Fort Collins, CO Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Fort Collins' Traffic Code, not the general Municipal Code, carries the operative vehicle-noise rule. Section 1418, added by Ordinance 086, 2025, prohibits any person from making, causing or knowingly permitting unreasonable noise in, from, or upon any vehicle, and separately bars operating a vehicle in a manner or with equipment that makes or causes unreasonable noise. The section defines unreasonable noise as sound injurious to human health or welfare, or that unreasonably interferes with the enjoyment of life or property, and lets a peace officer make a prima facie call using eight listed factors: time of day, location, presence of pedestrians or other vehicles, prolonged horn use, aggressive driving behavior such as unnecessary rapid acceleration or tire squeal, defective or altered exhaust equipment, and, expressly, any use of a stereo or audio system at an unreasonable volume level.

A violation of Section 1418 is a misdemeanor offense. Separately, Section 225 of the same Traffic Code requires every registered motor vehicle operated on a roadway to carry an adequate muffler in constant operation, properly maintained to prevent excessive or unusual noise, bans straight-pipe, cut-off or bypass exhaust systems outright, and requires any commercial vehicle equipped with an engine compression brake to still have a muffler. Electric vehicles are exempt from Section 225. Together the two sections give Fort Collins Police Services separate tools for citing a loud stereo, a straight-piped exhaust or an engine-brake blast from the same stop.