Folsom, CA Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)
Barking dog rules in Folsom, 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
- FMC § 7.04.060
- Standard
- Unprovoked, chronic disturbance
- Exemption
- Vet hospitals, shelters, farm uses
- Charge level
- Infraction
- Enforcement
- Animal services officer
Summary
Folsom bans letting a dog or other animal make chronic, unprovoked noise that rises to a nuisance, howling, yowling, barking, or whining, under Municipal Code Section 7.04.060, with a carve-out for reasonable noise from licensed veterinary hospitals, shelters, and farm facilities; a violation is an infraction enforced by animal services.
No person owning or harboring any animal shall permit or allow the animal to make loud or disturbing noises without provocation so as to constitute a nuisance, including, but not limited to, chronic howling, yowling, barking, whining, or other utterances. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to apply to reasonable animal noises emanating from legally operated veterinary hospitals, humane societies, animal shelters, farm or agricultural facilities, or areas where keeping of farm animals is permitted. Violation of this section shall constitute an infraction.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 1369, passed April 28, 2026).
Full Breakdown
060 targets any animal owner or harborer who lets their animal "make loud or disturbing noises without provocation so as to constitute a nuisance," and names chronic howling, yowling, barking, and whining as examples, meaning a single bark at the door does not trigger the section, but a pattern of unprovoked, sustained noise does. 080, so noise from a lawfully sited chicken coop or a horse on an ag-zoned lot is not automatically a nuisance. 030, and any person aggrieved by a determination can appeal to the city manager, whose decision is final.
Because the section sits inside Title 7 (Animals) rather than the city's general noise ordinance, a barking-dog complaint is handled by an animal services officer rather than through decibel-based noise rules, and the officer's determination of what counts as a "nuisance" is not tied to a numeric decibel limit or a specific time-of-day curfew; it turns on whether the noise is unprovoked and disturbing under the totality of the circumstances presented in the complaint.
Violations & Fines
A violation of Section 7.04.060 is an infraction. Under the general infraction fine schedule at Section 7.02.100, a first violation carries a fine up to $50, a second violation of the same provision within a year up to $100, and a third or further violation within that year up to $250, unless a different fine is specified elsewhere in Title 7.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a barking dog law in Folsom?
Are there exceptions for farm animals or kennels?
Who do I call about a neighbor's barking dog in Folsom?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Folsom
California rules heatmap·Compare Folsom to another location·View the California noise ordinances overview
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Barking Dogs in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Sacramento County handle barking dogs.