Washington, DC Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)
Quiet hours in Washington, DC, also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time, define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
Key Facts
- Curfew hours
- 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- Standard
- Unreasonably loud, likely to disturb a residence
- Maximum fine
- $500 per D.C. Code § 22-3571.01(b)(3)
- Maximum jail term
- 90 days
- Enforcing agency
- Metropolitan Police Department
- Governing statute
- D.C. Code § 22-1321(d), (h)
Summary
In Washington, D.C. it is unlawful to make an unreasonably loud noise between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. that is likely to annoy or disturb another person in their residence. The Metropolitan Police Department enforces the curfew as disorderly conduct under D.C. Code § 22-1321(d).
(d) It is unlawful for a person to make an unreasonably loud noise between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. that is likely to annoy or disturb one or more other persons in their residences. ... (h) A person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, imprisoned not more than 90 days, or both.
Full Breakdown
C. and is likely to annoy or disturb someone in their residence. The section does not set a decibel threshold; MPD officers and prosecutors judge "unreasonably loud" from the circumstances, including volume, duration, time of night and proximity to residences. The statute sits alongside related disorderly-conduct clauses in the same section: disrupting a lawful public gathering or worship service (subsection (b)), disrupting a public conveyance (subsection (c)), disrupting business in a public building (subsection (c-1)), public urination or defecation (subsection (e)), and peeping into a dwelling (subsection (f)), all sharing one penalty clause.
Subsection (h) makes any violation of § 22-1321, including the nighttime noise clause, a misdemeanor. C. 01(b)(3) is $500 for an individual, since that provision caps fines at $500 for offenses punishable by 90 days or less but more than 30 days. C. Superior Court, typically initiated by a citation or arrest from MPD after a resident complaint; there is no separate civil noise-permit process under this section, and it operates independently of any DCMR noise-level regulations that address commercial and mechanical noise sources.
Violations & Fines
A first violation of the § 22-1321(d) nighttime noise curfew is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to 90 days in jail, or both, under D.C. Code §§ 22-1321(h) and 22-3571.01(b)(3). MPD may issue a citation or make an arrest; cases are prosecuted in D.C. Superior Court, and repeat disruptive conduct at the same address can support a separate disorderly-conduct charge for each incident.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the quiet hours in Washington, D.C.?
Does the D.C. noise curfew only apply outdoors or in public?
What is the penalty for violating D.C.'s nighttime noise law?
Who enforces the quiet hours ordinance in D.C.?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Washington
How Washington compares: Cities with the Strictest Noise Ordinances·Compare Washington to another location·View the District of Columbia noise ordinances overview
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