Warrick County, IN Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

Section 158.05, part of the Board of Commissioners' Ordinance 2023-14 passed July 24, 2023, sets numeric sound pressure limits for stationary sources measured 'at any point on the boundary of the property where the person is located.' Under § 158.05(A), the limit is 55 dBA at all times in a residential zone, 55 dBA at all times in a commercial zone, and 66 dBA at all times in an industrial zone. Residential, commercial, and industrial zones are the R, C, and M districts defined in the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Warrick County, Indiana, per § 158.01.

Under § 158.05(B), if a property boundary straddles two of these zones, 'the lower limit shall apply regardless of the zone in which the person creating the noise is located,' so a business on a residential-industrial line is held to the 55 dBA residential cap. Sections 158.05(C) and (D) add a separate vibration standard: no person in a residential or commercial zone may cause 'earth-shaking vibrations perceptible without the aid of instruments' beyond the property boundary, and industrial-zone sources cannot cause such vibrations beyond the zone boundary.

The rule applies only in unincorporated Warrick County; incorporated towns set their own limits. The Warrick County Sheriff's Office enforces the chapter under § 158.07, and a violation of § 158.05 is punished under the general penalty in § 158.99(B): a fine of up to $2,500, with each day of exceedance a separate violation.