Quiet hours in El Paso County, TX — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
El Paso County has no county-wide noise ordinance and no legal quiet hours for its unincorporated areas. Texas counties lack the police power to adopt one, so nighttime noise outside city limits is governed only by the state disorderly-conduct statute, enforced by the Sheriff.
Texas counties cannot pass a general noise ordinance because the Legislature never granted them that authority. In unincorporated El Paso County the only enforceable standard is Texas Penal Code Section 42.01(a)(5), making it an offense to make unreasonable noise in or near a private residence one has no right to occupy. There are no fixed 10 p.m. or 7 a.m. quiet hours - an officer judges reasonableness by time, place, and volume. Incorporated cities set their own: the City of El Paso enforces citywide quiet hours of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. under Chapter 9.40, and Socorro, Horizon City, San Elizario, Anthony, and Vinton have ordinances. Which rule applies depends on whether the address sits inside a city.
In unincorporated areas, call the Sheriff's Office; unreasonable noise under Penal Code 42.01 is a Class C misdemeanor, fine up to $500, no jail. Inside a city, contact that city's police or code enforcement.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how El Paso County's quiet hours rules stack up against other locations.
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