Greenwood County, SC Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Greenwood County Code Section 11-3-2, adopted by Ordinance No. 30-96 on November 19, 1996, does not set a decibel-meter threshold. Instead it defines a violation objectively: any sound covered by the fourteen categories of unlawful noise listed in subsection (a) is unlawful once it is 'plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet from its source,' per subsection (b). That 50-foot test applies countywide to horns, stereos and musical instruments, barking or noisy pets, worn-out vehicle noise, steam whistles, uncontrolled engine exhaust, compressed-air tools, construction outside 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. weekdays, noise near schools and churches during services, loading and unloading, bells and gongs, street hawking, attention-getting devices, and vehicle-mounted loudspeakers.

Nine categories of noise are exempted even if they cause a disturbance: lawn mowers and farm equipment meeting state highway department muffler rules, safety and warning devices, emergency vehicles and emergency work, school or church bells, county-sponsored activities, racetracks already operating when the section took effect, public ballparks and stadiums, and lawfully operated aircraft, trains and motor vehicles. Under subsection (d), the complaints of three or more residents, or of one resident joined by the sheriff or a deputy, are prima facie proof that a sound violates the section.

The Sheriff's Office enforces the rule and may abate noise in public streets or places as a public nuisance under subsection (e). A permit from the sheriff can authorize noise that would otherwise violate the section, such as after-hours construction 'in cases of urgent necessity.'