Clay County, FL Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 15-5(b) targets any dog, defined broadly to include a single dog or a pack, that disturbs a neighbor through barking, howling, baying, or whining. The general prohibition in (b)(1) bars any such noise that disturbs the peace, quiet, and repose of a reasonable person, while the specific test in (b)(2) is met once the noise is heard, or capable of being heard, at any boundary line of the premises for five consecutive minutes, continuous or intermittent. Under (b)(3), the property owner, leaseholder, or on-site manager is deemed the dog's "keeper" for enforcement purposes even if someone else actually owns the animal.

Six exceptions in subsection (f)(1) narrow the rule: law-enforcement or hunting dogs under direct supervision, a dog barking outside an enclosed structure that its keeper immediately quiets, dogs at a county animal-control facility, dogs on a bona fide farm operation, a security dog responding to an intruder if it stops within five minutes of the intruder leaving, and dogs at a lawfully nonconforming or conditionally permitted commercial kennel. Subsection (g) forecloses two common defenses: it is no defense that the keeper does not own the dog, or that the keeper was absent when the barking occurred.

083, Florida Statutes, up to $500 and 60 days in jail if it becomes a habitual violation within 180 days, or a civil infraction under section 15-20 starting at a $25 category 1 penalty for a residential first violation.