Boca Raton, FL Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 10-60 of the noise article makes it unlawful to keep or maintain any dog, cat, bird or other animal in a residential zone that causes a noise disturbance through habitual howling, barking, meowing, squawking or other noise-making. The same section separately bans taunting, beating or coercing an animal, or depriving it of food, water or shelter, in a way that makes it create excessive noise. The city cannot act on a bare complaint: the city manager or a designee investigates only after receiving sworn affidavits from two unrelated residents living in separate dwellings near the alleged violation, or a single sworn affidavit from a nearby resident paired with a video recording of the barking made by, or in the physical presence of, that resident.

The affidavit must specify the address of the violation, the nature, time and dates of the barking, and the name and address of the owner if known; a submitted video must show the date and time it was recorded and demonstrate the nature and extent of the disturbance. Once that evidentiary threshold is met, enforcement proceeds under the general code enforcement procedure in Section 2-100 against the animal's owner or custodian, which can route the case to the special magistrate.