Columbia, SC Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Section 8-95 requires a muffler and exhaust system "in constant operation and properly maintained" on every combustion-engine vehicle or moped driven on a Columbia street, and bars noise louder than the factory-original exhaust or above a flat 84 dB(A) ceiling, whichever is stricter; muffler cut-offs, bypasses and straight-pipe setups are separately prohibited. That equipment rule sits alongside the speed-based moving-vehicle table in Section 8-93(a): motorcycles built before 1973 cap at 82 dB(A) on roads posted 35 mph or less and 86 dB(A) above 35 mph; motorcycles from 1973 forward cap at 80/84 dB(A); vehicles rated 10,000 pounds GVWR or more, and anything they tow, cap at 86/88 dB(A); and all other vehicles cap at 80/84 dB(A).

A vehicle idling or parked off the roadway is measured under Section 8-93(b)'s flat 78 dB(A) limit for private property and non-highway public property. and 50 dB(A) overnight. Measurements use an ANSI-standard "A"-weighted sound meter at 50 feet from a moving vehicle's travel lane or 10 feet from the property line for a stationary source, and any periodic, impulsive or shrill noise five decibels above these ceilings is separately declared unlawful under Section 8-93(e).