Forsyth County, NC Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Noise standard
- Audible 100 feet from device (Sec. 15-1(c)(1))
- Watch hours
- 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (Sec. 15-1(b)(5))
- Criminal penalty
- Class 3 misdemeanor, up to $500 (Sec. 15-2(b))
- Civil penalty
- Recoverable as a civil debt (Sec. 15-2(a))
- Exemptions
- Emergencies, farm operations, county festivals (Sec. 15-1(c)(2))
- Enforcing agency
- Forsyth County Sheriff's Office
Summary
Forsyth County measures noise by distance, not decibels: Code Sec. 15-1(c) makes it unlawful to play a radio, tape player, or amplifying device so loudly that it disturbs or frightens listeners 100 feet from the device or vehicle on a public right-of-way or public space. The rule runs around the clock, though Sec. 15-1(b)(5) singles out 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. as the hours the county watches closest for residential noise complaints.
(c)Noise limit. It shall be unlawful to:(1)Cause, allow or permit the operating or playing of any radio, tape player or similar device that reproduces or amplifies sound in such a manner as to produce disturbing or frightening noise at one hundred (100) feet from the device or vehicle containing that device when the device or vehicle is being operated in or on a public right-of-way or public space.(2)This section shall not apply to emergency operations designed to protect the public health and safety, or the agricultural operations and farms in the unincorporated area of Forsyth County, or the sound amplification in conjunction with a county festival.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 68).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 15-1(a) bans any noise, amplified speech, music, or sound that disturbs or frightens a person of ordinary sensibilities and endangers the peace and dignity of the county, applying at any hour of the day or night. Subsection (b) lists examples without limiting the ordinance to them: loud or boisterous shouting, sounding a vehicle horn while parked except as a danger signal, keeping an animal whose barking disturbs neighbors (expressly subject to the state's farm-operation preemption), and running a vehicle so out of repair that it grates, grinds, or rattles.
m. Subsection (c) supplies the operative test the county actually enforces: a radio, tape player, or similar device is unlawful once it is audible and disturbing 100 feet from the device or the vehicle carrying it, measured while the device or vehicle sits in or on a public right-of-way or public space. Three carve-outs apply: emergency operations protecting public health and safety, agricultural operations and farms in the unincorporated county, and sound amplification tied to a county festival. Sec. S. 00 plus any other sanction state law allows. Deputies do not need a decibel meter reading to cite a violation; the 100-foot audibility line is the standard the ordinance was written around.
Violations & Fines
Violating Sec. 15-1 exposes the offender to a civil penalty Forsyth County can collect as a debt if it isn't paid within the stated deadline, or a criminal charge as a Class 3 misdemeanor under G.S. 14-4, punishable by up to a $500.00 fine and any other sanction state law allows for that class of offense. Forsyth County Sheriff's Office deputies write the citations; each distinct disturbance can support its own charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Forsyth County use a decibel meter to measure noise?
Are there quiet hours in unincorporated Forsyth County?
Is farm noise exempt from the county's noise rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Forsyth County
Compare Forsyth County to another location·View the North Carolina noise ordinances overview
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