New Orleans, LA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)
Quiet hours in New Orleans, LA, also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time, define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Key Facts
- Weeknight curfew
- 9:00 p.m. Sun-Thu to 10:00 a.m.
- Weekend curfew
- 10:30 p.m. Fri/Sat to 10:00 a.m.
- Test
- Plainly audible at 1 ft past neighbor's wall or lot line
- Multi-unit test
- Audible within another unit in same building
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, fine + up to 90 days (Sec. 66-140)
Summary
New Orleans bars audible sound equipment near residential property between 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 10 a.m., and between 10:30 p.m. Friday/Saturday and 10 a.m. The test is whether the sound is plainly audible one foot past the neighboring dwelling's wall or the lot line.
It shall be unlawful between the hours of 9:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:00 a.m. on the subsequent morning or between the hours of 10:30 p.m. on a Friday or Saturday and 10:00 a.m. the subsequent morning to operate or play in a dwelling ... any radio, television, phonograph, loudspeaker, sound-amplification equipment or similar device which produces or reproduces sound in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of one foot from any exterior wall of the neighboring dwelling or at a distance beyond the boundary between the parcels or lots, whichever is the lesser distance from the point where the sound is produced or reproduced.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 116 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Code of Ordinances Sec. " Subsection (3)e extends the identical curfew and audibility test to multi-unit buildings, apartments, condos or other units, where the standard is audibility "within any other apartment, condominium unit or other dwelling unit within the same dwelling structure," so a shared-wall neighbor's complaint about bass or television noise falls under this clause rather than (3)d. Unlike the daytime 80 dBA/50-foot rule in (3)a, quiet-hours enforcement does not require a sound meter reading, "plainly audible" at the one-foot/lot-line test is sufficient. Article IV's general Sec.
66-140 penalty applies: a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to the state-law maximum, imprisonment up to 90 days, or both, with each day of continuing violation a separate offense, and Sec. 66-141 additionally allows a court to issue an injunction or restraining order to abate an ongoing violation.
Violations & Fines
Violation is a misdemeanor under Sec. 66-140: fine up to the state-law maximum, up to 90 days imprisonment, or both, with each day of continued noise a separate offense; Sec. 66-141 also allows injunctive abatement through the courts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time do New Orleans quiet hours start?
Do I need a decibel meter to prove a quiet-hours violation?
Does the curfew apply to apartments and condos?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Orleans
How New Orleans compares: Cities with the Strictest Noise Ordinances·Compare New Orleans to another location·View the Louisiana noise ordinances overview
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