Mobile, AL Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)
Construction hours in Mobile, AL, sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances, set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Exempt hours
- 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily, all construction equipment
- Daytime limit (6 a.m.-10 p.m.)
- Audible 50 ft from property line or exceeds 85 db(a)
- Nighttime limit (10 p.m.-6 a.m.)
- Audible 25 ft from property line or exceeds 50 db(a)
- Governing section
- Mobile City Code § 39-96.1(d)(6)
- Maximum fine
- Up to $500.00 per offense, § 1-21
- Maximum jail/hard labor
- Up to six months, court's discretion
- Continuing violation
- Each day of violation is a separate offense
Summary
Mobile, Alabama exempts construction activity and equipment from the city's residential noise limits only between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. under City Code § 39-96.1(d)(6). Outside that window, construction noise in or near an R-1, R-2, R-3 or R-B district falls under the same audibility and decibel limits that govern all residential noise.
(b)Definitions. For the purposes of this section:(1)Construction activities shall mean any and all activity incidental to the construction, erection, demolition, assembling, altering, installing or equipping of buildings, structures, roads or appurtenances thereto, including land clearing, grading, excavating and filling. ... (c)Noise in residential districts restricted.(1)Generally. It shall be unlawful and a nuisance to make, continue or cause to be made or continued any loud or excessive noise that unreasonably interferes with the comfort, health, or safety of others within the corporate limits of the city. ... (d)Exceptions.(6)Construction activity or equipment. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any construction activity or equipment operated between the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 67).
Full Breakdown
1 of the Mobile City Code sets the city's residential noise standard, then carves out a construction window. ' The code defines 'construction activities' as 'any and all activity incidental to the construction, erection, demolition, assembling, altering, installing or equipping of buildings, structures, roads or appurtenances thereto, including land clearing, grading, excavating and filling,' and 'construction equipment' covers pile drivers, power shovels, derricks, hoist tractors, loaders, bulldozers, cranes, pavement breakers, compressors and other fuel- or electric-powered machinery used on a job site. window, construction noise is measured against the same limits that apply to any residential-district noise source under subsection (c).
, a device is unlawful if it is plainly audible fifty feet or more from any property line within a residential district, or if it exceeds 85 db(a) at that property line. , the threshold tightens to twenty-five feet audibility or 50 db(a). must meet the stricter 25-foot/50 db(a) nighttime limit. carve-out under subsection (d)(7). The general nuisance clause in subsection (c)(1), barring any loud or excessive noise that unreasonably interferes with the comfort, health, or safety of others, also does not apply to construction activity during the exempt hours.
Violations & Fines
A construction-noise violation is a municipal ordinance offense under City Code § 1-21: on conviction, a fine of up to $500.00, plus a discretionary jail or hard-labor term of up to six months. Every day the violation continues counts as a separate offense, so equipment run past 9:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m. night after night can be charged repeatedly. Mobile Municipal Court hears the case; no permit or advance notice to police is required to run equipment within the exempt hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can construction crews run equipment before 6 a.m. in a Mobile residential neighborhood?
Does the construction exemption cover work between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.?
What happens if a contractor keeps running loud equipment after being cited?
Does the same 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. rule cover homeowners running lawn equipment?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mobile
How Mobile compares: Cities with the Strictest Construction Hours·Compare Mobile to another location·View the Alabama noise ordinances overview
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