Ocala, FL Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

City Code § 34-172(5) sets Ocala's nighttime noise curfew at 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Any noise generated in a residential area that crosses the real property line, defined in § 34-172 as the boundary between parcels or the interior walls of a condominium, townhouse, or apartment unit, and that is plainly audible inside a neighboring residence during that window counts as 'nighttime residential noise.' By contrast, the code's daytime standard under § 34-172(2) only reaches noise audible beyond 100 feet of the source between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., so the nighttime rule is stricter: it applies at any audible distance once the sound crosses into a resident's home.

Section 34-173(a) makes it unlawful to knowingly or intentionally cause any noise meeting that definition, and § 34-173(b) presumes a knowing violation once an officer has warned the person responsible and the noise continues despite the warning. 'Plainly audible' requires only that an officer, using normal unenhanced hearing and a direct line of sight, can clearly hear the sound above the ambient noise; for music or amplified sound, recognizing a rhythmic bass line is enough, without identifying the song. Violations are punished under the general penalty provision, City Code § 1-9, and are enforced by Ocala Police Department officers responding to citizen complaints.