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How to file a noise complaint in Portland

Last updated: August 11, 2026

Official text: Portland City Code Title 18, Noise Control (title replaced by Ordinance 191944, effective January 1, 2025). Ch. 18.02 title and policy statement; Ch. 18.04 standards and definitions (18.04.020 measurement, requiring a Type I or Type II ANSI S1.4-1971 meter and, at subsection E., the FAST response setting; 18.04.040 definitions, including "noise disturbance" at subsection Q. and "plainly audible" at subsection X.); Ch. 18.06 responsibilities and authority (18.06.020 Noise Review Board, five Mayor-appointed members serving without remuneration; 18.06.030 responsibilities of the City Administrator, Noise Control Officer and Board); Ch. 18.08 city bureaus; Ch. 18.10 Maximum Permissible Sound Levels (18.10.010 land use zones and the Figure 1 dBA table plus night and steady-sound adjustments, impulse limits and Figure 2 octave bands; 18.10.020 motor vehicles; 18.10.030 home equipment and powered tools; 18.10.035 leaf blowers; 18.10.040 watercraft; 18.10.050 motor vehicle racing events; 18.10.060 construction activities and equipment; 18.10.070 parking lot sweepers); Ch. 18.12 Noises Prohibited (18.12.010 noise disturbance; 18.12.020 specific prohibitions covering animals, sound producing or reproducing equipment and parked heavy vehicles; 18.12.030 measurement supersedes); Ch. 18.14 exemptions and variances; Ch. 18.16 ordinance additional to other law; Ch. 18.17 rulemaking; Ch. 18.18 enforcement and penalties (civil penalty up to $5,000 per violation); Ch. 18.20 severability. Separately, Portland City Code Title 17, Ch. 17.101 Leaf Blowers, phases out gasoline leaf blowers..

Where to file in Portland

File through the Noise Program's online form at portland.gov/ppd/noise/noise-concerns, which handles both Title 18 noise and Title 17 gasoline leaf blower complaints. You must live in, own property in, or operate a business in Portland to file, the city asks for specific dates, times and detailed descriptions (vague reports are deprioritised or not processed), and you should allow at least two weeks for processing. You can also call PDX 311 (dial 3-1-1 in Portland, or 503-823-4000 from outside Multnomah County or on VOIP, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week excluding federal holidays). The Noise Control Program in Portland Permitting and Development takes complaints at noisecomplaints@portlandoregon.gov and 503-823-7350; general and construction questions go to noise@portlandoregon.gov and variance matters to variances@portlandoregon.gov; Oregon Relay Service 711. For noise happening right now late at night, when the Noise Program office is closed, use the general non-emergency line for Portland and all of Multnomah County, 503-823-3333 (this is the city-wide non-emergency number, not a noise-specific line). Barking dogs and other ordinary animal noise go to Multnomah County Animal Services rather than the city.

From the city's official pages and code, verified 2026-08-11. Numbers and departments change; if a line does not answer, the city's main switchboard or 311 can redirect you.

Before you call

1. 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.
2. Measure it if you can. Portland sets measured limits, so a reading near the limit is direct evidence. The free online decibel meter runs in your browser and records nothing.
3. Check the rule. Quiet hours in Portland are 10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.. The Portland noise ordinance page quotes the code verbatim, so you can cite the section.
4. 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 Portland in general? The Portland 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 Portland?

File through the Noise Program's online form at portland.gov/ppd/noise/noise-concerns, which handles both Title 18 noise and Title 17 gasoline leaf blower complaints.

What are the quiet hours in Portland?

10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.. The full rule, quoted from the code, is on the Portland noise ordinance page.

Should I call 911 for noise in Portland?

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 Portland?

Portland uses both decibel limits and audibility rules, so keep a dated log and take readings when you can; which rule applies depends on the source of the noise.

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.