Oklahoma City, OK Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

The 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. figures in Oklahoma City are decibel ceilings in Table I of section 34-12, and section 34-6(a) enforces them against a stationary source of sound. Section 34-6(c) defines that term as a device which creates sound while fixed in position, including residential, commercial, industrial or agricultural machinery, pumps, fans, compressors, air conditioners and refrigeration equipment. A compressor or air conditioner that runs through the night is the kind of source the table reaches.

Table I sorts zoning districts into three groups and sets two percentile limits for each. The residential group (R-A, RA-2, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-MH-1, R-MH-2 and the other districts listed with them) is held to L90 limits of 55 dBA by day and 50 dBA from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., and L10 limits of 65 dBA by day and 60 dBA at night. The commercial or business group (O-1, O-2, RC, C-1 through C-4, C-HC and SYD) runs 60 and 55 dBA at L90 and 70 and 65 dBA at L10. The industrial or agricultural group (AA, TP, I-1, I-2, I-3) holds 70 dBA at L90 and 80 dBA at L10 in both periods. Districts marked with an asterisk, such as PUD, SPUD, CUP, NC and DBD, appear in more than one group, and the table's footnote says the Director makes a determination on their classification.

Under section 34-6(a), a stationary source breaks the law when its L1 level runs more than 15 dB(A) above its ambient sound pressure level (L90) limit, or when its L90 or L10 level exceeds Table I. Sound projected from one use district into a district with a lower limit cannot exceed that lower limit at the boundary, and impulsive sound reduces the Table I limits by five dB(A). Readings are taken at the boundary or at any point within the affected property over a measurement period of not less than ten minutes and not more than 30 minutes.

Table I is also cited in section 34-4(a)(2), which ties construction, demolition and repair noise to the table's levels by zoning district and time of day, unless section 34-5 exempts the work or a section 34-7.1 permit covers it. Section 34-5(6) exempts interstate railway locomotives and trains en route that are not engaged in switching operations within residential land use classifications between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.