Noise ordinances › Bakersfield, CA

Bakersfield noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

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 Bakersfield acts on. Log noise levels for a complaint — free, runs in your browser, records no audio.

Quiet hours in Bakersfield

There is no general night window. Sec. 9.22.030's standard applies at any hour and lists "the time of the day or night the noise occurs" as one of eight factors. The clock times in the chapter are specific: construction (erecting, demolishing, altering or repairing a building, or grading or excavating land, streets or highways) is unlawful outside 6:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. on weekdays and 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. on weekends, unless the work is 1,000 feet or more from the nearest residence, is emergency work, is City street work the city engineer has ordered at night to relieve traffic, or has a city-manager permit for up to three days (extendable once) (9.22.050); refrigerator trucks may run in commercial and manufacturing zones at all hours provided they do not detrimentally affect neighboring homes between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (9.22.030 C); permitted sound equipment may operate only 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m., or 9:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. from a fixed location on commercial or industrial premises, unless the city manager modifies the hours by special permit (9.22.120 B), and outdoor speakers of a system that also plays indoors must have an inside switch to cut them off outside those hours (9.22.120 F). Car and vehicle audio is judged at 50 feet at any hour (9.22.140).

Decibel limits — or rather, the lack of them

There are none. Chapter 9.22 contains no decibel table and no measurement procedure; the word "decibels" appears only in the registration statement, where an applicant for a sound-equipment permit must state "the volume in decibels of the sound which will be produced" (9.22.090 G.2). The standard is Sec. 9.22.030 A: willfully making or allowing "any loud, unnecessary noise which disturbs the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or which causes discomfort or annoyance to persons residing within one thousand feet of the noise source," judged on the level of the noise, the background level, proximity to sleeping facilities, zoning, density, time of day or night, duration, and whether it is recurrent, intermittent or constant. Distance tests replace numbers for amplification: a radio, tape or CD player or similar device in or attached to a vehicle, moving or parked, may not be audible to a person of normal hearing more than 50 feet from the vehicle, or 50 feet from the property line when the vehicle is off the street (9.22.140); permitted sound equipment may not be audible more than 150 feet from the premises' exterior boundary, 50 feet from a sound truck or premises inside the central traffic district, or 600 feet for a council-permitted building-mounted chime or music system (9.22.120 D–E); and "sound equipment" is itself defined by audibility beyond the room, vehicle or space where it is played (9.22.020). Do not attribute a decibel number to Bakersfield.

What the ordinance actually says

Sec. 9.22.030 A: "It is unlawful for any person to willfully make or continue, or allow to be made or continued, any loud, unnecessary noise which disturbs the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or which causes discomfort or annoyance to persons residing within one thousand feet of the noise source."

Sec. 9.22.030 B: "The standards which may be considered in determining whether a violation of the provisions of this section exists may include, but are not limited to the following: 1. The level of the noise; 2. The level and intensity of any background noise; 3. The proximity of the noise to residential sleeping facilities; 4. The nature and zoning of the area within which the noise occurs; 5. The density of habitation of the area within which the noise occurs; 6. The time of the day or night the noise occurs; 7. The duration of the noise; 8. Whether the noise is recurrent, intermittent or constant."

Sec. 9.22.050 A: "Except as provided herein or in subsection B, C or D of this section, it is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to erect, demolish, alter or repair any building, or to grade or excavate land, streets or highways, other than between the hours of six a.m. and nine p.m. on weekdays, and between eight a.m. and nine p.m. on weekends; provided, however, that city crews and those of the city's contractors performing street work between nine p.m. and six a.m. are exempt herefrom if the city engineer has directed that work be performed between such hours to alleviate potential traffic congestion."

Sec. 9.22.140: "Except as otherwise allowed under this chapter, no person shall use or operate or permit to be used or operated a radio, tape player, tape recorder, compact disc player, or any similar device in or attached to a vehicle whether moving, stopped or parked, occupied or unoccupied, which is audible to a person of normal hearing sensitivity more than fifty feet from such vehicle or, as to any vehicle not located on a public street, so audible more than fifty feet from the property line of the property on which such vehicle is located."

Sec. 9.22.120 E: "Except as otherwise stated in this section or by special permit referred to in subsection B of this section, the volume of sound shall be controlled so that it will not be audible for a distance in excess of one hundred fifty feet from the exterior boundaries of the premises upon which such sound equipment is located, and so that such volume is not unreasonably loud, raucous, jarring, disturbing or a nuisance."

Sec. 9.22.060: "In addition to the penalty provided for in Chapter 1.40 of this code, a property owner shall be assessed a service fee pursuant to Chapter 3.70 if Bakersfield enforcement personnel respond more than one time in a thirty-day period for violation(s) of this chapter."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Bakersfield Municipal Code, Title 9 "Public Peace, Morals and Welfare," Chapter 9.22 "Noise" (Ord. 3924 § 3, 1999): Article I General Provisions, Secs. 9.22.010 purpose, 9.22.020 definitions ("sound equipment," "construction," "emergency work"), 9.22.030 noise generally (the 1,000-foot standard and eight factors; refrigerator trucks), 9.22.040 exemptions, 9.22.050 noise during construction, 9.22.060 assessment of service fee, 9.22.070 other remedies; Article II Amplified Sound, Secs. 9.22.080–9.22.160 (registration and permit, regulations for use, aircraft, amplified sound from vehicles, revocation, appeal). Penalties under Chapter 1.40; service fees under Chapter 3.70. Text read on the City's code host (bakersfield.municipal.codes, Code Publishing) on 2026-09-20.). Verified against the live code on 2026-09-20. Ordinances get amended — before acting on a specific provision, check the linked official code. This page is a plain-language summary, not legal advice.

How to file a noise complaint in Bakersfield

Per bakersfieldcity.us (Police, "Report Crime / Non-Emergency"): call the Bakersfield Police Department at 661-327-7111 to report a non-emergency such as a loud party, or file a non-emergency report online; 9-1-1 for emergencies. Construction-hour and code violations can be reported through the City's "Report a Code Enforcement Violation" service request. Two provisions shape a complaint: Sec. 9.22.060 assesses the property owner a service fee under Chapter 3.70 when enforcement personnel respond more than once in a 30-day period for violations of the chapter, so a second call within a month costs the host; and Sec. 9.22.070 preserves a neighbor's own civil remedies for injury or damage from a violation. Sound-equipment permits are handled by the city finance director, with appeals to the city manager and City Council (9.22.090, 9.22.160).

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Bakersfield. For the general playbook — documenting the problem, talking to a landlord or HOA, when 311 beats 911 — see the noise complaints guide.

Worth knowing

(1) The reach is unusual: the nuisance standard protects anyone living within 1,000 feet of the source, roughly three city blocks, rather than an adjoining property line, and the construction rules switch off entirely for work 1,000 feet or more from the nearest home (9.22.030, 9.22.050 C). (2) Construction may start at 6:00 a.m. on weekdays, earlier than most cities, and run to 9:00 p.m.; weekends start at 8:00 a.m.; a city-manager night permit is capped at three days plus one three-day extension. (3) Willfulness is an element of the general offense ("willfully make or continue"). (4) Any loudspeaker, PA system or amplified music audible outside the room or vehicle it is played in is "sound equipment" needing a registration statement filed two working days ahead with the finance director and a permit carried by the operator (9.22.090–9.22.110); the permit hours are short (9 a.m.–6 p.m., 10 p.m. on commercial and industrial premises), only music and speech are allowed, and speakers are barred within 100 yards of hospitals, schools in session, churches in service, City Hall and courthouses on weekdays before 5 p.m., and cemeteries during services (9.22.120). (5) Downtown is stricter for amplification: inside the central traffic district sound may not carry 50 feet, against 150 feet elsewhere, with a council-permitted exception for building-mounted chimes audible up to 600 feet (9.22.120 D). (6) Vehicle audio is a 50-foot audibility test on or off the street, deferring to Vehicle Code § 27007 where that applies (9.22.140). (7) The repeat-response fee (9.22.060) is charged to the property owner, not the guest, after a second response within 30 days. (8) Refrigerated trucks in commercial and manufacturing zones get an explicit 24-hour allowance, qualified only for impacts on homes between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. (9.22.030 C). (9) Older PDF copies of the chapter circulating online (2016 vintage) match the current text; the chapter has not been substantively amended since Ord. 3924 (1999).

Document it before you report it

Bakersfield enforces mostly by audibility, but a log of measured levels still makes a complaint concrete and credible. Take a reading right here: the meter below runs in your browser and records nothing, and stopping it saves a dated report. Check how loud your block is on the Bakersfield noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.