How to file a noise complaint in Virginia Beach

Last updated: September 20, 2026

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

Virginia Beach noise complaint at a glance
Quiet hours	10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. (55 dBA inside your home); construction 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
How it is enforced	Measured decibel limits
Emergencies	911
Ordinance	Virginia Beach City Code

Official text: Virginia Beach City Code, Chapter 23 "Offenses—Miscellaneous," Article II "Noise," Secs. 23-63 through 23-73 (Ord. No. 3082, 5-12-09, as amended by Ord. No. 3180, 5-24-11): 23-63 findings and policy, 23-64 definitions ("audible and discernable," "restaurant," "residential dwelling"), 23-65 administration and enforcement (police summons; a citizen's magistrate's summons), 23-66 violations and presumption of responsibility, 23-67 exceptions, 23-68 use of sound level meters (Code of Virginia § 19.2-270.7), 23-69 maximum sound levels and residential dwellings, 23-70 motor vehicle sound levels and amplified sound from vehicles, 23-71 specific prohibitions (a)–(f), 23-72 sound levels at restaurants, 23-73 severability. Text read on Municode (the City's code host) on 2026-09-20..

Where to file in Virginia Beach

Per police.virginiabeach.gov (Contact): nuisance calls including noise and fireworks complaints go to 757-385-3111 (the VB311 line), and the Police Department's non-emergency line is (757) 385-5000, answered 24 hours a day; the City's own guidance (virginiabeach.gov blog on short-term-rental complaints) says to "reach out to the Police Department's non-emergency line (757-385-5000) to request they enforce the City's noise ordinance." Call while the noise is occurring: the residential standard is measured inside the complainant's home with a meter (23-69), so the officer needs to be let in to take the reading. Sec. 23-65 gives the police department the summons power and preserves a private citizen's right to obtain a magistrate's summons on a probable-cause showing. Emergencies: 9-1-1.

From the city's official pages and code, verified 2026-09-20. 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. Virginia Beach sets measured limits, so a reading near the limit is direct evidence. The free noise log runs in your browser, records nothing, and saves a dated report.
Check the rule. Quiet hours in Virginia Beach are 10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. (55 dBA inside your home); construction 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.. The Virginia Beach 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 Virginia Beach in general? The Virginia Beach 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 Virginia Beach?

What are the quiet hours in Virginia Beach?

10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. (55 dBA inside your home); construction 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.. The full rule, quoted from the code, is on the Virginia Beach noise ordinance page.

Should I call 911 for noise in Virginia Beach?

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 Virginia Beach?

Virginia Beach enforces numeric decibel limits, so a time-stamped reading near the limit is direct evidence. Keep a log of dates, times and durations as well.

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.