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Noise complaints › Gwinnett County
How to file a noise complaint in Gwinnett County
For a loud party, music or other noise happening now in unincorporated Gwinnett County, call the Police non-emergency line, 770.513.5700, which the Police Department's 911 page lists for loud noise complaints, and call 911 for an emergency. Police and the Department of Planning and Development can both enforce the noise rules (Sec. 38-52(e)).
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Documenting this? A dated log of when the noise started, when it stopped and how loud it got is what Gwinnett County acts on. Log noise levels for a complaint — free, runs in your browser, records no audio.
| Quiet hours | At homes, 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. (from 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday) |
|---|---|
| How it is enforced | Audibility, no general decibel limit |
| Emergencies | 911 |
| Ordinance | Gwinnett County Code Chapter 38 Article III (Noise Control) |
Where to file in Gwinnett County
For a loud party, music or other noise happening now in unincorporated Gwinnett County, call the Police non-emergency line, 770.513.5700, which the Police Department's 911 page lists for loud noise complaints, and call 911 for an emergency. Police and the Department of Planning and Development can both enforce the noise rules (Sec. 38-52(e)). Code Enforcement says its officers enforce the County's noise standards and that it works only in unincorporated Gwinnett County: main 770.513.5020, hotline 770.513.5004, CodeEnforcement@GwinnettCounty.com, or report at GwinnettZIP.com (the portal's complaint list names land development, building construction, zoning use and property maintenance, not noise). A first violation brings a written warning; a second within 12 months of that warning is a $250 fine, a third $500, and later violations within 12 months up to $1,000 each (Sec. 38-53(b)). Each occurrence, and each day a violation continues, is a separate offense (Sec. 38-52(b), (c)), and the County can also seek an injunction (Sec. 38-52(d)). On conviction, Sec. 38-53(a) applies the County's general penalty, Sec. 1-11, but keeps fines to the schedule in Sec. 38-53(b). Sec. 1-11(c) itself allows a fine of $100 to $1,000, imprisonment for up to 60 days, or both. The Code Enforcement page says a citation goes to Recorders Court. For a barking dog, the Police page lists non-violent animal complaints under the same 770.513.5700 line, and Animal Welfare and Enforcement is at 770.339.3200, though its ordinance page does not mention barking. Under Sec. 10-7(b) the complainant must give the address, and the County first sends a written notice and allows 10 days. After that a citation takes notarized statements: the original complainant's, with sufficient evidence such as a neighbor's notarized statement or a video or similar recording, or those of two complainants at different addresses. The fine can reach $1,000 on conviction. Inside a city, County Code Enforcement does not act: contact that city. Sources: https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/government/departments/police/911-info, https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/government/departments/planning-development/services/code-enforcement, https://aca-prod.accela.com/GWINNETT/Welcome.aspx?TabName=Enforce&module=Enforce and https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/government/departments/community-services/animal-welfare/ordinances-citations-complaints.
From the county's official pages and code, verified 2026-11-04. Numbers and departments change; if a line does not answer, the county's main switchboard 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. Gwinnett County enforces mostly by audibility, so the log is the main evidence, but a reading shows how loud it really was. The free noise log runs in your browser, records nothing, and saves a dated report.
- Check the rule. Quiet hours in Gwinnett County: At homes, 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. (from 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday). The Gwinnett County 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 county does, and telling them first strengthens a later complaint.
What happens after you file
Noise reports often wait behind urgent calls, so a first call may not end 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 county 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 it nearby? The Atlanta 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 Gwinnett County?
For a loud party, music or other noise happening now in unincorporated Gwinnett County, call the Police non-emergency line, 770.513.5700, which the Police Department's 911 page lists for loud noise complaints, and call 911 for an emergency.
What are the quiet hours in Gwinnett County?
At homes, 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. (from 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday). The full rule, quoted from the code, is on the Gwinnett County noise ordinance page.
Should I call 911 for noise in Gwinnett County?
Only if there is danger, a threat or a crime in progress. For ongoing noise use the non-emergency police line or the department named above; repeated calls build an official record tied to the address, which is what code enforcement acts on.
What evidence helps a noise complaint in Gwinnett County?
Gwinnett County enforces mostly by audibility and disturbance rules rather than a decibel number, 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.
