Maricopa, AZ Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- City Code § 18.110.050(C)
- Muffler cutout/bypass
- Prohibited outright, no volume test
- Stereo audibility test
- Plainly audible at 50 feet
- First-offense fine
- Up to $100 base fine
- Repeat fine (same year)
- Up to $500 base fine
- Misdemeanor option
- $500-$1,000 fine or 6 months jail
- Traffic noise exemption
- Street traffic excluded from dBA table
Summary
Maricopa's noise code, not a separate vehicle-noise ordinance, bans loud mufflers and blaring car stereos under City Code Section 18.110.050(C). A vehicle must run a muffler in good working order at all times, and no cutout or bypass device is allowed. A vehicle sound system that is plainly audible at 50 feet, or that a passerby can feel vibrating at that distance, also violates the section.
C. Other Prohibited Noises. 1. Use of any automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle, engine or motor of whatever size, stationary or moving, instrument, device or thing, in such a manner as to create loud and unnecessary grating, grinding, rattling, or other noise. 2. Operating any mechanical device operated by gasoline, or otherwise, without having a muffler, in good working order and in constant operation, to prevent excessive or unusual noise and smoke; and no person shall use a muffler cutout, bypass, or similar device. 3. Operating or permitting the operation of any sound amplification system in or on a vehicle in such a manner or with such volume as to annoy or disturb the peace and quiet of any reasonable person of normal sensibilities or neighborhood in the vicinity. 4. Operating or permitting the operation of any sound amplification system in or on a vehicle in such a manner that the sound is plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet, or in such a manner that it causes a person's normal sensibilities to be aware of vibration accompanying the sound at a distance of 50 feet.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 26-10, passed April 21, 2026).
Full Breakdown
050(C) lists five other prohibited noises that apply on top of the general nuisance-noise standard in subsection (B). Subsection (C)(1) bars operating any automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle, engine or motor in such a manner as to create loud and unnecessary grating, grinding, rattling, or other noise. Subsection (C)(2) requires every mechanically operated device, including a vehicle engine, to run with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation, and separately bans any muffler cutout, bypass, or similar device outright, with no volume threshold to prove.
Subsection (C)(3) bars operating a vehicle sound amplification system in such a manner or with such volume as to annoy or disturb the peace and quiet of any reasonable person of normal sensibilities or neighborhood in the vicinity, while (C)(4) sets an objective backstop: a car stereo violates the code if it is plainly audible at 50 feet, or if a person's normal sensibilities would register vibration from the sound at that distance. The zoning administrator enforces the numeric exterior and interior noise-limit table in subsection (G) for land uses, but subsection (G) expressly exempts noise generated by automobile traffic or other mobile noise sources in the public right-of-way from the dBA table, so vehicle noise on the street is judged under (C)'s muffler and audibility standards instead. General exemptions in subsection (D), such as emergency work and city-permitted special events, do not cover ordinary driving.
Violations & Fines
Violations of Title 18 provisions, including Section 18.110.050, are enforced under Section 18.190.060. A first infraction carries a base fine up to $100, a second violation of the same section on the same property within a year up to $200, and each additional violation within that year up to $500, plus court costs. The city may instead prosecute a violation as a misdemeanor, punishable by a $500 to $1,000 base fine, up to six months in the county jail, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get cited just for a loud stereo, or does someone have to complain?
Is a muffler delete illegal in Maricopa even if my car isn't excessively loud?
What happens after a first vehicle-noise citation?
Does the noise ordinance apply to normal traffic noise on the street?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Maricopa
Compare Maricopa to another location·View the Arizona noise ordinances overview
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