Noise ordinances › Bexar County, TX

Bexar County noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: November 4, 2026

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

Quiet hours in Bexar County

Neither state law nor, as far as we could find, Bexar County sets quiet hours for unincorporated Bexar County. The governing rule, Texas Penal Code § 42.01(a)(5), applies at any hour: a person commits disorderly conduct by intentionally or knowingly making unreasonable noise in a public place, or in or near a private residence that he has no right to occupy, and the statute names no times of day. The nearest thing in a County rule is a time limit on alarms, not quiet hours: an alarm system in the unincorporated areas that is meant to be heard outside the alarm site, and is within 500 feet of a public roadway, must have a thirty minute shutoff (alarm rules, Section 9). Inside the City of San Antonio the city's own Chapter 21, Article III applies (see the San Antonio noise ordinance page). We did not survey the other cities in the county.

Decibel limits — or rather, the lack of them

There is no decibel limit as such. The only number in the governing law is a presumption in Texas Penal Code § 42.01(c)(2): a noise is presumed to be unreasonable if it exceeds a decibel level of 85 after the person making it has received notice from a magistrate or peace officer that the noise is a public nuisance. The statute does not say where, how or with what weighting the 85 decibels is measured (it names no distance and no property line), and before any notice, or below 85 decibels, the question is simply whether the noise is unreasonable. An act counts as occurring in a public place or near a private residence if it produces its offensive or proscribed consequences there (§ 42.01(c)(1)). A sport shooting range does not count as a public place for the noise rule, so range noise heard near a home is still covered (§ 42.01(a)(5)). Lawfully conducted space flight activities are not unreasonable noise (§ 42.01(g)), and the rule does not apply to students younger than 12 at a public school campus during regular school hours (§ 42.01(f)). We found no decibel figure in any Bexar County rule we read.

What the ordinance actually says

Texas Penal Code § 42.01(a): "A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly:" ... "(5) makes unreasonable noise in a public place other than a sport shooting range, as defined by Section 250.001, Local Government Code, or in or near a private residence that he has no right to occupy;"

§ 42.01(c)(2): "a noise is presumed to be unreasonable if the noise exceeds a decibel level of 85 after the person making the noise receives notice from a magistrate or peace officer that the noise is a public nuisance."

§ 42.01(c)(1): "an act is deemed to occur in a public place or near a private residence if it produces its offensive or proscribed consequences in the public place or near a private residence;"

§ 42.01(d): "An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor unless committed under Subsection (a)(7) or (a)(8), in which event it is a Class B misdemeanor."

§ 12.23: "An individual adjudged guilty of a Class C misdemeanor shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500."

§ 42.04(a): "If conduct that would otherwise violate Section 42.01(a)(5) (Unreasonable Noise), 42.03 (Obstructing Passageway), or 42.055 (Funeral Service Disruptions) consists of speech or other communication, of gathering with others to hear or observe such speech or communication, or of gathering with others to picket or otherwise express in a nonviolent manner a position on social, economic, political, or religious questions, the actor must be ordered to move, disperse, or otherwise remedy the violation prior to his arrest if he has not yet intentionally harmed the interests of others which those sections seek to protect."

Bexar County alarm rules, Section 9, paragraph 01(c): "Any alarm system designed to emit an audible signal intended to be heard from the exterior of the alarm site, and is located within 500 feet of a public roadway, shall have a thirty (30) minute shutoff from the time of activation and the audible signal must not sound similar to that of a variable tone audible device."

Quoted verbatim from the official text (Texas Penal Code Section 42.01 (Disorderly Conduct), with Section 12.23 (Class C misdemeanor) and Section 42.04 (speech defense). Texas Constitution and Statutes site (statutes.capitol.texas.gov), which says the statutes "are current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025"; § 42.01 was last amended by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 188 (H.B. 3065), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2023. No Bexar County noise ordinance or court order was found: a search for "noise" on bexar.org returned one result, a Constable Precinct 1 Bike Patrol page, on 2026-11-04; web searches for one, in several wordings and including Municode, American Legal and eCode360, found none for the County; and the County pages read (Code Compliance, Fire Marshal code enforcement, the Animal and Rabies Control order, the alarm rules and the parks reservation FAQ) set no general noise rule. Inside the City of San Antonio, the city's own ordinance applies (Chapter 21, Article III). Text read 2026-11-04.). Verified against the live code on 2026-11-04. 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 Bexar County

In unincorporated Bexar County, call the Sheriff's Office Dispatch non-emergency line, 210-335-6000, for a loud party or music happening now, and 911 for an emergency; the County's safety page says the Sheriff's Office handles all emergency and non-emergency situations in unincorporated Bexar County. None of the County pages we read mentions noise by name. Because the 85-decibel presumption only starts after a peace officer or magistrate has told the person that the noise is a public nuisance, a warning matters: after it, noise above 85 decibels is presumed unreasonable. Disorderly conduct by unreasonable noise is a Class C misdemeanor (§ 42.01(d)), punishable by a fine of up to $500 (§ 12.23). Inside the city limits of San Antonio, call the San Antonio Police Department non-emergency line, 210-207-7273, which the County's page also lists; the city has its own noise ordinance (see the San Antonio page). In another city, the County's page points to the My Bexar Community Dashboard, where you enter your address to see the offices that serve you. Bexar County Code Compliance (Environmental Services, 210-335-6700) handles conditions in unincorporated areas that are visible from a public right-of-way, and the issues it lists are high weeds, rubbish, refuse, vectors such as mosquitoes and rats, blocked drainage easements and illegal dumping; noise is not listed, though the list is not closed. Its page says a complaint that is really a dispute between neighbors is referred to the Bexar County Dispute Resolution Center (210-335-2128). Sources: https://www.bexar.org/228/Safety-Emergency-Information, https://www.bexar.org/770/Report-a-Crime, https://www.bexar.org/3393/Helpful-Phone-Numbers, https://www.bexar.org/3216/Code-Compliance, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/?tab=1&code=PE&chapter=PE.42&artSec=42.01 and https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/?tab=1&code=PE&chapter=PE.12&artSec=12.23.

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Bexar County. 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) Jurisdiction: this page covers unincorporated Bexar County. The City of San Antonio is a separate jurisdiction with its own noise ordinance (see the San Antonio page). (2) What was searched: a search of the County's own site, bexar.org, for the word noise on 2026-11-04 returned one result, a Constable Precinct 1 page about its Bike Patrol, and we cannot say that search reads inside every PDF. Web searches for a Bexar County noise ordinance or court order, in several wordings and including Municode, American Legal and eCode360, found none. The County's Code Compliance and Fire Marshal code enforcement pages do not mention noise, and the County's highlights of its Animal and Rabies Control order for unincorporated areas list no noise rule. Code Compliance also follows a Commissioners-approved Court Order that we did not read. We found no single searchable code of Commissioners Court orders, so this is what those searches found, not a statement from the County. A Texas House committee analysis of H.B. 774 (87th Legislature, 2021) says "Many counties across the state do not have the authority to regulate noise in their unincorporated areas." and that earlier legislation on the problem "has failed to become law"; H.B. 774 itself was aimed at counties of more than 3.3 million people, and the Harris County page lists such bills. So in unincorporated areas the state disorderly conduct law is the noise law, as far as we could find. (3) Intent matters: § 42.01 requires that the person act intentionally or knowingly. (4) The 85-decibel figure is a presumption, not a limit: it applies only after notice from a magistrate or peace officer, and the statute sets no measuring point or method. (5) Exclusions: a sport shooting range as defined by Local Government Code § 250.001 does not count as a public place (noise from one heard near a home is still covered), lawfully conducted space flight activities, and students younger than 12 at a public school campus during regular school hours (§ 42.01(a)(5), (f), (g)). (6) Speech: if the noise consists of speech, a gathering to hear it, or picketing or other nonviolent expression, the person must be ordered to move, disperse or otherwise fix the problem before arrest, unless he has already intentionally harmed the interests these laws protect. It is a defense that no required order was given, or that an order was manifestly unreasonable in scope or was promptly obeyed (§ 42.04). (7) The one County sound rule we found covers alarms: the Rules Governing the Regulation of Alarm Systems in Unincorporated Bexar County (revised January 2012) require the thirty minute shutoff in Section 9, and a violation is a Class C misdemeanor (Section 20). They are not a noise ordinance. (8) County parks: the parks reservation FAQ answers "Is amplified music allowed?" with "Yes, music must stay within the pavilion." (9) The statutes site says its text is current through the 89th Legislature's 2nd Called Session, 2025; § 42.01 was last amended in 2023 (H.B. 3065).

Document it before you report it

Bexar County has no decibel limit and asks only whether the noise is unreasonable, but a log of measured levels still makes a complaint concrete and credible. Take a quick reading with the free online decibel meter — it runs in your browser and records nothing — and see the nearest city we map, on the San Antonio noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.