Quiet hours in San Francisco, CA — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
San Francisco regulates noise under Police Code Article 29 (Sections 2900-2920), administered by the Department of Public Health and enforced by SFPD. Quiet hours run 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Section 2909 sets a fixed-source interior limit of 45 dBA at night and 55 dBA during the day inside residential sleeping or living rooms. Outdoor residential noise from machines, devices, music, or entertainment cannot exceed the local ambient by more than 5 dBA at the property line. Construction noise generally cannot exceed 80 dBA at 100 feet (Sec. 2907) and is restricted between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. without a special permit. Report violations to SFPD non-emergency at (415) 553-0123.
San Francisco's noise standards are codified at Police Code Article 29, Sections 2900 through 2920, with the Department of Public Health serving as the lead technical agency and the Police Department as the primary responder. Section 2909 establishes the principal residential limits: no fixed noise source (HVAC, mechanical equipment, fixed amplification) may cause interior noise to exceed 45 dBA between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. or 55 dBA between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. inside any sleeping or living room of a dwelling unit. On residential property, machines, devices, music, or entertainment cannot produce noise more than 5 dBA above the local ambient at any point outside the property plane. In multi-unit residential buildings, the same 5 dBA-above-ambient limit applies measured three feet from any wall, floor, or ceiling inside another unit on the same property when windows and doors are closed. Section 2908 limits unreasonable human and animal noise between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Section 2907 caps construction equipment noise at 80 dBA at 100 feet and prohibits construction work between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. unless the Director of Public Works issues a Night Noise Permit. The California Penal Code Section 415 disturbing-the-peace statute is also available to SFPD as a parallel enforcement tool.
Violations of Article 29 are infractions on first offense and misdemeanors on subsequent offenses, with administrative penalties available under Section 2918. Continuing violations are each a separate offense per day. The Director of Public Health may issue notices of violation, abatement orders, and citations. SFPD may cite under Penal Code 415 for disturbing the peace. Construction without a required Night Noise Permit can result in stop-work orders from the Department of Public Works.
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