Riverside County, CA Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

The numeric heart of Riverside County's noise law is Table 1 of Ordinance No. 847, titled 'Sound Level Standards (dB Lmax).' Section 4 prohibits creating sound on any property that causes the exterior sound level on any other occupied property to exceed these limits, which are keyed to the receiving property's General Plan land use designation and split between a 7:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. and a 10:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m. period. Representative limits: Estate, Very Low, Low, Medium and High Density Residential are 55 dBA (day) / 45 dBA (night); Rural Residential, Rural Mountainous and Rural Desert are 45 dBA day and night; Retail, Office, Tourist Commercial and Community Center are 65 / 55; Light Industrial is 75 / 55; Heavy Industrial is 75 / 75; Business Park and Public Facility are 65 / 45. Open-space, conservation, recreation and agriculture designations are generally 45 / 45 (Mineral Resources is 75 / 45). Levels are measured with a Type 1 or Type 2 sound level meter (per ANSI), calibrated immediately before and re-verified after each measurement, taken anywhere within the boundaries of the complaining occupied property at the enforcement officer's discretion. Because the standard is a maximum (Lmax) rather than an average, a single loud event can exceed the limit. Numerous government, school, agricultural, motor-vehicle and HVAC sources are exempt under Section 2.