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Noise complaints › Seattle
How to file a noise complaint in Seattle
Route the complaint by noise type. Construction, maintenance and installed mechanical equipment noise, including the exterior sound level limits in 25.08.410, goes to the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) noise complaint line at (206) 615-0808 (Mon/Wed/Fri 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Tue/Thu 10:30 a.m. to 3:00…
Last updated:
| Quiet hours | 10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. weekdays; 10:00 p.m. – 9:00 a.m. weekends and legal holidays |
|---|---|
| How it is enforced | Decibel limits for some sources, audibility for others |
| Emergencies | 911 |
| Ordinance | Seattle Municipal Code |
Where to file in Seattle
Route the complaint by noise type. Construction, maintenance and installed mechanical equipment noise, including the exterior sound level limits in 25.08.410, goes to the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) noise complaint line at (206) 615-0808 (Mon/Wed/Fri 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Tue/Thu 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.), or through SDCI's online property or building complaint form at https://www.seattle.gov/sdci/codes/make-a-property-or-building-complaint. Public disturbance noise, meaning loud music, amplified sound, parties, horns, sirens, motor vehicles and watercraft, goes to the Seattle Police Department non-emergency line at (206) 625-5011; SDCI directs after-hours noise complaints there rather than to its own line. Barking dogs and other animal noise go to Animal Control at (206) 386-7387. Aircraft noise is outside the ordinance; SDCI points residents to the FAA low-flying aircraft line (800) 354-1940, Sea-Tac (206) 433-5393 or Boeing Field (206) 205-5242. One practical point: under 25.08.500 a public disturbance violation generally requires the person to refuse or intentionally fail to stop when ordered to do so by a police officer (or an animal control officer for animal noise), so an officer usually has to attend and give an order before a citation follows. The nightlife rule (25.08.501) and the residential-disturbance rule (25.08.505) carry no such order requirement.
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
- 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. Seattle sets measured limits, so a reading near the limit is direct evidence. The free online decibel meter runs in your browser and records nothing.
- Check the rule. Quiet hours in Seattle are 10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. weekdays; 10:00 p.m. – 9:00 a.m. weekends and legal holidays. The Seattle 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 Seattle in general? The Seattle 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 Seattle?
Route the complaint by noise type.
What are the quiet hours in Seattle?
10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. weekdays; 10:00 p.m. – 9:00 a.m. weekends and legal holidays. The full rule, quoted from the code, is on the Seattle noise ordinance page.
Should I call 911 for noise in Seattle?
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 Seattle?
Seattle 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.