Nicholasville, KY Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)
Quiet hours in Nicholasville, KY, also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time, define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Key Facts
- Standard night window
- 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., prevailing local time
- Refuse collection window
- 10:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
- Test applied
- Noise disturbance across a dwelling unit boundary
- Rules with no hours
- Instruments and radios, vehicle repair, animal noise
- Penalty
- $25 to $500 fine or up to six months in county detention
Summary
Section 12-10 sets no single quiet-hours clause for Nicholasville. Section 12-10(b) instead bars specific noisy activities from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., including running machinery with rotating parts and loading or unloading objects, while refuse collection is barred from 10:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Fines run $25 to $500.
(b) In addition, the following shall be prohibited: (1) Maintaining any machinery or equipment, whose operation involves rotating or reciprocating parts or equipment in such a manner as to create a noise disturbance across a dwelling unit boundary between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. ... (4) Loading or unloading, opening, closing or other handling of boxes, crates, containers, building materials, sod, garbage cans or similar objects between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., prevailing local time, in such a manner as to cause a noise disturbance across a dwelling unit boundary. (5) Collecting refuse or operating refuse collection vehicles between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:30 a.m., prevailing local time, in such manner as to create a noise disturbance across a dwelling unit boundary. ... (c) Any person or persons violating these provisions shall be subject to a fine of not less than twenty five dollars ($25.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or up to six months in the Jessamine County Detention Center.
Official source re-checked November 3, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Local legislation current through Ord. No. 175-2024, dated 1-13-25 | State legislation current through 2024 Acts).
Full Breakdown
Section 12-10 of the Nicholasville Code of Ordinances, Excessive noise prohibited, works activity by activity. Subsection (a) is the baseline: no person shall emit beyond the boundaries of his property or from any vehicle any noise that unreasonably interferes with the enjoyment of life or any lawful business or activity, in contravention of any rule or regulation adopted by the environmental resources cabinet for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Subsection (b) then lists activities with a night window, each tied to a noise disturbance across a dwelling unit boundary. Subsection (b)(1) bars maintaining any machinery or equipment whose operation involves rotating or reciprocating parts between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Subsection (b)(4) bars loading or unloading, opening, closing or other handling of boxes, crates, containers, building materials, sod, garbage cans or similar objects between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., prevailing local time. Subsection (b)(5) bars collecting refuse or operating refuse collection vehicles between 10:00 p.m. and 5:30 a.m., prevailing local time.
The same 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. window applies to construction, drilling and demolition tools in (b)(2), to mechanically powered saws, drills, sanders, grinders and lawn or gardening tools in (b)(3), to noncommercial loudspeakers and public address systems in (b)(7), and to powered model vehicles in (b)(8). Subsection (b)(3) adds a Saturday and Sunday restriction before 9:00 a.m.
Some rules print no hours and apply at any time of day. Subsection (b)(9) covers radios, televisions, phonographs, drums and musical instruments, subsection (b)(10) covers repairing or testing motor vehicles, motorcycles, motor bicycles and motorboats, and subsection (b)(11) covers animals that repeatedly or frequently emit any sound, including barking, yelping, howling, meowing or squawking, so as to annoy or disturb a reasonable person of normal sensitivities.
The time stamp used throughout is prevailing local time. Section 12-10 names no enforcing officer and carries the history notes Ord. No. 399-2002, 4-11-02 and Ord. No. 052-2021, 8-23-21.
Violations & Fines
Subsection (c) provides that any person or persons violating these provisions are subject to a fine of not less than $25 and not more than $500, or up to six months in the Jessamine County Detention Center. The same penalty range covers the 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. activity rules, the refuse collection rule and the around-the-clock rules for instruments, vehicle repair and animal noise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the quiet hours in Nicholasville?
When can trash trucks run in Nicholasville?
Does a barking dog violate the Nicholasville noise ordinance?
What is the fine for a nighttime noise violation in Nicholasville?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Nicholasville
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