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How to file a noise complaint in Tallahassee

Last updated: October 30, 2026

Documenting this? A dated log of when the noise started, when it stopped and how loud it got is what Tallahassee acts on. Log noise levels for a complaint — free, runs in your browser, records no audio.

Official text: Tallahassee Code of Ordinances Chapter 12 Article IV Division 2 "Excessive Sound", Secs. 12-92 to 12-97 (Chapter 12 is "Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions" and Article IV is "Offenses Involving Public Peace and Order"): 12-92 Application, 12-93 Definitions, 12-94 Prohibitions, 12-95 Exemptions, 12-96 Enforcement, 12-97 Additional remedies; injunctions. History: Ord. No. 15-O-37AA, § 2, 1-27-2016 (all six sections); 12-93 amended by Ord. No. 22-O-13, § 1, 3-9-2022, and Ord. No. 23-O-19, § 1, 5-10-2023; 12-94 by Ord. No. 22-O-13, § 2, 3-9-2022, and Ord. No. 23-O-19, § 2, 5-10-2023, which changed its title from "Noise disturbance prohibited" to "Prohibitions"; 12-96 by Ord. No. 22-O-13, § 3, 3-9-2022, and Ord. No. 23-O-19, § 3, 5-10-2023. The editor's note to Division 1 says Ord. No. 15-O-37AA, adopted Jan. 1, 2016, designated § 12-91 as Article IV, Division 1 and added Division 2. Text read on Municode, the City's code host, Supplement 75, online content updated May 19, 2026, on 2026-10-30..

Where to file in Tallahassee

Call the Tallahassee Police Department, or 911 in an emergency: TPD's pages give 850-891-4200 for non-emergency incidents and, when you need an officer and it is not an emergency, its Communications Center at 850-606-5800. TPD's online FAQ gives 911 for emergencies and 850-891-4200 for non-emergency incidents, and the same number is in the contact block of TPD's main page. TPD's online crime reporting page tells people who need an officer to call its Communications Center at 850-606-5800 if it is not an emergency and 911 if it is. The City's Common Code Violations page lists the noise ordinance (Article IV, Division 2, 12-92 through 12-97) and says complaints may be submitted directly to the Police Department; for code violations in general, the same page says a violation can be reported to Code Enforcement at 850-891-7007 or through the DigiTally app. Under the code, any TPD officer or code enforcement officer may issue a citation (12-96(a)), but the sound must be plainly audible to the officer (12-93). After notice, the person responsible has five minutes to turn the sound down, and no citation follows if they do, unless an officer responded to the same person or property within the prior six months or the officer was refused access to the property (12-96(b)). Fines are $250 for a first violation, $350 for a second and $500 for a third and each later one, and sound that continues or recurs more than 15 minutes after notice is a separate violation (12-96(g)); a person cited may contest within 30 days before the City Code Magistrate or code enforcement board, or the Leon County Court, at the City's choice (12-96(f)), and the fine order may be recorded as a lien on the violator's property (12-96(h)). Sources: https://www.talgov.com/publicsafety/tpd-online-faq, https://www.talgov.com/publicsafety/tpd, https://www.talgov.com/publicsafety/tpd-onlinecrimereporting and https://www.talgov.com/publicsafety/code-violations.

From the city's official pages and code, verified 2026-10-30. 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. Tallahassee 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.
3. Check the rule. Quiet hours in Tallahassee: Urban Core: 2 a.m. to 7 a.m.; elsewhere the rule applies at all hours. The Tallahassee 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 Tallahassee in general? The Tallahassee 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 Tallahassee?

Call the Tallahassee Police Department, or 911 in an emergency: TPD's pages give 850-891-4200 for non-emergency incidents and, when you need an officer and it is not an emergency, its Communications Center at 850-606-5800.

What are the quiet hours in Tallahassee?

Urban Core: 2 a.m. to 7 a.m.; elsewhere the rule applies at all hours. The full rule, quoted from the code, is on the Tallahassee noise ordinance page.

Should I call 911 for noise in Tallahassee?

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 Tallahassee?

Tallahassee 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.