Kitsap County, WA Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

010 prohibits applying unmuffled compression brakes anywhere in unincorporated Kitsap County, except when necessary to protect persons or property and no alternative braking system is available; the public works director posts "Unmuffled Compression Brakes Prohibited" signs at county boundaries and on specific roads on community request, and the ban only takes effect once signs are posted. 145 defines "public disturbance noises," and subsection (5) singles out noise from portable or motor vehicle audio equipment such as a tape player, radio or compact disc player: if it can be clearly heard by a person of normal hearing fifty feet or more away in a park, residential zone, commercial zone, or near a school or human-service facility, it is a violation, with no exemption other than permitted park events.

The same section's subsection (1) separately bans frequent, repetitive or continuous use of a vehicle horn or siren except as a warning of danger. 145, and subsections relating to motor vehicles and vehicle-emanating noise, including the stereo rule, may be enforced with or without a citizen complaint (non-vehicle disturbances need a complaint from someone living or working in the affected area). A sound-level-meter reading is not required to prove the offense.