Pima County, AZ Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)
Quiet hours in Pima County, AZ, also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time, define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Key Facts
- Overnight curfew
- 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- Daytime standard
- audible past 125 feet from property line
- Coverage
- unincorporated Pima County only
- Named businesses
- bars, restaurants, inns, resorts
- Penalty class
- class 1 misdemeanor
- Repeat exposure
- each day is a separate offense
Summary
In unincorporated Pima County, no radio, stereo, musical instrument or sound system can be heard beyond your property line, or outside your vehicle, between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The rule names bar, restaurant, inn and resort operators directly. Breaking it is a class 1 misdemeanor, and each night the noise continues counts as a separate offense.
B. It shall be unlawful for any person, including the owner or manager of a restaurant, bar, inn, or resort of any kind, to operate or permit to be operated any radio receiving set, phonograph, musical instrument, or sound producing or sound reproducing mechanism, between the hours of 10:00 P.M. and 7:00 A.M. in such a manner that the sound from such radio set, phonograph, musical instrument, sound producing or sound reproducing mechanism may be heard beyond the property line from which it is operated or outside the motor vehicle in which it is operated in such a manner as to create an excessive, unnecessary or offensive noise that a reasonable person of normal sensitivity residing in the area is caused discomfort or annoyance.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-64: Contains Supplement, with local legislation through Ordinance 2026-9, passed 7-28-2026, current through 7-28-2026).
Full Breakdown
30 sets two noise standards for radios, stereos, musical instruments and other sound equipment. 050(A) bars audible sound beyond 125 feet from the property line or vehicle at any hour if it causes a reasonable person discomfort or annoyance. , the same equipment cannot be heard past the property line at all, with no 125-foot buffer, if the sound is excessive, unnecessary or offensive to a reasonable person of normal sensitivity. 010; Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita and South Tucson enforce their own noise codes.
Both subsections name bar, restaurant, inn and resort owners and managers specifically, so nightlife venues near residential property face the tightest exposure. 030(C) includes the near edge of a public street or right-of-way when the sound source is outdoor, and the overnight cutoff also covers sound coming from inside a parked or idling motor vehicle. 080 carve out properly functioning heating and cooling equipment, landscape maintenance equipment with mufflers in use, nonamplified crowd noise from school, government or community events (unless it happens at a bar, restaurant, inn or resort), safety and warning signals, emergency vehicles and emergency work, railroad trains, church chimes, power plant equipment, county vehicles on official business, farm equipment, and aircraft operating under federal air regulations. 090 makes any violation a public nuisance and a class 1 misdemeanor, and treats each day the noise continues as a separate chargeable offense.
Violations & Fines
A violation of Section 9.30.050(B) is charged as a class 1 misdemeanor, Arizona's highest misdemeanor class, which under A.R.S. §§ 13-707 and 13-802 carries up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine plus surcharges. Because Section 9.30.090 treats each day of continuing noise as a separate offense, a bar or venue that keeps running loud sound equipment past 10:00 p.m. on multiple nights can face a new misdemeanor count for every night cited.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the quiet-hours rule apply inside Tucson?
How loud can a stereo be before 10 p.m.?
What happens if a bar keeps playing loud music after 10 p.m. for a week straight?
Are outdoor school or church events exempt from the overnight cutoff?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pima County
How Pima County compares: Cities with the Strictest Noise Ordinances·Compare Pima County to another location·View the Arizona noise ordinances overview
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