Salem, OR Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)
Barking dog rules in Salem, OR, 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
- Trigger
- Bark/cry 10+ minutes, frequent/repetitive/continuous
- Who is liable
- Whoever keeps or permits the dog
- Time-of-day limit
- None stated; applies any hour
- First offense
- Infraction (SRC 93.990(a))
- Repeat offense
- Misdemeanor within 6 months (SRC 93.990(b))
Summary
Salem makes it unlawful to keep a dog that barks, cries, or makes other sound on a frequent, repetitive, or continuous basis for ten minutes or longer, under SRC 93.020(b). The rule applies at any hour, is enforced as a noise disturbance per se, and the duty falls on whoever keeps or permits the keeping of the dog.
(b)Dogs. It shall be unlawful to keep, or to permit the keeping of, any dog or dogs that create any bark, cry, or other sound on a frequent, repetitive or continuous basis for ten minutes or longer.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 26 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
020(b) targets dogs specifically within Salem's list of per se noise disturbances, making it unlawful to keep, or to permit the keeping of, any dog or dogs that create any bark, cry, or other sound on a frequent, repetitive or continuous basis for ten minutes or longer. Three ways to trigger the violation are built into the text: a bark or cry pattern that is frequent, one that is repetitive, or one that is simply continuous, so long as the sound lasts ten minutes or more in any of those patterns.
Liability attaches to the person who keeps or permits the keeping of the dog, which reaches owners, tenants, and anyone otherwise responsible for the animal on the property, not just a titled dog owner. 010, only that the ten-minute threshold was met. 030 does carve out a narrow set of exemptions elsewhere in the chapter, for example sounds from farm animal operations, but no exemption specifically shields barking dogs on residential or commercial property from subsection (b). 990(b).
Violations & Fines
Keeping or permitting a dog to bark, cry, or make other sound frequently, repetitively, or continuously for ten minutes or more violates SRC 93.020(b) and is charged as an infraction under SRC 93.990(a). A second violation of SRC 93.010 or 93.020 within six months of a prior conviction is elevated to a misdemeanor under SRC 93.990(b), and a court may order the violation corrected.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a dog have to bark before it violates Salem's noise code?
Who is responsible if a tenant's dog barks too much?
Is there a time-of-day exception for barking dogs in Salem?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salem
Compare Salem to another location·View the Oregon noise ordinances overview
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