Quiet hours in Durham County, NC — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
In the City of Durham and its joint city-county jurisdiction, no sound may exceed 50 dB(A) at a neighbor's property line at night (11 p.m.–8 a.m.). Amplified radio or instruments that disturb repose between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. are separately prohibited.
Durham's noise ordinance (Code Ch. 26, Art. II) sets a hard nighttime cap: measured at any point beyond the source property's boundary, sound may not exceed 50 dB(A) between 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Separately, Sec. 26-23(b)(2) treats playing any radio, phonograph or instrument loudly 'particularly during the hours between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.' as an unreasonably loud and disturbing noise. Enforcement is complaint-driven; Durham Police respond and may measure with an ANSI-spec sound meter. Emergency, safety-warning, permitted-event, and religious-chime sounds are exempt.
Unclassified City Code violations are a Class 3 misdemeanor with a fine up to $50 per offense (Sec. 1-9); each continuing night can be a separate violation.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
durham-county-nc
Backyard composting is legal in Durham and the city offers a curbside food-waste program. Compost piles must be maintained so they do not harbor rodents or p...
durham-county-nc
Durham has no ordinance banning artificial turf in residential yards. It counts toward impervious-surface and lot-coverage limits under the UDO, and cannot b...
durham-county-nc
Durham lies in the Neuse River and Falls Lake watersheds, where state and UDO riparian buffer rules require a 50-foot protected buffer of native vegetation a...
durham-county-nc
Rain barrels and cisterns are legal and encouraged in Durham; no county ordinance bans collecting rooftop rainwater. Durham has historically offered subsidiz...
durham-county-nc
Durham enforces a year-round odd/even irrigation ordinance and can impose tighter water-shortage stages. As of June 2026 Durham is in Stage 2, which bans spr...
durham-county-nc
Durham declares dense weeds, vines, briars and undergrowth a public nuisance when they harbor pests or sit near buildings. Overgrowth over 12 inches high mus...
See how Durham County's quiet hours rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.