Bakersfield, CA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)
Barking dog rules in Bakersfield, CA, also called nuisance dog, dog noise, or excessive barking ordinances, define when a barking dog becomes a code violation and how complaints are handled.
Key Facts
- Governing section
- BMC § 6.04.230
- Covered animals
- Any animal, bird or fowl
- Investigating agency
- Chief of police
- First-offense fine
- Up to $100
- Third+ offense fine
- Up to $500, each additional violation/yr
Summary
Bakersfield bans keeping any animal, bird or fowl whose noise unreasonably disturbs the neighborhood under Municipal Code § 6.04.230, with the police chief investigating complaints and fines up to $500 for repeat violations.
A. No person shall keep or maintain, or cause or permit to be kept or maintained, upon any premises in the city, or upon any public street, highway, sidewalk, alley, park, playground or other public place in the city, any animal, bird or fowl which by any sound or cry whatsoever unreasonably disturbs the peace and comfort of any neighborhood or interferes with the reasonable and comfortable enjoyment of life or property by any person. Every day during which any person continues to keep or maintain any such animal, bird or fowl shall be a separate violation of this chapter.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 5221, passed July 15, 2026).
Full Breakdown
230, "Keeping noisy animals, Complaints, Investigation," is the city's barking-dog and general animal-noise nuisance rule. " Every day the noisy animal is kept counts as a separate violation. Enforcement runs through the police department: subsection B assigns the chief of police the duty to "receive and investigate or cause to be investigated all complaints" about animals violating the section. 270(B), with an escalating fine schedule: not more than $100 for a first violation, not more than $200 for a second violation within one year, and not more than $500 for each additional violation within that year.
Because the section covers any animal, bird or fowl, not just dogs, a resident with a chronically barking dog, a crowing rooster, or a loud caged bird can all be cited under the same provision if the noise unreasonably disturbs a neighbor's peace and comfort.
Violations & Fines
A noisy-animal violation of § 6.04.230 is an infraction under § 6.04.270(B): up to $100 for a first offense, up to $200 for a second offense within one year, and up to $500 for each additional offense within that year. Each day the animal is kept while violating the section is a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What's the fine for a barking dog violation in Bakersfield?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bakersfield
California rules heatmap·Compare Bakersfield to another location·View the California noise ordinances overview
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Barking Dogs in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Kern County handle barking dogs.