Stanislaus County, CA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Stanislaus County regulates nighttime noise in its unincorporated communities (such as Salida, Keyes, Empire, Denair, and Hickman) through Chapter 10.46 of the County Code, the "Stanislaus County Noise Control Ordinance." Rather than a flat curfew, the ordinance uses two time periods. Section 10.46.050 Table A establishes a daytime window of 7:00 a.m. to 9:59 p.m. and a nighttime window of 10:00 p.m. to 6:59 a.m., with lower decibel limits applying at night. For parcels in a residential zoning district the maximum A-weighted sound level (LMAX) measured at any property is 50 dB(A) during the day and 45 dB(A) at night. Noise-sensitive sites (schools, hospitals, churches, convalescent homes, cemeteries, libraries) are held to 45 dB(A) both day and night. Several specific nighttime restrictions also run from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.: car stereos may not be audible inside any inhabited dwelling, and audio equipment and power tools may not be audible inside a neighbor's dwelling (Section 10.46.060). The Sheriff's Department has primary enforcement responsibility (Section 10.46.100), and a violation is an infraction punishable per Section 1.36.020, with each day a separate offense.