Winnebago County, WI Noise Ordinances: Quiet Hours (2026)

Winnebago County's countywide General Code does not contain a stand-alone noise chapter with numeric decibel limits or fixed residential quiet hours for unincorporated towns. The principal county-level tool is Section 9.02 (Peace and Order; Disorderly Conduct and Unlawful Use of Telephone), adopted under Wis. Stat. §59.54(6), which makes it a violation to engage in "violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud, or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances in which the conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance." That section applies only in the unincorporated areas of the county and is enforced by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office. Section 9.36 of the Code (Regulation of Motor Vehicles on Icebound Inland Lakes) imposes a specific 96-decibel cap on stationary exhaust and overall engine noise for motor vehicles operating on the frozen surface of Lake Winnebago, measured under SAE Standard J1287. Within incorporated cities such as Oshkosh, Neenah, and Menasha, the municipal code (not the county code) defines the practical "quiet hours," most commonly 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and a similar overnight window on weekends. Wisconsin has no statewide decibel statute, so the §947.01 disorderly-conduct standard is the statewide backstop. Construction, agricultural operations, and emergency work are generally exempt.