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Noise complaints › Dallas
How to file a noise complaint in Dallas
Dallas 311: dial 3-1-1 inside the city or (214) 670-3111 from outside, use the Our Dallas / Dallas 311 app or the online service request portal, or email dallas311@dallas.gov; the call centre runs 24 hours (dallascityhall.com, "Dallas 311" and "Code Compliance").
Last updated:
| Quiet hours | No named quiet hours; construction near homes only 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. weekdays (Sec. 30-2(8)) |
|---|---|
| How it is enforced | Audibility, no general decibel limit |
| Emergencies | 911 |
| Ordinance | Dallas City Code |
Where to file in Dallas
Dallas 311: dial 3-1-1 inside the city or (214) 670-3111 from outside, use the Our Dallas / Dallas 311 app or the online service request portal, or email dallas311@dallas.gov; the call centre runs 24 hours (dallascityhall.com, "Dallas 311" and "Code Compliance"). Loud music and party noise in progress is a police matter through the same 311 route.
From the city's official pages and code, verified 2026-09-03. Numbers and departments change; if a line does not answer, the city's main switchboard or 311 can redirect you.
Before you call
- Log it. Date, start and end time, what the noise was and where you heard it from. Three dated entries carry more weight than one angry call.
- Measure it if you can. Dallas enforces mostly by audibility, so the log is the main evidence, but a reading shows how loud it really was. The free online decibel meter runs in your browser and records nothing.
- Check the rule. Quiet hours in Dallas are No named quiet hours; construction near homes only 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. weekdays (Sec. 30-2(8)). The Dallas noise ordinance page quotes the code verbatim, so you can cite the section.
- Try the source once. A neighbour, landlord or venue manager often fixes it faster than the city does, and telling them first strengthens a later complaint.
What happens after you file
Non-emergency noise reports are queued, not dispatched, so a first call rarely ends the noise that night. What it does is start a record against the address. Repeated reports, a dated log and a reading are what move a case from a warning to a citation. Where the city needs an officer to witness the noise, as most audibility rules require, file while it is happening rather than the next morning.
How loud is Dallas in general? The Dallas noise map shows the federal transportation-noise data for every neighbourhood, and the apartment quiet hours page compares every city's night rule.
Who do I call for a noise complaint in Dallas?
Dallas 311: dial 3-1-1 inside the city or (214) 670-3111 from outside, use the Our Dallas / Dallas 311 app or the online service request portal, or email dallas311@dallas.gov; the call centre runs 24 hours (dallascityhall.com, "Dallas 311" and "Code Compliance").
What are the quiet hours in Dallas?
No named quiet hours; construction near homes only 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. weekdays (Sec. 30-2(8)). The full rule, quoted from the code, is on the Dallas noise ordinance page.
Should I call 911 for noise in Dallas?
Only if there is danger, a threat or a crime in progress. For ongoing noise use 311 or the non-emergency police line; repeated calls build an official record tied to the address, which is what code enforcement acts on.
What evidence helps a noise complaint in Dallas?
Dallas enforces mostly by whether the sound is plainly audible at a set distance, so a log of dates, times, durations and where you could hear it from matters more than a meter reading, though a reading still helps.
This page is a plain-language guide to the reporting route, not legal advice. Ordinances and contact numbers get amended; check the linked official sources before relying on a specific provision.