Noise Ordinances in Pennsylvania (2026)

Allentown does not use a single blanket curfew; instead Article 710 (Chapter 400, Noise Control) sets maximum…

Bethlehem's general noise nuisance ban in Section 717.01 runs around the clock, but the code carves out one true…

Bristol Borough prints no single quiet-hours clock. Section 27-506 of the Borough Code instead lowers the allowed sound…

Bristol Township sets measured noise limits in residentially zoned areas: 55 dBA between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and…

Delaware County has no countywide quiet-hours law. Each of the 49 municipalities sets its own. Middletown Township, for…

Erie sets no fixed numeric quiet hours. Instead, Article 705 (Disorderly Conduct) of the Codified Ordinances makes it…

In Haverford Township, Chapter 117 defines nighttime hours as 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. and caps sporadic noise at 52…

Lower Merion Township sets numeric nighttime noise limits from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Code § 105-1 defines those as…

Monroe County has no countywide noise code. Quiet hours are set by each of the 20 townships and boroughs, and by the…

Montgomery County, PA sets no general quiet-hours ordinance. Under the PA Municipalities Planning Code, each of the…

Philadelphia's Noise Code (Chapter 10-400) is mainly decibel-based rather than blanket quiet hours, but it bars…

Pittsburgh's noise ordinance tightens at night. Unamplified sound reaching a neighbor's residential property is capped…

Pottstown's noise ordinance bars machinery, equipment and hand tools from running loud enough to carry beyond the…

Reading bars loud yelling, shouting and similar disturbing sounds on public streets between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., part of…

Scranton's noise ordinance sets a 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. curfew on outdoor power tools, model vehicles and loading…

Upper Darby bars audible radios, TVs, stereos and similar sound devices between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. if the sound…

Bucks County sets a 10 p.m. quiet time at every campsite in its Park System under Section 9.7.D of Ordinance No. 170 as…

Article 710.03(E)(1) bars construction, drilling, and demolition tools between 9:00 P.M. and 7:00 A.M. on weekdays and…

Abington Township bars erecting, excavating, demolishing, altering, constructing or repairing any building outside 7:00…

Bensalem Township bars construction equipment, tractors, rollers and other fuel- or electric-powered mechanical…

Bethlehem's noise ordinance treats most sound as background regulation, but construction and demolition work gets a…

In Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, no one can run construction, drilling, blasting, demolition, excavation or stone…

Delaware County sets no construction-hours rule; each municipality does. Middletown Township bars construction noise…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, loud construction, repair and excavation work that disturbs people in their…

In Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, noise from construction work and from repair and maintenance of…

Lower Merion Township exempts construction, repair, and landscaping noise from its decibel limits only from 8:00 a.m…

Millcreek Township Code § 29-19 prohibits heavy construction or excavation machinery, and saws, drills and similar…

In the Municipality of Penn Hills, Allegheny County, construction and repair work using compressors, jackhammers…

Philadelphia defines 'Regular Construction' as work between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday-Friday, or 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on…

Pittsburgh caps general construction hours and further restricts loud impact equipment like jackhammers and pile…

Construction, drilling and demolition equipment can't create a noise disturbance across a residential property line in…

Scranton limits construction, drilling and demolition noise to daytime hours: work disturbing a residential property…

Upper Darby bars operating construction, repair, alteration or demolition equipment between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, sound from repair or installation of utilities or construction of structures…

No Erie-specific ordinance directly addresses construction hours; the City's Codified Ordinances do not set start/stop…

Abington Township declares any animal a nuisance if habitual barking, howling, yelping or biting endangers health or…

Article 710.03(C)(6) makes it a noise disturbance to own or harbor any animal or bird that barks, bays, cries, or…

Bensalem Township treats a dog's barking, howling or other loud noise as a peace disturbance once it becomes continuous…

In Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, it is illegal to keep an animal or bird that makes noise continuously for 10 minutes…

In Bristol Township, Bucks County, keeping an animal or bird that makes noise continuously or persistently for 15…

Erie has no decibel-based barking-dog ordinance with fixed time thresholds; persistent animal noise that disturbs the…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, it's illegal to own, possess, harbor or control any animal or bird…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, frequent and habitual barking, howling, screeching, yelping or baying by a…

Haverford Township makes it unlawful for an owner, custodian or keeper of a dog, cat, feral cat, bird or other animal…

Lower Merion Township treats a barking dog that disturbs the neighborhood as disorderly conduct. Code § 111-7B lists…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, § 68-3 bars any person from allowing a dog or other domestic animal, or a…

Millcreek Township Code § 8-3 makes it unlawful to own, harbor or keep any animal whose harsh noise deprives the public…

Penn Hills bars any animal from habitual, continuous barking, howling or crying that disturbs neighbors, defined as…

Philadelphia's Noise Code prohibits more than 5 expressions of sound from one or more animals (such as dog barks)…

Pittsburgh declares a dog, cat, or other animal a nuisance when frequent, habitual barking, howling, or yelping…

Pottstown treats a persistently barking dog as disorderly conduct: keeping any animal in a way that disturbs the peace…

Owning or harboring an animal or bird that barks, howls or squawks continuously for 10 minutes, or intermittently for a…

Scranton's noise ordinance treats a barking, baying or squawking animal as a noise disturbance if it makes continuous…

Upper Darby Code § 222-19 bars letting a dog bark or howl to the point of becoming a nuisance, but enforcement is…

Lower Merion Township Code § 92-6 phases out gas-powered leaf blowers: banned from June 1 to October 1 and January 1 to…

Delaware County sets no leaf-blower rule. Municipalities do. Middletown Township bars power blowers and other domestic…

The Municipality of Penn Hills in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania declares noise from weedblowers, string trimmers…

Leaf blowers and other lawn care equipment are exempt from Pittsburgh's noise limits only between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00…

Reading bars mechanically powered lawn and garden tools, including leaf blowers, from running outdoors in residential…

Abington Township bars operating a leaf blower, lawn mower, chain saw, snowblower or similar mechanical equipment in a…

Bristol Township does not name leaf blowers, but § 129-3 F bars mechanically powered lawn or garden tools and similar…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, leaf blowers, powered lawn mowers and other powered landscape maintenance…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, leaf blowers sit in the Chapter 131 exemption for lawn mowers, snowblowers…

In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, sound from landscaping activity is exempt from the Noise Control…

Article 710.03(C)(1) makes it a noise disturbance to operate any radio, stereo, instrument, or sound amplifier at any…

York County bans loudspeakers, PA systems and amplifiers outright anywhere in the county park system, and separately…

Allegheny County bans using electrical amplifying equipment anywhere inside a County park. The rule sits in Code §…

Abington Township prohibits playing a radio, musical instrument, television, phonograph or public-address system so it…

Bethlehem caps amplified and reproduced sound at a 40-foot audibility radius. Section 717.01(a)(1) bars operating a…

Bristol Borough prohibits playing any radio, phonograph, tape or disc player or musical instrument at a volume that…

Bristol Township's noise chapter bans playing radios, audio equipment, amplifiers and instruments in a way that creates…

Using a loudspeaker, public address system or amplifier anywhere in the Bucks County Park System requires a Department…

Chester County directly regulates amplified sound on its own property: no person may use a loudspeaker, public address…

Delaware County has no outdoor-music ordinance. Live and amplified outdoor music is governed by each municipality…

Article 705 of Erie's Codified Ordinances makes it disorderly conduct to operate any radio, television, phonograph…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, any radio, stereo, musical instrument, loudspeaker or sound amplifier that is…

Haverford Township has no decibel or clock limit for amplified music. Section 128-3C makes it disorderly conduct to run…

Lower Merion Township caps sound reaching a residential property at 65 dBA continuous (75 dBA impulsive) by day and 50…

In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, the Township can condition a special event permit with restrictions…

Amplified music in Monroe County is governed by township noise ordinances and, at resorts and rentals, by permit…

Penn Hills caps radios, stereos and other amplified sound devices played louder than needed for voluntary listeners in…

Philadelphia caps amplified music and other sound by decibels above background at the property boundary: 3 dB near…

Pittsburgh caps loudspeaker and amplified sound reaching residential property at 75 dB(A) day and night, or audibility…

Pottstown bars radios, stereos, musical instruments and sound amplifiers from creating a noise disturbance or carrying…

Radios, stereos, loudspeakers and other sound-amplifying devices can't create a noise disturbance across a property…

City Code § 317-7A(1) bars operating a radio, stereo, phonograph, sound amplifier or similar device so loudly it…

Upper Darby bars operating a radio, TV, stereo or other sound-reproducing device loud enough to cross a property line…

Allegheny County requires new subdivisions in FAA noise-contour zones near airports to either restrict development to…

Bethlehem amended its adopted building code to add IBC 720.08, requiring every new residential structure affected by…

Pittsburgh zoning requires helistop applicants to submit a helicopter noise study measured in Ldn; if the analysis…

Scranton doesn't regulate aircraft flight noise, which is federal airspace, but City Code § 317-7A(5) bars repairing…

Allentown's noise ordinance does not apply to normal aircraft and airport operations. Chapter 400, Noise, § 400-5A(4)…

No Erie-specific ordinance directly addresses aircraft noise; the topic is preempted. Aircraft operations and in-flight…

Lower Merion Township's noise ordinance exempts aircraft and railway transportation outright from its decibel limits…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, the Chapter 131 Noise Ordinance exempts vehicles operating on a public…

Philadelphia's Noise Code expressly exempts aircraft and airport/railroad operations, and federal law preempts local…

Reading's zoning noise-control section exempts aircraft, including helicopters, lawfully operating from the city's…

Abington Township caps air-conditioning and mechanical equipment noise at 55 decibels in residential and…

Bensalem's Noise Ordinance sets maximum sound levels measured at every lot line, varying by the zoning district…

In residential zones of Bristol Township, Bucks County, noise becomes an excessive disturbance above 55 dBA between…

Chester County has no countywide decibel ordinance. Pennsylvania sets vehicle sound limits statewide in 67 Pa. Code…

Delaware County sets no decibel ordinance. Pennsylvania fixes motor-vehicle decibel limits statewide (67 Pa. Code §…

Erie's Zoning Ordinance Section 206.2(b) bars any Light Industrial Park use from running sustained noise above 60…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, the zoning code's performance standards cap sound at the property…

Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, sets numeric noise limits in § 117-3 as maximum sound pressure levels in eight…

Lower Merion Township caps continuous sound at a receiving property line at 65 dBA by day and 50 dBA at night in…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Chapter 131 caps sound at 60 dBA by day and 55 dBA at night, Sundays and…

In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, Table I sets 57 dB(A) by day and 52 dB(A) by night in the CR, R-1…

In the Municipality of Penn Hills, Allegheny County, the noise ordinance's curfews and limits do not apply to Light or…

Philadelphia Code Section 10-403 sets numeric decibel ceilings measured at the property boundary: 3 dB above background…

Pittsburgh caps unamplified noise crossing into residential property at 65 dB(A) daytime and 55 dB(A) at night, while…

Reading's zoning code sets a sliding decibel ceiling for any use's noise at a receiving lot line, tightest for…

City Code § 317-8 caps sound at a residential lot line at 69 dB(A) by day and 64 dB(A) overnight and on major holidays…

Upper Darby caps stationary noise sources at 55 dB(A) in residential zones from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 50 dB(A)…

York County sets no countywide decibel standard for property noise. Pennsylvania does set enforceable motor-vehicle…

Bristol Borough prohibits engine brake retarders, commonly known as Jake Brakes, on named roadways including Green…

Lower Merion Township bans the use of engine brake retarders on gasoline- or diesel-powered motor vehicles on City…

Pittsburgh bans un-muffled compression ("Jake" or engine) braking anywhere in the city, with an exception only when the…

Abington Township bars sounding a vehicle horn except as a danger warning, and requires every motor vehicle and…

Article 710.03(C)(12) requires every motor vehicle to have a working muffler with no cutout or bypass, bars idling…

Bethlehem's traffic code bans car stereos audible more than 40 feet away, requires every motor vehicle to run a working…

Bristol Township Code § 129-3 caps car engines and post-1982 motorcycles at 86 decibels, requires motorcycles driven in…

Vehicle noise is set by state law, which applies throughout Chester County. Under 75 Pa.C.S. section 4523, every motor…

Vehicle noise is set by Pennsylvania statute, not Delaware County. 75 Pa.C.S. § 4523 requires every vehicle on a…

Erie's Article 736 (Recreational Motor Vehicles) bars muffler cutouts, bypasses and straight pipes and requires…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, engine-retarding devices ('Jake brakes') are banned on State Road…

In Haverford Township, unnecessary sounding of horns, sirens, bells or whistles, a motor vehicle with an improper or…

Motor-vehicle noise is governed statewide by the PA Vehicle Code, which requires every vehicle to have a working…

In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, ordinary vehicle operation on public rights-of-way is exempt from the…

Pennsylvania's Vehicle Code, not Montgomery County, controls vehicle noise statewide. Every motor vehicle must have a…

The Municipality of Penn Hills in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania bars excessive, harsh or unreasonably loud noise from…

Philadelphia bans motor vehicle sound exceeding 5 decibels above background level measured from 25 feet away, covering…

Pottstown Borough Code § 303 bars operating a motor vehicle's sound amplification system, radios, tape or CD players…

Reading bans excessive vehicle sound on public streets, restricts horn use and sound trucks, and separately makes it…

City Code § 317-7A(9) requires every motor vehicle to run a working muffler, without a cutout or bypass, and bars…

Upper Darby caps motor vehicle noise on public streets by vehicle class and speed: 82-88 dB(A) for ordinary cars, 88-92…

Loud vehicles and modified exhausts are covered by Pennsylvania's Vehicle Code, which applies countywide in York…