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Florida noise laws: quiet hours, car stereos and how to complain

Last updated: November 11, 2026

No statewide quiet hours or decibel limit for homes

Florida has no statewide noise ordinance. No Florida statute sets quiet hours for homes or a decibel limit for noise from a home. Those rules, where they exist, are in city and county codes, and they differ from place to place (see the table of cities below). State law covers narrower ground: disorderly conduct, sound from vehicles and boats, and a tenant's duty not to disturb the neighbors.

The closest thing to a general noise law is section 877.03, breach of the peace and disorderly conduct. It makes it a crime to commit "such acts as are of a nature to corrupt the public morals, or outrage the sense of public decency, or affect the peace and quiet of persons who may witness them", or to engage "in such conduct as to constitute a breach of the peace or disorderly conduct". It names no hours and no decibel level. It is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable by up to 60 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both (sections 775.082 and 775.083).

Florida state laws that touch everyday noise

Read on November 11, 2026 in the 2026 Florida Statutes. A "noncriminal traffic infraction" is a ticket, not a crime. A nonmoving violation carries a $30 base penalty under section 318.18, before the court costs and fees added to every traffic ticket.

Section 316.293 exempts emergency vehicles, sanctioned competitive events with an admission or entry fee, manufacturers' tests and construction or farm equipment; section 316.272 has no such list. Section 327.65 sets the boat limit only for a county that adopts it by ordinance.

Loud car stereos: the 25-foot rule and the 2012 court case

Section 316.3045 bars a person "operating or occupying a motor vehicle on a street or highway" from playing a radio, phone, tablet, stereo, musical instrument or other sound device so that the sound is "Plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet or more from the motor vehicle" or "Louder than necessary for the convenient hearing by persons inside the vehicle in areas adjoining private residences, churches, schools, or hospitals". Communication devices in police and emergency vehicles are exempt, and so are horns and other warning devices; a city or county may impose "more stringent regulations". A violation is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punished as a nonmoving violation.

Until 2005 the test was 100 feet; that year the Legislature cut it to 25 feet (chapter 2005-164, Laws of Florida). The law then also exempted vehicles "used for business or political purposes". In State v. Catalano (December 13, 2012), the Florida Supreme Court held that section 316.3045(1)(a) "is an unreasonable restriction on the freedom of expression and is unconstitutionally overbroad, but is not unconstitutionally vague", because the exemption favored commercial and political speech, and it found that "severance of the constitutionally infirm provisions is not an appropriate remedy". The House's later analysis puts it plainly: "the Court invalidated the statute in its entirety."

The Legislature rewrote the section in 2022 (CS/HB 1435, chapter 2022-149), effective May 26, 2022. The House final bill analysis says the bill removed "the noise exemption for vehicles used for business or political purposes, which cures the constitutional issue cited by the Florida Supreme Court", added phones, tablets, laptops and other devices, added the private residences test and let local governments impose stricter rules. In 2023 the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles adopted Rule 15B-13.002: the primary means of detection is "the officer's ordinary auditory senses", must have "a direct line of sight and hearing to the motor vehicle", and "need not determine the particular words or phrases being produced or the name of any song or artist producing the sound." The 2026 statute lists no amendment since 2022.

How to make a noise complaint in Florida

No state agency handles complaints about a neighbor's noise; Florida leaves that to cities and counties. For a neighbor, a party or a business, call the police or sheriff's non-emergency number for noise happening now, or your city or county code enforcement office for a continuing problem, under the local ordinance in the table below. Call 911 only for an emergency. Officers can also charge breach of the peace under section 877.03. A loud car stereo or exhaust is a noncriminal traffic infraction, handled with a traffic ticket. On the water, boating law is enforced by Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, sheriff's deputies and municipal police (section 327.70).

If the noise comes from a tenant, tell the landlord: section 83.52(7) requires every tenant, and anyone on the premises with the tenant's consent, to behave "in a manner that does not unreasonably disturb the tenant's neighbors or constitute a breach of the peace".

Keep a record of the date, the time, how long the noise lasted and where you heard it from. The car stereo law turns on what an officer can hear, not on a meter reading. The free online decibel meter runs in your browser and records nothing; it is an uncalibrated estimate of about ±10 dB, enough to show 50 against 70 but not a measurement a court will rely on. Turn A-weighting on (dBA vs dBC) and write down the session average. The noise complaints guide covers what to log.

Quiet hours in Florida cities

Quiet hours in Florida are set city by city and county by county. These are the places we cover, each from its own code; a place added in the last few weeks is listed without a link while we measure how its page is found.

Sources

Florida Statutes (2026), ss. 83.52, 316.272, 316.293, 316.3045, 318.18, 327.65, 327.70, 775.082, 775.083 and 877.03, Online Sunshine (Florida Legislature) and the Florida Senate; State v. Catalano, 104 So. 3d 1069 (Fla. Dec. 13, 2012), No. SC11-1166, opinion as published in the FSU College of Law collection of Florida Supreme Court records; Florida House of Representatives, Staff Final Bill Analysis of CS/HB 1435 (dated June 2, 2022) and the enrolled bill, chapter 2022-149, Laws of Florida; chapter 2005-164, Laws of Florida, section 9; Florida Administrative Code Rule 15B-13.002 (effective March 23, 2023), flrules.org; The Florida Senate, Bill Analysis of SB 1248 (2017), for the penalty for s. 877.03; Office of the Attorney General, informal opinion to the Town of Longboat Key (August 1, 2016), on s. 327.65. All read on November 11, 2026. This page covers state law; your city or county code may set quiet hours and limits of its own. It is a plain-language summary, not legal advice.

Is there a statewide noise ordinance in Florida?

No. Florida has no statewide noise ordinance, quiet hours or decibel limit for homes; cities and counties set those rules in their own codes. State law covers breach of the peace (section 877.03), sound from vehicles (sections 316.3045, 316.272 and 316.293), boat mufflers (section 327.65) and a tenant's duty not to disturb neighbors (section 83.52).

What are quiet hours in Florida?

State law sets none. Quiet hours, where they exist, come from your city or county code, and the times differ from place to place (see the table of Florida cities on this page). At any hour, police can still charge breach of the peace for acts that "affect the peace and quiet of persons who may witness them".

Can police ticket a loud car stereo in Florida?

Yes. Since May 26, 2022, section 316.3045 bans sound from a vehicle on a street or highway that is plainly audible at 25 feet or more, or louder than the people inside need near homes, churches, schools or hospitals. It is a noncriminal, nonmoving traffic infraction with a $30 base penalty plus fees and court costs. The Florida Supreme Court struck down the earlier version in 2012 in State v. Catalano.

Is a loud exhaust illegal in Florida?

Yes. Section 316.272 requires an exhaust and muffler that prevent "excessive or unusual noise" and bans cutouts and bypasses on highways. Section 316.293 bans modifying an exhaust to be louder than as manufactured and sets limits at 50 feet: for cars and other vehicles under 10,000 pounds in the row "On or after January 1, 1979", 72 dBA where the speed limit is 35 mph or less and 79 dBA above it (motorcycles have their own limits). Each is a nonmoving traffic infraction.

What is the penalty for disturbing the peace in Florida?

Breach of the peace or disorderly conduct under section 877.03 is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable by up to 60 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both. The statute names no hours and no decibel level; it covers acts that "affect the peace and quiet of persons who may witness them".

Noise laws in other states

• Texas
• California
• Ohio
• New Jersey
• Colorado

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