Noise from Specific Sources in North Carolina (2026)

In unincorporated Carteret County, outdoor air compressors and air-conditioning equipment placed next to a home fall…

Charlotte caps mechanical noise, including HVAC compressors, heat pumps and rooftop condenser units, at 70 db(A)…

Raleigh's general noise prohibition doesn't reach ordinary air conditioners and furnaces: City Code § 12-5004(a)(11)…

Surry County's noise ordinance expressly exempts noises from ventilation equipment, alongside safety signals, warning…

Charlotte restaurants, bars and nightclubs cannot run outdoor speakers or live acoustic music above 85 db(C) during the…

Lee County bans outdoor loudspeakers and public address systems at every lounge, disco, nightclub, pool hall and…

Raleigh names restaurants, bars, and nightclubs specifically in its amplified-sound law: City Code § 12-5006 requires…

Apex requires bars, nightclubs, wine bars, and taprooms to keep outdoor operations at least 100 feet from residential…

The Town of Cary caps amplified sound from restaurants, taverns, bars, coffeehouses and private clubs at 65 dB(A)…

Concord bars unreasonably loud and raucous noise from a commercial establishment, including its outdoor patio or area…

Fayetteville caps sound from a bar or nightclub at the property boundary under Table 1 of City Code § 17-10. A…

Granville County has no ordinance written specifically for bars or nightclubs; instead its general 'unnecessary noise'…

Greensboro bars and restaurants may run outdoor speakers or TVs until 2 a.m. instead of the city's normal 11 p.m. noise…

High Point bars commercial establishments and entertainment venues from playing loudspeakers or amplified sound audible…

Amplified music from a bar or nightclub that annoys or disturbs residents nearby is a specific violation under Pitt…

Bars, taverns, and nightclubs in Shelby may not run amplified sound above 65 dB(A) near homes between 9 p.m. and 2…

In unincorporated Moore County, the Board of Commissioners' noise ordinance bans loud, raucous or disturbing sound, but…

Apex, North Carolina bars sounding a horn or signal device on a vehicle that is not moving, except as a danger signal…

Unincorporated Carteret County bans sounding a horn or signal device, including an alarm, on a parked vehicle. Carteret…

In the Town of Chapel Hill, Town Code § 11-39.1(a)(11) makes it a nuisance noise for a security alarm, including a car…

Concord requires a motor vehicle burglar alarm to shut off within 15 minutes of activation unless an emergency exists…

Unincorporated Craven County regulates vehicle horns and other signaling devices under Section 24-22(b)(9)c, the…

Durham bans sounding a vehicle horn, siren or alarm while the car is parked and not signaling actual danger, under City…

Granville County bans sounding a car horn or vehicle signal device while the vehicle isn't moving, except as a genuine…

A car alarm that keeps blaring in unincorporated Lincoln County falls under the county's general noise ordinance, not a…

In unincorporated Moore County, Sec. 10-41(b)(2) bans sounding a vehicle horn, whistle or signal device, mounted or…

Nash County's noise ordinance makes loud, disturbing sound a public nuisance countywide, but it carves out an exception…

Rose Hill bans sounding a vehicle's horn or signal device while the vehicle is not in motion, the town's closest rule…

Apex requires the exhaust of any stationary internal combustion or steam engine, including portable and standby…

Cary exempts generator maintenance from its noise ordinance only on weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., under 80 dB(A), with the…

The Town of Chapel Hill lists power equipment, including generators, power tools and garden equipment, as a nuisance…

Charlotte treats personal electrical generators as mechanical equipment: on single-family lots they cannot sit in the…

Unincorporated Craven County requires any stationary internal combustion engine, including a generator, to discharge…

Running a stationary generator, gas engine, or other internal combustion engine in unincorporated Granville County…

Portable and standby generators fall under § 92.27(K)'s ban on unmuffled internal combustion engines: any blower, power…

High Point requires generators, blowers, and other internal combustion engines to run through an effective muffler so…

Kill Devil Hills exempts generators from its noise ordinance only while running to restore power lost to a storm or…

Mebane doesn't single out generators, but City Code § 14-125(6) bans the operation of any noise-producing appliance or…

Moore County bars noise-creating generators, power fans and other internal combustion engines from disturbing…

A generator loud enough to push sound past the limits in Table 1 of Pitt County's Noise Ordinance, measured at the…

Shelby exempts generator maintenance and testing from its noise ordinance only on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m…

Franklin County's Noise Ordinance exempts emergency generator noise from enforcement: section 14-59(7) excuses…

Brunswick County's noise ordinance exempts generator noise from its civil and criminal penalties when the generator is…

In the City of Burlington, North Carolina, § 22-68(d)(3) exempts sounds from electrical generators used during a power…

Greensboro's noise ordinance does not apply to electrical generators or water pumps while the power is actually out, so…

In Apex, North Carolina, delivery vehicles serving commercial or business establishments may not deliver, unload, or…

Burlington bars refuse-collection trucks and refrigeration-truck motors from running between 10:00 p.m. and 6:30 a.m…

The Town of Chapel Hill lists loading and unloading noise as a nuisance under Town Code § 11-39.1(a)(3), covering the…

Delivery trucks, refrigeration units and other mechanical noise not on Charlotte's nighttime curfew list still can't…

Concord makes unreasonably loud and raucous noise from loading or unloading a vehicle at a business or residence a per…

Unincorporated Craven County bars loading, unloading, opening, closing or otherwise handling boxes, crates, containers…

Durham prohibits "loud and excessive noise" from loading or unloading a vehicle, including breaking down bales, boxes…

Granville County bans creating loud and excessive noise while loading or unloading a vehicle, including the opening and…

Kill Devil Hills bars loading, unloading or otherwise handling boxes, crates, containers, building materials, garbage…

Raleigh treats loud noise from loading or unloading vehicles, equipment, or breaking open bales, boxes, crates and…

Rose Hill's noise ordinance singles out loud and excessive noise made loading or unloading a vehicle, including opening…

Brunswick County's noise ordinance does not need a decibel meter to prove a car stereo or personal sound system is too…

Unincorporated Carteret County presumes a car stereo or speaker system is an illegal noise source if it is audible, or…

Chapel Hill's noise code has a second, frequency-specific limit aimed at bass-heavy sound that a standard decibel…

Playing a radio, stereo, or musical instrument loud enough, bass included, to annoy or disturb a neighbor's quiet and…

Greenville's noise ordinance defines 'plainly audible' sound as anything clearly heard 75 feet away, and it says…

Harnett County bans running a stereo, radio, boombox or similar device loud enough to be 'plainly audible' to anyone…

High Point bans playing a car stereo, radio, or CD player loud enough that the sound or bass vibration can be heard or…

In the City of Jacksonville, North Carolina, personal vehicle stereos can't be plainly audible 25 feet from the vehicle…

Playing a radio, stereo, TV or musical instrument loudly enough to disturb a neighbor's dwelling, hotel or motel room…

Pender County's noise ordinance defines plainly audible sound to specifically include the rhythmic bass component of…

Raleigh's noise code names bass directly: City Code § 12-5001 defines 'plainly audible' noise to include bass…

Unincorporated Wayne County makes it unlawful under County Code § 30-148(c) to play a radio, stereo, CD player, musical…