Jonesboro, AR Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)
Quiet hours in Jonesboro, AR, also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time, define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Key Facts
- Applies
- 24 hours, no fixed quiet-hours window
- Covers
- radios, shouting, horns, mufflers
- Exempt
- city vehicles, ambulances, approved ranges
- Enforced by
- Jonesboro Police Department
- Max fine (general penalty)
- $500.00, doubled if repeated
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 16:052, September 6, 2016
Summary
Jonesboro bans any unreasonably loud, disturbing noise, day or night, that harms a reasonable person's health or safety or disturbs the public peace. City Code § 46-70 specifically calls out loud radios and loudspeakers, shouting on the streets, unnecessary horn use, and vehicles or engines running without an effective muffler as violations.
The creating of any unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise within the limits of the city, including noise of such character, intensity or duration as to be detrimental to the life, health or safety of any reasonable individual or in disturbance of the public peace and welfare is prohibited. The following acts, among others, are declared to be noises in violation of this section, but this enumeration shall not be deemed to be exclusive, namely: Playing radios, loudspeakers, etc. The playing of any radio, juke box or similar device, phonograph or any other kind of musical instrument or loudspeaker device in such a manner or with such volume, as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of persons in any office, hospital or in any dwelling, hotel or other type of residence or of any persons in the vicinity. Shouting. Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on the public streets at any time or place so as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of any persons in any hospital, dwelling, hotel or any other type of residence or of any person in the vicinity.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 16).
Full Breakdown
Section 46-70(a) prohibits creating any unreasonably loud, disturbing, and unnecessary noise within Jonesboro city limits, including noise of a character, intensity, or duration detrimental to the life, health, or safety of a reasonable person, or that disturbs the public peace and welfare. Rather than fixing clock-hour quiet times, the ordinance applies around the clock and lists specific violating acts in § 46-70(b): sounding a vehicle horn while not in motion (except as a genuine danger signal), playing a radio, jukebox, phonograph, musical instrument, or loudspeaker loud enough to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort, or repose of people in nearby offices, hospitals, dwellings, hotels, or other residences, yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling, or singing on public streets that annoys or disturbs nearby residents, operating a vehicle so out of repair that it causes loud grating, grinding, or rattling noise, discharging engine exhaust without an effective muffler, and creating excessive noise near an operating school, church, court, or hospital.
§ 16-105-502. The ordinance dates to Ord. No. 16:052, adopted September 6, 2016, and is enforced citywide by the Jonesboro Police Department, which responds to noise complaints under this general prohibition rather than a narrower nighttime curfew.
Violations & Fines
Section 46-70 does not carry its own penalty clause, so a violation falls under the city's general penalty, § 1-7: a fine not exceeding $500.00, doubled for each repeat offense, or up to $250.00 per day if the violation is continuing in nature. The Jonesboro Police Department investigates and cites noise complaints under this section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Jonesboro set a specific quiet-hours time, like 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.?
Is honking my horn at a stopped car illegal?
Are shooting ranges exempt from the noise ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Jonesboro
How Jonesboro compares: Cities with the Strictest Noise Ordinances·Compare Jonesboro to another location·View the Arkansas noise ordinances overview
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