Marin County, CA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)
Quiet hours in Marin County, CA, also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time, define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Key Facts
- Quiet hours
- 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
- Governing section
- § 6.70.030(4), Marin County Code
- Baseline ban
- § 6.70.020: any noise disturbing peace, any hour
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $500 or 6 months (§ 1.04.270)
- Enforcing agency
- Marin County Sheriff's Office
Summary
Marin County Code § 6.70.030(4) bars yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling, or singing on public roads between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. if it disturbs the quiet, comfort, or repose of anyone in a nearby dwelling, hotel, or other residence. The same nighttime window doubles as the audibility trigger for radios and amplified sound under the neighboring subsections (2) and (3).
(4)Yelling, shouting, etc. Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling, or singing on public roads between the hours of eleven p.m. and seven a.m. so as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort, or repose of persons in any dwelling, hotel or other type of residence in the vicinity.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 2026 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
70, the "loud and unnecessary noises" chapter enacted by Ordinance 1707 in 1969. 020 sets the baseline: it is "unlawful for any person to make, continue, or cause to be made or continued, any loud, unnecessary or unusual noise which either annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health or peace of others," with no time restriction at all. so as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort, or repose of persons in any dwelling, hotel or other type of residence in the vicinity" is a violation.
quiet period functions as the county's baseline curfew across both mechanical and human noise sources. 270: a misdemeanor carrying up to a $500 fine, up to six months in jail, or both. 030 without needing a sound-level meter reading.
Violations & Fines
Violating the 11 p.m.-7 a.m. quiet-hour provisions in § 6.70.030(2) through (4) is prosecuted as a misdemeanor under the county's general penalty section, § 1.04.270, punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to six months in county jail, or both, since Chapter 6.70 does not downgrade these subsections to infractions. The Sheriff's Office can cite based on audibility or the described conduct alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hours count as quiet hours in unincorporated Marin?
Does the curfew apply only to loud parties?
Is there a noise rule that applies outside the quiet hours too?
What's the penalty for breaking quiet hours?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Marin County
How Marin County compares: Cities with the Strictest Noise Ordinances·California rules heatmap·Compare Marin County to another location·View the California noise ordinances overview
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