Newark, NJ Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Newark's dog-barking rule lives in two places that work together. Section 20:3-13e of the Noise Control Ordinance, Chapter 20:3, defines when an animal's noise becomes an enforceable disturbance: owning, possessing, or harboring any animal or bird that frequently or continuously makes sounds creating a noise disturbance across a residential real property line is prohibited, and the section supplies a bright-line test for dogs specifically, barking continuously for 10 minutes or intermittently for 30 minutes constitutes a noise disturbance as a matter of law. Section 6:1-10 of the Animal Control chapter, Title 6, then folds that same standard into the animal-control code by cross-reference: no person may keep, harbor, or maintain a dog in violation of Section 20:3-13e.

Because the animal chapter has its own enforcement track, a barking-dog complaint carries a different penalty, lower in fine amount but jail-eligible, than the rest of the Noise Control Ordinance. The Directors of Health and Community Wellness, Public Safety, and Engineering can pursue the noise angle under Chapter 20:3, while Animal Control and the Municipal Court can proceed under Title 6. Either path relies on the same 10-minute continuous or 30-minute intermittent threshold to establish that a disturbance occurred, rather than leaving the determination to an officer's subjective judgment.