Pima County, AZ Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Pima County Code Chapter 9.30 sets two noise standards for radios, stereos, musical instruments and other sound equipment. Section 9.30.050(A) bars audible sound beyond 125 feet from the property line or vehicle at any hour if it causes a reasonable person discomfort or annoyance. Section 9.30.050(B) tightens that standard overnight: between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., the same equipment cannot be heard past the property line at all, with no 125-foot buffer, if the sound is excessive, unnecessary or offensive to a reasonable person of normal sensitivity.

The rule applies only in the county's unincorporated areas under Section 9.30.010; Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita and South Tucson enforce their own noise codes. Both subsections name bar, restaurant, inn and resort owners and managers specifically, so nightlife venues near residential property face the tightest exposure. 'Property line' under Section 9.30.030(C) includes the near edge of a public street or right-of-way when the sound source is outdoor, and the overnight cutoff also covers sound coming from inside a parked or idling motor vehicle. Chapter-wide exemptions in Section 9.30.080 carve out properly functioning heating and cooling equipment, landscape maintenance equipment with mufflers in use, nonamplified crowd noise from school, government or community events (unless it happens at a bar, restaurant, inn or resort), safety and warning signals, emergency vehicles and emergency work, railroad trains, church chimes, power plant equipment, county vehicles on official business, farm equipment, and aircraft operating under federal air regulations.

Section 9.30.090 makes any violation a public nuisance and a class 1 misdemeanor, and treats each day the noise continues as a separate chargeable offense.