Cuyahoga County, OH Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

(A) The board of county commissioners of any county, and the board of township trustees of any township subject to section 505.17 of the Revised Code, may regulate passenger car and motorcycle noise on streets and highways under their jurisdiction. Such regulations shall include maximum permissible noise limits measured in decibels, subject to the requirements of this section. (B) Regulations establishing maximum permissible noise limits measured in decibels shall prohibit the operation, within the speed limits specified herein, of a passenger car or motorcycle of a type subject to registration at any time or under any condition of load, acceleration, or deceleration in such manner as to exceed the following maximum noise limits, based on a distance of not less than fifty feet from the center of the line of travel: (1) For passenger cars: (a) When operated at a speed of thirty-five miles per hour or less, a maximum noise limit of seventy decibels; (b) When operated at a speed of more than thirty-five miles per hour, a maximum noise limit of seventy-nine decibels. (2) For motorcycles: (a) When operated at a speed of thirty-five miles per hour or less, a maximum noise limit of eighty-two decibels; (b) When operated at a speed of more than thirty-five miles per hour, a maximum noise limit of eighty-six decibels. (E) A board of county commissioners of any county may regulate noise from passenger cars, motorcycles, or other devices using internal combustion engines in the unincorporated area of the county, and a board of township trustees may regulate such noise in the unincorporated area of the township, in any of the following ways: (1) By prohibiting operating or causing to be operated any motor vehicle, agricultural tractor, motorcycle, all-purpose vehicle, or snowmobile not equipped with a factory-installed muffler or equivalent muffler in good working order and in constant operation; (2) By prohibiting the removing or rendering inoperative, or causing to be removed or rendered inoperative, other than for purposes of maintenance, repair, or replacement, of any muffler.