Virginia Beach, VA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Unlike jurisdictions that set a numeric daytime and nighttime decibel cap for each zoning district, the Virginia Beach City Code uses a qualitative standard. Chapter 23, Article II defines violations in terms of unreasonably loud, disturbing, or unnecessary noise and lists specific prohibited acts such as loud radios, vehicle sound systems audible beyond a set distance, shouting, and running machinery in a way that disturbs neighbors. The zoning ordinance layers on a performance standard for nonresidential districts that requires noise not to be objectionable or unreasonable at the property line. Police officers responding to a complaint generally evaluate audibility from the complainant's property, time of day (with tighter enforcement between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.), and whether the source is a repeat offender. The city does use sound-level meters for certain complex cases such as commercial HVAC, outdoor events, and protracted construction disputes, and a reading in the range of 55 to 65 dBA at a residential property line at night is often treated as clear evidence of a violation. For AICUZ purposes around NAS Oceana, the city does use the Day-Night Average Sound Level (DNL) metric, but that metric governs land use planning rather than individual noise citations.