York County, VA Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Two subsections of York County's specific noise prohibitions target vehicle-mounted and street-level sound equipment. Section 16-19.2(b), 'Public address systems and sound trucks,' bars operating any public address system, sound truck, mobile sound vehicle or similar amplifying device for any purpose between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. when the sound is plainly audible across a residential real property line or at a distance of one hundred feet from its source. Section 16-19.2(c), 'Production of sound from radios, phonographs, etc., on streets,' separately bars operating a radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, loudspeaker, sound amplifier or similar device on public streets or public parking lots unless the resulting sound is not plainly audible more than one hundred feet from the vehicle or enclosure containing it, or one hundred feet from the source if it is not contained in a vehicle.

Unlike subsection (b), the (c) restriction on street and parking-lot sound reproduction applies at any hour, because the audibility distance itself, not a time window, is the limiting factor. Both provisions were adopted January 18, 2011 by Ord. No. 10-8(R-1) as part of the Board of Supervisors' countywide noise ordinance, and 'plainly audible' carries the Sec. 16-19.1 definition of sound detectable by unaided hearing. Deputies with the York County Sheriff's Office enforce both subsections, and a car stereo audible more than one hundred feet away in a parking lot, or a sound truck broadcasting after 9:00 p.m. within one hundred feet of a residence, can each support a citation.