Ventura County, CA Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)
Quiet hours in Ventura County, CA, also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time, define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Key Facts
- Quiet hours
- 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. of the following day
- Measuring distance
- 50 feet from property line; from the source itself in a right-of-way
- Covered sources
- Sound equipment, plus mowers, blowers, edgers, tractors and tools
- Where it applies
- Residential zones in unincorporated Ventura County
- Who is covered
- Any person except government entities and public utilities
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor/infraction, punished under Section 13-2
- History note
- Add. Ord. 4124-12/10/96
Summary
In the unincorporated residential zones of Ventura County, Section 6299-1 bars loud or raucous noise that is audible to the human ear from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. of the following day, measured at 50 feet from the property line of the noise source. Section 6299-2(c) limits that term to two classes: radios, musical instruments and other sound equipment, and lawn mowers, blowers, edgers, tractors and other mechanical or electrical devices or hand tools.
No person shall create within any residential zone of the County of Ventura any loud or raucous noise which is audible to the human ear during the hours of 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. of the following day, at a distance of 50 feet from the property line of the noise source or 50 feet from any such noise source if the noise source is in a public right-of-way. ... (a) "Person" means any individual, association, firm, organization, partnership, corporation or other entity, but does not include any government entity or public utility. ... (c) "Loud or raucous noise" means sounds from: 1) the use or operation of any radio, musical instrument, phonograph, television receiver, video cassette recorder, or any machine or device for the production, reproduction or amplification of the human voice or any other sound or 2) the use or operation of any lawn mower, backpack blower, blower, lawn edger, riding tractor or other mechanical or electrical device or hand tool.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 51).
Full Breakdown
Section 6299-1 is the operative rule of Article 11, titled Loud or Raucous Nighttime Noise in Residential Zones, which the code's history note shows was added by Ordinance 4124 on 12/10/96. It says no person shall create within any residential zone of the County of Ventura any loud or raucous noise that is audible to the human ear during the hours of 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. of the following day. A night that starts at 9 p.m. therefore runs until 7 a.m. the next morning.
The section also fixes where the sound is judged. Audibility is measured at a distance of 50 feet from the property line of the noise source. When the noise source is in a public right-of-way, the 50 feet runs from the noise source itself.
The scope comes from the definition in Section 6299-2(c). For this article, loud or raucous noise means sounds from two classes of sources. The first is the use or operation of any radio, musical instrument, phonograph, television receiver, video cassette recorder, or any machine or device for the production, reproduction or amplification of the human voice or any other sound. The second is the use or operation of any lawn mower, backpack blower, blower, lawn edger, riding tractor or other mechanical or electrical device or hand tool.
Section 6299-2(a) defines person as any individual, association, firm, organization, partnership, corporation or other entity, and it excludes any government entity or public utility. Section 6299-2(b) defines Residential Zone as areas within the unincorporated portion of Ventura County zoned Single-Family Residential (R-1), Two-Family Residential (R-2), Residential Planned Development (R-P-D), Single Family Estate (R-O) or Rural Exclusive (R-E), plus the coastal counterparts Coastal Single-Family Residential (C-R-1), Coastal Two-Family Residential (C-R-2), Coastal Residential Planned Development (C-R-P-D) and Coastal Rural Exclusive (C-R-E), as provided in Chapter 1 and Chapter 1.1 of Division 8 of the Code.
Section 6299-4 keeps the rest of the article in force if a court of competent jurisdiction holds any provision or clause unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by final judgment.
Violations & Fines
Section 6299-3 makes it unlawful for any person in the unincorporated areas of Ventura County to do any act the article prohibits. A violator is guilty of a misdemeanor/infraction and, upon conviction, is punished in accordance with Section 13-2 of the Ventura County Ordinance Code. The penalty section prints no dollar figure of its own and sends the punishment to Section 13-2. A government entity or public utility is outside the definition of person.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time do residential quiet hours start and end in unincorporated Ventura County?
Does the rule cover a lawn mower, blower or edger running at night?
How far away does the noise have to be heard?
Which zones count as residential under Article 11?
What is the penalty for violating Article 11?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ventura County
California rules heatmap·Compare Ventura County to another location·View the California noise ordinances overview
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