Stafford County, VA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

County Code § 16-4(a) prohibits any noise exceeding the maximum permissible sound levels set in the section's table, measured at the property boundary of the source or at any point on an affected neighboring property. The table sets residential limits at 60 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime; commercial and office limits at 65 dBA daytime and 60 dBA nighttime; and industrial limits at 79 dBA daytime and 72 dBA nighttime. on weekends and county holidays; all other hours are nighttime (§ 16-3). Where a source's noise can be measured in more than one zoning classification, the most restrictive classification's limit applies.

Subsection (b) requires measurement with a calibrated Type 2 ANSI sound-level meter, using at least three readings averaged together, with three dB subtracted if background noise equals the measured level. Heating and cooling equipment, such as air conditioners and heat pumps, is exempt from the nighttime figures under subsection (c), and a permit holder running daytime construction equipment within 100 yards of a home is exempt from the whole table under subsection (d). Anyone whose noise source would otherwise exceed these limits can apply to the county administrator for a hardship exemption under § 16-5, which weighs the time, duration, and loudness of the noise against the hardship of compliance.