Quiet hours in Albuquerque, NM — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Albuquerque has no blanket curfew but enforces zoning-based decibel limits. Under Noise Control Ordinance section 9-9-4, residential receptor properties may not be exposed to sound exceeding 55 dB(A) during the daytime (7:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.) or 50 dB(A) during the nighttime (10:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m.).
Albuquerque regulates nighttime noise through numeric decibel limits tied to zoning rather than a flat quiet-hours curfew. The Noise Control Ordinance (Albuquerque Code of Ordinances, Chapter 9, Article 9) defines DAYTIME as 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and NIGHTTIME as 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (section 9-9-2). Section 9-9-4(A) prohibits any person from making, causing, or allowing sound that 'persistently or continuously' exceeds the Table 1 A-weighted limits at the receptor premises. For a residential receptor, that ceiling is 55 dB(A) daytime and 50 dB(A) nighttime when the source is also residential; the limits rise to 65/60 dB(A) where the receptor is in a commercial zone and 75/70 dB(A) in an industrial/manufacturing zone. 'Persistently or continuously' means a 10-minute period during which the sound exceeds the limit in each of the ten one-minute intervals (section 9-9-2). Limits are keyed to the zoning classification of the property, not its actual use. Separately, Albuquerque Code section 12-2-4 ('Unreasonable noise') and the cross-referenced animal-noise rule remain in force alongside Article 9.
Each act is a public nuisance and a separate civil violation under section 9-9-11: a civil fine of $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second, and $1,000 for the third and subsequent offenses within any 36-consecutive-month period; each calendar day is a separate offense.
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