Kent, WA Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

KCC 9.36.045 makes it unlawful for anyone operating a motor vehicle to permit sound from a radio, tape player, compact disc player, or other sound system, whether or not affixed to the vehicle, to be audible more than 50 feet away. The offense is a traffic infraction carrying a flat $150 fine, plus mandatory state costs and assessments added to every Kent traffic infraction. Officers write the citation directly off the audibility test; no decibel meter or warning is required by the text of the section.

Kent also targets other loud-vehicle behavior in the same chapter. KCC 9.36.060 bans compression, or 'Jake,' brakes entirely within city limits, punishable by a $100 infraction, though using them in a genuine emergency to protect life or property is an affirmative defense at trial. The public works director is authorized to post signs reinforcing the ban. KCC 9.36.040 separately fines 'breaking traction,' meaning excessive acceleration that spins tires and emits loud noise or throws gravel, at $150.

All three sections sit inside Chapter 9.36, Kent's locally adopted traffic ordinance, which supplements the Washington Model Traffic Ordinance (WAC 308-330) Kent adopts by reference under KCC 9.36.010. Kent police issue infractions under these sections directly, processed through Kent Municipal Court like any other traffic infraction, with the standard right to contest or mitigate at a hearing.