Grays Harbor County, WA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Grays Harbor County Code Chapter 9.12 handles excessive noise as part of its ban on keeping a disorderly house, and it borrows its numeric ceiling rather than writing one into the county code. Section 9.12.010(B) states that maximum permissible noise levels "shall be established as set forth in Chapter 173-60 WAC" and that loud or boisterous noise is defined as anything exceeding the limits in WAC 173-60-040, the state's environmental-noise regulation, which sets different decibel ceilings by time of day and by the zoning of the source and receiving property.

Because the county code cross-references rather than restates those figures, a complaint against a neighbor, business, or outdoor gathering in the unincorporated county turns on whether a sound-level reading exceeds the applicable WAC 173-60-040 limit for that property's use category and the hour of the day. A person who keeps a house or place of business responsible for noise above that ceiling is guilty of keeping a disorderly house under Section 9.12.010(A) and (C), a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to one thousand dollars, up to ninety days in jail, or both. The Sheriff's Office investigates noise complaints in the unincorporated area, and the maximum penalty applies per incident of unlawful noise proven at trial.