Catawba County, NC Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)
Quiet hours in Catawba County, NC, 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
- 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- Covers
- Firearm discharge, garage/service-station machinery
- Section
- Code § 16-69(9), (12)
- Firearms exception
- Hunting or self-defense
- First offense
- Class 3 misdemeanor
- Enforcement
- Sheriff's Office
Summary
Catawba County's noise ordinance sets an 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. quiet period during which firearm discharge and garage or service-station machinery are barred, under Code Sec. 16-69(9) and (12), part of the same article that separately restricts construction equipment and lawn tools overnight.
(9)The discharge of all manner of firearms is prohibited between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., except as required in the hunting and taking of animal prey or in the defense of person or property. The discharge of firearms shall also be in accordance with section 22-61. ... (12)Operation of garage or service station machinery or equipment between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. except where such activity is being operated in conformity with the county's zoning ordinance.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 16-69(9) makes it unlawful to discharge any firearm between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., except when hunting or taking animal prey or in defense of person or property; the section cross-references Sec. 22-61 for the county's separate firearms-discharge rules. Sec. 16-69(12) closes garage and service-station machinery down for the same overnight window, unless the activity conforms to the county's zoning ordinance. Together with the construction-machinery curfew in subsection (13) and the lawn-mower and power-tool curfew in subsection (14), these clauses form Catawba County's overnight quiet-hours framework: rather than one blanket no-noise rule, Article III lists the specific noise sources barred between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
Sec. 16-68 supplies the general standard behind all of them, that noise loud enough to frighten, endanger or seriously disturb a person of ordinary sensibilities on other property is unlawful at any hour, and Sec. 16-69 states its list does not limit that general rule. Sec. 16-70 exempts warning devices, safety signals, emergency vehicles, aircraft operated under federal rules, county-sanctioned parades and festivals, railroad operations and farm equipment from both the general standard and the specific list, so none of those sources trigger the nighttime restrictions even during the 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. window.
Violations & Fines
A firearm discharged or garage machinery run during the restricted hours draws a criminal citation from a sheriff's deputy after a complaint under Sec. 16-72. Sec. 16-73 makes a first offense a class 3 misdemeanor, a third noise conviction within five years a class 1 misdemeanor, and treats each night the violation continues after notice as a separate offense; the county may also seek an equitable action such as an injunction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a nighttime noise curfew in Catawba County?
Can I fire a gun at night in the county?
What if a neighbor runs loud machinery after 11 p.m.?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Catawba County
Compare Catawba County to another location·View the North Carolina noise ordinances overview
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