound rule cover car stereos in Tigard?
Are outdoor events exempt from the noise limits?
How many witnesses does Tigard need to cite a loud music complaint?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tigard
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Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Washington County handle amplified music & outdoor sound.