Ascension Parish, LA Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Vehicle sound limit
- 75 db(A), any hour
- Covers
- radios, CD and cassette players
- Applies on
- public streets/rights-of-way, unincorporated parish
- Excludes
- Gonzales, Donaldsonville, Sorrento city limits
- Adopted
- Ord. of 6-7-2012
Summary
Ascension Parish bans car stereos, radios, CD and cassette players from exceeding 75 db(A) on any public street or right-of-way in the unincorporated parish. The limit applies to sound-amplifying equipment in motor vehicles specifically, separate from the parish's general residential noise cap.
It shall be unlawful for any person to use, operate, or permit to be used or operated in a motor vehicle any sound-amplifying equipment, including, but not limited to, radios, compact disc players and cassette tape players which produces or reproduces sound in such a manner as to create any sounds or noise which exceeds seventy-five (75) db(A) on any public street or right-of-way in Ascension Parish which are not incorporated into the city limits of Gonzales, Donaldsonville, Sorrento, those areas being specifically covered by their respective municipal ordinance.
Full Breakdown
of 6-7-2012, targets noise from vehicles on parish roads: it is unlawful to "use, operate, or permit to be used or operated in a motor vehicle any sound-amplifying equipment, including, but not limited to, radios, compact disc players and cassette tape players" that produces sound exceeding 75 db(A) on a public street or right-of-way. The section applies only "in Ascension Parish which are not incorporated into the city limits of Gonzales, Donaldsonville, Sorrento," since those three municipalities cover the same subject under their own ordinances.
Unlike the residential-district standard in Section 14-43, which drops to 70 db(A) overnight, Section 14-45 sets a single 75 db(A) ceiling that applies at any hour a vehicle is on a parish road. The definitions carried over from Section 14-42 apply here too: "db(A)" is sound pressure measured on the A-weighted scale, and "sound-amplifying equipment" is any machine or device that amplifies the human voice, music or other sound. Enforcement runs through the same administrative adjudication channel referenced at Section 14-47, and deputies with the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office are the ones who respond to complaints about loud car audio on parish streets, since the sheriff patrols the unincorporated area.
Violations & Fines
A driver or passenger operating sound equipment above 75 db(A) on a parish road is subject to the code enforcement/administrative adjudication process described in Section 14-47, applied to noise violations generally. Because Section 14-45 sits outside the incorporated limits of Gonzales, Donaldsonville and Sorrento, a citation for loud vehicle audio inside any of those three cities comes from municipal police under that city's own noise ordinance instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
How loud can my car stereo be on an Ascension Parish road?
Does the vehicle noise limit apply inside Gonzales or Donaldsonville?
What happens if I get cited for loud vehicle audio in the parish?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ascension Parish
Compare Ascension Parish to another location·View the Louisiana noise ordinances overview
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