Lancaster County, SC Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)
Quiet hours in Lancaster County, SC, also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time, define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Key Facts
- Standard
- Reasonable-person nuisance test, no fixed hour
- Factors considered
- 9, including time of day/night
- Enforcing agency
- Sheriff's Office
- Third-offense minimum fine
- $250
- Key exemption hours
- 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. for construction/ag
Summary
Unincorporated Lancaster County has no fixed nighttime curfew hour; instead Sec. 23-21 and Sec. 23-22 ban any excessive noise at any time that disturbs the peace, annoys a reasonable person, or endangers health or safety, judged against nine factors that include the date and time of day or night the noise occurred.
Excessive noise is any loud unnecessary noise which disturbs the peace and quiet of any unincorporated area of the County of Lancaster or which causes disturbance, discomfort, or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitivities in any unincorporated area of the County of Lancaster or which endangers or injures the safety or health of any person or domestic animal in any unincorporated area of the County of Lancaster. ... It shall be unlawful for any person to make or continue or cause to be made or continued any excessive noise in any unincorporated area of the County of Lancaster.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 23, Article II of the Lancaster County Code defines excessive noise in Sec. 23-21 as any loud, unnecessary noise that disturbs the peace, causes discomfort or annoyance to a reasonable person of normal sensitivities, or endangers the health or safety of a person or domestic animal anywhere in the unincorporated county, whether made by a human voice or a mechanical, electric or electronic device. Rather than fixing a curfew hour, the section lists nine factors a court or hearing officer must weigh, including the noise's intensity, whether it was usual or unusual, its duration, the date and time of day or night the noise occurred, the character of the area where it was made and where it was heard, the distance between source and listener, the listener's reasonable expectation of quiet, and any prior complaints.
Sec. 23-22 then makes it unlawful to make, continue, or cause to be made or continued any excessive noise judged by those factors. Sec. m. Sec. 23-24 assigns enforcement to the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office and makes a complaint from one or more residents, combined with a deputy's complaint, or a deputy's complaint alone, prima facie evidence of a violation.
Violations & Fines
A first or second violation of Article II is a misdemeanor punishable by the fine and/or imprisonment set in Sec. 1-10 of the county code. Sec. 23-24(c) raises the floor for a third or later offense to a minimum $250 fine and/or imprisonment under Sec. 1-10, with each separate occurrence charged as its own offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lancaster County have a set quiet-hours curfew, like 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.?
Who enforces the noise ordinance?
What's the penalty for a repeat noise violation?
What counts as excessive noise?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lancaster County
How Lancaster County compares: Cities with the Strictest Noise Ordinances·Compare Lancaster County to another location·View the South Carolina noise ordinances overview
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