Noise Ordinances in Tennessee (2026)

Knoxville exempts construction, demolition and paving from its noise standards: except in residential areas between…

Chattanooga City Code § 25-68(a)(8) confines construction noise, building erection, demolition, alteration or repair…

Clarksville bans excavation, construction, demolition, repair, or paving noise in residential areas between 7:00 p.m…

Franklin limits permitted construction activity to Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6…

Hendersonville limits construction activity, including demolition and street repair, to 7:00 a.m. to sunset on weekdays…

Knox County's noise chapter exempts routine excavation, construction and demolition from its decibel and nuisance…

Memphis Code § 9-68-6 prohibits building erection, demolition, alteration, repair, and street or highway excavation in…

Murfreesboro caps construction-site sound at 80 dBA near homes and 85 dBA near commercial or industrial property, with…

Metro Nashville bans outdoor construction, repair, or demolition work between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. citywide (except…

Rutherford County's Zoning Ordinance doesn't set a fixed construction-hours window for the unincorporated area; instead…

Shelby County Code Chapter 16, Article III sets no fixed construction-hours curfew for unincorporated Shelby County…

Chattanooga's noise ordinance makes a barking dog a punishable nuisance once it hits a measurable threshold: ten or…

Clarksville names frequent or long-continued barking, howling, or crying by a kept animal or bird as an example of an…

Franklin, Tennessee treats a barking dog as a nuisance-noise violation, not a separate 'barking dog' law: Franklin…

Hendersonville outlaws a dog whose loud, frequent barking, whining, or howling disturbs a neighborhood's peace under…

Knox County treats habitual barking, whining or other objectionable animal noise as a nuisance violation under Code §…

Knoxville bans keeping any animal or bird whose frequent barking, howling or crying disturbs a neighbor's comfort and…

A dog or other animal that barks, howls, or makes similar noise continuously for more than 10 minutes, or on and off…

Metro Nashville bans keeping any dog, bird, or animal whose frequent or loud continued noise disturbs neighbors'…

Shelby County Code Sec. 16-64 bans keeping any animal, dog, cat, fowl or otherwise, whose frequent or long-continued…

Memphis Code § 9-68-7 makes it unlawful to keep any animal, bird or fowl whose frequent or long-continued noise…

In Chattanooga residential zones, lawnmowers and leaf blowers are barred 8:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. unless adjoining…

Clarksville exempts domestic power equipment, naming leaf blowers explicitly, from the anti-noise chapter between 6:00…

Franklin exempts leaf blowers and other domestic power equipment from its noise ordinance only between 7:00 a.m. and…

Knox County's noise chapter exempts leaf blowers and other domestic power equipment from its noise rules only between…

Murfreesboro caps power-tool noise at 75-80 dBA during the day and bars commercial tree, landscaping, lawn-care and…

Knoxville exempts leaf blowers and other domestic power equipment, like mowers, trimmers and saws, from its noise…

Clarksville bans private use of loudspeakers or sound amplification devices on city-owned property outright, unless the…

Knoxville requires a special noise permit from the office of special events for amplified sound that exceeds normal…

Memphis Code § 9-68-3 prohibits using a drum, loudspeaker or other instrument to create noise for the purpose of…

Chattanooga caps amplified advertising sound at 60 dB(A) measured at the nearest public right-of-way or park boundary…

In Franklin, Tennessee commercial and industrial zones, amplified sound audible 100 feet beyond the source property's…

A special event facility permitted under Article VI, Section 427 of the Hamilton County Zoning Regulations cannot run…

Hendersonville bars outdoor amplified music within 50 feet of a residence outside 7 a.m.–11 p.m., and caps commercial…

A Knox County rural retreat, the zoning ordinance's use-on-review category for agritourism and event venues, must…

Music and sound-amplification devices can't be plainly audible across a neighbor's property line from 10 p.m. to 7…

Metro Nashville bans sound amplification equipment audible from a neighbor's property line, but downtown's DTC district…

Rutherford County's Zoning Ordinance sets a hard curfew on amplified sound at any outdoor performance held under a…

Shelby County Code Sec. 16-63 restricts radios, instruments, loudspeakers and other amplified sound devices, especially…

Outdoor concerts, plays, and other events using amplified sound systems in Sumner County must shut down by 10:00 PM…

Williamson County caps amplified sound from PA systems, speakers, and other sound production devices tied to bars…

Franklin's noise ordinance exempts aircraft, including helicopters, operated under federal air regulations and air…

Memphis's vehicle noise ordinance sets no decibel limit for aircraft. Section 11-56-2(A) instructs officers measuring…

Murfreesboro's noise ordinance exempts aircraft operated under FAA regulations and air traffic control instructions…

Metro's citywide noise ordinance does not cover aircraft or airport operations. Title 9 expressly exempts airport uses…

Chattanooga caps sound amplification equipment at 55 dB(A) from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and 50 dB(A) overnight, measured at…

Clarksville's noise ordinance caps sound measured at a complainant's property line by land use and hour: 70 dB(A) from…

In Franklin's commercial and industrial zoning districts, amplified sound plainly audible 100 feet from the property…

Hendersonville caps commercial and business equipment noise at 65 dB(A) near residences on weeknights and 75 dB(A) at…

Knox County's zoning ordinance sets a sliding decibel ceiling by sound frequency for any use or activity measured at a…

Knoxville limits sound measured at the property line to 65 dB(C) for residential daytime, 60 dB(C) overnight, and 80…

Murfreesboro caps exterior sound from any source in an Industrial Zone at 65 dBA for pure tones and 70 dBA for other…

Metro Nashville caps overnight noise from business equipment, vehicles, and heavy machinery at 70 Db(A) near…

In unincorporated Rutherford County, Zoning Ordinance Section 1106 caps sound at the property line under a Table of…

Unincorporated Shelby County sets no decibel-meter reading anywhere in its noise law. County Code Article III instead…

Sumner County's Zoning Resolution sets hourly decibel caps for noise crossing a property line in the unincorporated…

Williamson County sets numeric dBA ceilings on ordinary ambient noise, separate from amplified sound equipment, for…

Shelby County Code Sec. 24-368 sets dB(A) limits for motor vehicles in the county, and Sec. 16-65 bans using any…

Chattanooga requires a working muffler on every street-driven vehicle and caps vehicle noise at 90 decibels, with…

Clarksville bars operating a vehicle radio, tape, CD, or similar audio device that is audible more than 50 feet away…

Franklin, Tennessee bans a vehicle exhaust or muffler that lets loud or explosive noise escape into the open air…

Hendersonville bans car stereos, radios and other amplified sound systems audible fifty feet from the vehicle, on…

Every motor vehicle driven in unincorporated Knox County must carry a working muffler running at all times to prevent…

Knoxville bans playing a car radio, tape, CD or similar audio device loud enough to be heard fifty feet away, whether…

Memphis Code § 11-32-15 requires every motor vehicle on city streets to run a muffler "in good working order and in…

Murfreesboro requires a working muffler on every vehicle, bans cutout or bypass exhaust systems, and prohibits…

Metro Nashville bans loud mufflers, cut-out exhaust and car stereos audible 50+ feet from the vehicle or 200+ feet for…