Cincinnati, OH Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Section 511-2 makes it unlawful to operate a vehicle on a street or highway so as to create loud or excessive noise, and treats any vehicle measured emitting more than 95 decibels on the A scale of a General Radio Company No. 1551-A sound level meter (or equivalent), from a station at least 20 feet to the right of the vehicle as it passes, as prima facie guilty of producing loud or excessive noise; horns used to prevent an accident and sirens on authorized emergency vehicles are excluded.

A first offense under § 511-2 draws a fine of not less than $12 and not more than $25; a second or later conviction within a year draws up to $100, though a court can reduce or waive the minimum fine when justice requires it. Separately, § 503-38 requires every motor vehicle and motorcycle with an internal combustion engine to run a muffler that is in good working order and constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise, bans muffler cutouts or bypass devices outright, and requires motorcycle mufflers to carry baffle plates.

Section 511-16 goes further, making it unlawful to sell, give away, install, or use on a Cincinnati vehicle any muffler modified in a way that amplifies or increases the engine's noise. Violations of the muffler sections (503-38, 511-16, and the horn/warning-device rules in 503-39) draw fines set by §§ 512-4 and 512-23: not less than $12 and not more than $101 per offense. These noise controls sit within the traffic code's equipment chapter and are cross-referenced to the city's separate general noise nuisance rules at § 910-7 and the excessive-vehicle-sound provision at § 910-10.