Augusta-Richmond County, GA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)
Quiet hours in Augusta-Richmond County, GA, also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time, define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Key Facts
- Weeknight window
- 11 p.m.-7 a.m. Sun-Thu
- Weekend window
- Midnight-7 a.m. into Sat/Sun
- Nighttime audibility limit
- 100 feet
- Daytime limit for comparison
- 300 feet, Sec. 3-6-2(a)
- Apartment interior rule
- 5 feet, any hour, Sec. 3-6-2(d)
- Max penalty
- $1,000 fine / 60 days jail
Summary
Augusta-Richmond County tightens its noise limits after dark. Code Sec. 3-6-2(b) cuts the daytime 300-foot audibility threshold to 100 feet from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from midnight to 7 a.m. heading into Saturday and Sunday. Radios, stereos, musical instruments and amplifiers that carry that far violate the ordinance, and county officers can cite the source regardless of whether it sits on private property.
(b)Restrictions of 100 feet for 11:00 p.m. through 7 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 12:00 midnight through 7:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.(1)Mechanical sound-making devices. It is unlawful for any person or persons to play, use, operate, or permit to be played, used, or operated any radio receiving device, television, stereo, musical instrument, phonograph, sound amplifier or other machines or devices for the producing, reproducing or amplifying of sound and/or noise at such a volume and in such a manner so as to create, or cause to be created, any noises or sounds which are plainly audible at a distance of 100 feet or more from the building, structure, or motor vehicle or in the case of real property, beyond the property limits, in which it is located, whichever is farthest, between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 7:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Recodification).
Full Breakdown
Section 3-6-1 sets the baseline: no one may make or permit any noise that annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others, and 'plainly audible' is measured by whether an ordinary listener standing the stated distance away can hear it, words need not be intelligible, and bass reverberations alone count as prohibited noise. m. heading into Saturday and Sunday, a much tighter zone than the 300-foot daytime limit in subsection (a). Subsection (d) layers on a separate five-foot rule for apartments, condominiums, townhouses and duplexes: noise plainly audible five feet past a shared wall or property line is unlawful at any hour, covering both yelling and mechanically produced sound.
Ten exemptions in subsection (e) carve out county vehicles on public business, burglar and car alarms that shut off within 15 minutes, utility and public-works emergency work, snow equipment, permitted festivals, airport noise, school and sporting events, and routine manufacturing, government or commercial operations. Section 3-6-4 sets the penalty for the whole chapter: a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and up to 60 days in the county jail.
Violations & Fines
A citation under Sec. 3-6-2(b) is a misdemeanor triggering the chapter-wide penalty in Sec. 3-6-4: up to a $1,000 fine and up to 60 days in the Richmond County jail, at the judge's discretion. Deputies and Marshal's officers measure audibility from the stated distance rather than from the complainant's property line, so a device inside a house still violates the code if it carries 100 feet past the building after 11 p.m.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Augusta-Richmond County's official quiet hours?
Does the nighttime noise rule apply inside apartments and condos?
What happens if I get cited for violating quiet hours?
Are there exceptions to the nighttime noise ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Augusta-Richmond County
How Augusta-Richmond County compares: Cities with the Strictest Noise Ordinances·Compare Augusta-Richmond County to another location·View the Georgia noise ordinances overview
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