Quiet hours in Wake County, NC — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Wake County Code §92.05(L) bans operating or maintaining any garage or filling station in a residential district so as to cause plainly audible unreasonable noise during nighttime hours (11 PM to 7 AM). This protects residential neighborhoods from late-night commercial mechanical work.
§92.05(L) targets a specific historic nuisance — repair shops and gas stations operating compressors, air tools, and vehicle work at night in residential areas. The standard is 'plainly audible unreasonable noise' rather than a numeric dBA limit (since the 2023 rewrite removed numeric measures). Pure 24-hour gas pumps without mechanical work generally don't trigger; auto repair, body shops, and tire shops do. The county added §92.05(L) to address complaints near rural-residential transitional areas where small mechanic shops operate next to homes. Enforcement by Wake County Sheriff under §92.07.
Class 3 misdemeanor under §92.07(D); fine up to $500 + each day a separate offense. Sheriff first notifies the business; failure to abate is the citation.
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See how Wake County's quiet hours rules stack up against other locations.
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