Noise ordinances › Baltimore, MD

Baltimore noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: September 3, 2026

Quiet hours in Baltimore

§ 9-207: between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the maximum permissible sound levels of § 9-206 are reduced by 5 dB(A) for any use in or bordering a residential zone, so a residential source drops from 55 to 50 dB(A) at its property line. § 9-208(b): non-commercial vehicle repairs, home workshops, power tools and power garden equipment are allowed only 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on weekends and legal holidays. § 9-306(2)(iii): playing a sound device on a public street between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. is prohibited unless in a school band, a licensed parade or otherwise authorised. § 9-313: no selling by outcry between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. In the Market Center Urban Renewal Area, publicly amplified commercial speech is banned 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday to Saturday and needs a permit at other times (§ 9-406). Construction and motor-vehicle noise are left to the Health Commissioner's regulations (§§ 9-103, 9-104).

Decibel limits

Yes. § 9-206: sound from a use in a residential zone may not exceed 55 dB(A) at its property line, 61 dB(A) at a boundary with a manufacturing zone, or 58 dB(A) at a boundary with a commercial zone; from a commercial zone 61 dB(A) at the property line, 64 at a manufacturing boundary, 58 at a residential boundary; from a manufacturing zone 75 dB(A) at the property line and 70 at commercial or residential boundaries. § 9-207 lowers these by 5 dB(A) from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. for uses in or bordering residential zones. § 9-208(a) allows short exceedances of 5 dB(A) for 12 minutes, 10 dB(A) for 3 minutes or 15 dB(A) for 30 seconds in any hour, and § 9-208(c) caps residential air conditioners at 70 dB(A) and heat pumps at 75 dB(A) at a neighbour's property line. Instruments must read to plus or minus 1 dB(A) (§ 9-205(b)). Alongside the meter standard, Subtitle 3 uses audibility: entertainment sound heard more than 50 feet from a building, vehicle or property (§ 9-306) and commercial loudspeakers heard more than 100 feet away (§ 9-312) are offences without any measurement.

What the ordinance actually says

§ 9-206(d): "If the sound is from a use in a residential zone, the maximum permissible sound level is: (1) 55 dB(A) at any point on the property line of the use"

§ 9-207: "Between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., the maximum permissible sound specified in § 9-206 {“Limits”} of this subtitle must be reduced by 5 dB(A) for any use that: (1) borders on a residential zone; or (2) ... is in a residential zone."

§ 9-306(2)(i): entertainment sound is prohibited where "the device is in a building or other structure or in a vehicle, and the sound can be heard more than 50 feet away from the building, structure, or vehicle or, if further, 50 feet from the boundaries of the property surrounding the building or structure"

§ 9-208(b): home workshops, power tools and power garden equipment "are allowed: (1) between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays; and (2) between the hours of 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekends and legal holidays."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Baltimore City Code, Health Code (Article), Title 9 "Noise Regulation," Subtitle 1 (Definitions; General Provisions), Subtitle 2 (Basic Sound Level Standards), Subtitle 3 (Entertainment and Commercial Noise) and Subtitle 4 (Amplified Sounds in Market Center), §§ 9-101 through 9-418 (Ord. 99-548; Ord. 03-595; Ord. 16-581; Ord. 19-244; Ord. 22-125; text conformed 3-10-21)). Verified against the live code on 2026-09-03. 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 Baltimore

Baltimore City 311: dial 3-1-1 (443-263-2220 from outside the city), the Baltimore 311 app, or the online service request system, seven days a week 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; noise nuisances are investigated by the Health Department's Environmental Health division and enforced by notice from the Commissioner of Health, with environmental or civil citations (baltimorecity.gov, "311 Services" and "Nuisance Complaint Investigations"; Health Code §§ 9-212, 9-217). Loud parties in progress are a police matter through 311.

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

Worth knowing

Two systems in one title: metered zone limits (Subtitle 2, enforced by the Health Commissioner after a written notice citing the dB(A) readings) and audibility rules for entertainment and commercial noise (Subtitle 3, enforceable on the spot). Any person may sue a violator themselves after giving 60 days' notice to the Commissioner and the violator (§ 9-214). Temporary exemptions run at most 30 days, no more than three per year per location, and never more than 25 dB(A) over the limit (§ 9-209). A parent can be fined for a minor's repeat entertainment-noise violation (§§ 9-307, 9-317). Motor vehicles, construction and demolition are exempt from the title except as the Commissioner's regulations provide (§ 9-103). Fines: up to $1,000 a day for ignoring a notice, $500 and 30 days for entertainment noise, $1,000 and 60 days for commercial loudspeakers.

Document it before you report it

Baltimore's limits are measured numbers, so a reading is direct evidence of how loud it really is. Take a quick reading with the free online decibel meter — it runs in your browser and records nothing — and check how loud your block is on the Baltimore noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.