Tehama County, CA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Tehama County's Noise Control ordinance applies only to the unincorporated areas of the county (the incorporated cities of Red Bluff, Corning and Tehama enforce their own rules). The county Board of Supervisors approved the ordinance 4-0, and it took effect September 2, 2022, adding Chapter 17.77 (Noise Control) to Title 17 of the Tehama County Code. The ordinance makes it unlawful for any person to willfully make, continue, or cause to be made or continued any excessive, unnecessary or offensive noise that disturbs the peace and quiet of any neighborhood, or that causes discomfort or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitivity residing in the area. The county defines a separate nighttime period: 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 10:30 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekends, when noise restrictions are most stringent. The county also uses a plainly-audible standard: objectionable noise that can be clearly heard and repeated at or beyond 500 feet from the source's property line, supported by complaints from three or more separate residences, helps establish a violation. Agricultural activities and legally permitted animal-keeping uses are exempt. Complaints in the unincorporated county are handled by the Tehama County Sheriff's Department and the Environmental Health Code Enforcement Department.