Quiet hours in Greenville County, SC — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Greenville County Code Sec. 15-102 prohibits noise crossing a neighbor's exterior property line above 70 dB between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. or 60 dB between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The rule applies in unincorporated areas; the Sheriff's Office enforces complaints.
Greenville County Code Chapter 15, Article IV, Section 15-102(a) makes it unlawful for any person, firm or entity to operate any radio, musical instrument, phonograph, television or other sound-producing device, or to create or permit any noise to emanate beyond the exterior property line of the complaining party, in excess of 70 decibels between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. or in excess of 60 decibels between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of the following day. The same subsection separately makes it unlawful to play a vehicle radio, cassette or CD player if the sound is audible at a distance of 50 feet from the vehicle.
Sound measurements under Sec. 15-101 use A-weighted decibels and the "slow" response setting on an ANSI S 1.4-1971 Type 1 or Type 2 meter, with the microphone placed at the exterior property line at least 5 feet from any wall and not less than 3 feet above the ground (5 dB variance allowed when 5 feet is not possible). For multifamily housing the "exterior property line" is the wall between units.
Under Sec. 15-103, the Sheriff's Office enforces the ordinance, and a first-contact violator must be given an opportunity to immediately abate the noise without penalty; only continuing or repeat violations result in a misdemeanor citation. Sec. 15-104.1 (Ord. 2588) separately prohibits low-bass vibratory sound, with 3 citizen complaints (or 1 plus an officer's observation) constituting prima facie evidence.
Continuing or repeat violations are a misdemeanor punished within magistrate's court jurisdictional limits (Sec. 15-105), with each day a separate offense. Sec. 15-106 sets specific fines for car-stereo violations: up to $250 first offense, up to $500 or 30 days jail second offense, and forfeiture of the sound-amplifying device on a third conviction (Ord. 4539, 2-19-2013). Report violations to the Greenville County Sheriff's Office at (864) 271-5210.
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