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Kitsap County, WA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Quiet hours in Kitsap County, WA, also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time, define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.

Key Facts

Governing section
KCC § 10.28.040(b), nighttime reduction
Quiet hours
10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
Reduction
10 dBA cut for Class A receiving property
Zones covered
Residential, mobile home, agricultural, forestry, undeveloped land
Example limit
Class A source drops from 55 to 45 dBA
Coverage
Unincorporated Kitsap County only

Summary

Kitsap County Code § 10.28.040(b) cuts every environmental noise limit by 10 dBA between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. for any Class A receiving property, the county's residential, agricultural, forestry and undeveloped-land zones, sharpening the daytime dBA ceilings into a nighttime quiet-hours standard across unincorporated Kitsap County.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Kitsap County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

§ 10.28.030(a) Residential Zones. Class A EDNA residential zones shall include the following: (1) All single-family residential zones; (2) All multiple-family residential zones; (3) Residential mobile home zone; (4) Agricultural zone; (5) Forestry zone; (6) Undeveloped land zone. § 10.28.040(b) Between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., the noise limitations of the foregoing table shall be reduced by 10 dBA for receiving property within Class A EDNAs.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4864424; v0 updated 2025-12-08; through 12-08-2025).

Full Breakdown

040(b) layers a nighttime reduction onto the base decibel table in subsection (a). 030(a) defines Class A to include every single-family and multiple-family residential zone, the residential mobile home zone, the agricultural zone, the forestry zone and the undeveloped land zone, so the nighttime cut effectively covers most of the county's homes and rural land. In practice a Class A noise source that could otherwise reach 55 dBA at a Class A property in the daytime is held to 45 dBA overnight; a Class B commercial source drops from a 57 dBA daytime ceiling to 47 dBA overnight at a Class A property.

5 minutes in any hour, still applies on top of the reduced nighttime numbers. m. Class A window. This quiet-hours rule reaches unincorporated Kitsap County only; Bremerton, Port Orchard, Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island run separate city noise codes.

Violations & Fines

Exceeding the nighttime-reduced § 10.28.040(b) limit carries the same penalty as any other Chapter 10.28 violation: a misdemeanor under § 10.28.150 punishable by up to ninety days in jail, a fine of up to $250, or both, with each night of continuing violation a separate offense, or prosecution as a Class I civil infraction under Chapter 2.116 at the county's election.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time do Kitsap County's quiet hours start?
10:00 p.m. § 10.28.040(b) reduces every noise limit in the daytime decibel table by 10 dBA between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. for any property in a Class A zone, which covers residential, agricultural, forestry and undeveloped land in the unincorporated county, so the effective nighttime ceiling is 10 dBA lower than daytime.
Do the quiet hours apply to commercial or industrial zones in Kitsap County?
The 10 dBA nighttime reduction under § 10.28.040(b) only protects a Class A receiving property, the county's residential and rural zones. A Class B commercial or Class C industrial property receiving noise does not get the automatic overnight reduction, though the base daytime limits in § 10.28.040(a) still apply around the clock.
Are Kitsap County construction crews exempt from quiet hours?
Not fully. § 10.28.070 exempts construction-site sounds from § 10.28.040 generally, but the exemption is written to exclude noise received within Class A EDNAs between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., so a construction sound that reaches a residential property overnight can still violate the reduced nighttime limit.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Kitsap County

Parking Rules: Street Parking LimitsSome RestrictionsConstruction HoursSome RestrictionsAmplified Music & Outdoor SoundSome RestrictionsBarking DogsSome RestrictionsDecibel LimitsSome RestrictionsVehicle NoiseSignificant RestrictionsParking Rules: Commercial & Oversized VehiclesSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Driveway RulesSome RestrictionsParking Rules: EV ChargingSome RestrictionsAnimal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic ZoningSome RestrictionsAnimal Ordinances: Exotic PetsHeavy Restrictions

All Kitsap County rules

How Kitsap County compares: Cities with the Strictest Noise Ordinances·Compare Kitsap County to another location·View the Washington noise ordinances overview

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