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Noise ordinances › Birmingham, AL
Birmingham noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints
Birmingham, AL regulates noise under The General Code of the City of Birmingham. Quiet hours: 10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. (construction, power tools, trash pickup, loading near homes). There is no general citywide decibel limit: the numeric limits that exist apply only to specific sources. Below: the exact code language, who actually takes complaints, and a link to the official text.
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Documenting this? A dated log of when the noise started, when it stopped and how loud it got is what Birmingham acts on. Log noise levels for a complaint — free, runs in your browser, records no audio.
| Quiet hours | 10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. (construction, power tools, trash pickup, loading near homes) |
|---|---|
| Limit type | No general dB limit — audibility / nuisance standard |
| Headline limit | Birmingham sets no general dB limit: the test is noise that, because of its volume level, duration and character, annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities (Sec. 11-8-21); for stereos, televisions, instruments and similar devices, sound plainly audible 50 feet from the building or source (or inside the nearest building if it is closer than 50 feet), or 10 feet from a vehicle, is prima facie evidence of a violation (Sec. 11-8-23(8)) |
| Official code | The General Code of the City of Birmingham |
Quiet hours in Birmingham
Article B has no general curfew: the reasonable-person test applies at any hour, and the clock appears in specific acts that Sec. 11-8-23 lists as violations when done in a manner that annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities. From 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.: construction (any activity incidental to the erection, demolition, assembling, altering, repairing, installing or equipping of buildings, structures or roads, including clearing, grading, excavating and filling) within 500 feet of any residentially zoned district, unless the traffic engineer allows night work because traffic conditions prevent it at other times, with emergency repair or maintenance of public roads, parks, sewers and utility systems and emergency private work exempt (11-8-23(15)); outdoor use of any mechanically powered saw, grinder, lawn or garden tool or similar device in a residentially zoned district (11-8-23(14)); refuse collection vehicles and refuse compacting mechanisms in or within 500 feet of a residentially zoned district (11-8-23(11)); and loading, unloading, opening, closing or handling boxes, crates, containers, building materials, garbage cans or similar objects in or within 500 feet of a residentially zoned district (11-8-23(12)); city crews and equipment providing necessary safety and sanitation services are exempt from the refuse and loading rules. Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on the public streets is named "particularly between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m." but is barred at any time or place if it annoys or disturbs people in a residence, hotel or other lodging, or an office (11-8-23(9)). Demonstrations, special events, races and runs permitted under section 12-5-22 are exempt from the article only if, within 50 feet of a residentially zoned district, they are held between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. (11-8-23(8)d, 11-8-25(4)). The code sets no separate weekend or holiday hours.
Decibel limits — or rather, the lack of them
No numeric decibel limits. Article B contains no decibel figure, sound-level table or meter procedure. The test is noise that, "because of its volume level, duration and character", annoys, disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, health, peace or safety of reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities (11-8-21(a)), weighed by circumstances that include the volume and intensity of the noise, the background noise, proximity to sleeping facilities, the nature, zoning and density of the area, the time of day or night, duration, whether it is recurrent, intermittent or constant, and whether it is commercial (11-8-24). For sound amplification systems, television sets, musical instruments, radios and similar devices, being plainly audible at 50 feet from the building or structure or from the source in an open yard, or within the nearest building if it is nearer than 50 feet, or at ten feet from a motor vehicle or from a pedestrian operating the device, is prima facie evidence of a violation (11-8-23(8)a-b). "Plainly audible" is judged "by the auditory senses, based upon direct line of sight"; words need not be discernible, bass reverberations count, and in residentially zoned districts the distance is the actual distance between buildings if less than 50 feet (11-8-22). The other numbers in the article are times and durations, not sound levels: horns sounded for more than 30 seconds constantly, stationary non-emergency bells, chimes, sirens and whistles sounded for more than one minute in an hour, exterior burglar and car alarms that do not shut off within 15 minutes, and a barking dog at ten minutes of continuous noise or half an hour of intermittent barking (11-8-23(1), (2), (3), (13)).
What the ordinance actually says
Sec. 11-8-21(a): "No person shall make, continue or cause to be made or continue any noise which, because of its volume level, duration and character, either annoys, disturbs, or injures or endangers the comfort, health, peace or safety of reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities. It shall be unlawful and a nuisance for any person to permit any such noise to be made in or upon any residence, business or other structure or upon any premises or in any vehicle owned or possessed by him or her or under his or her management or control."
Sec. 11-8-23(8)a: "The operation of any such machine or device in such manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet from the building or structure or from the source of the sound in open yard, or to be plainly audible within the nearest building if such structure is nearer than 50 feet to the source of the sound shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section."
Sec. 11-8-23(8)b: "The operation of any such machine or device in such manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of ten feet from any motor vehicle in which it is located, or from any pedestrian operating such device, or to be plainly audible within the nearest building if such structure is nearer than 50 feet to the source of the sound, shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section."
Sec. 11-8-22: "Measurement standards shall be by the auditory senses, based upon direct line of sight. Words or phrases need not be discernable and bass reverberations are included."
Sec. 11-8-23(2): "The owning, possessing, harboring, or keeping of any animal or bird which, by causing frequent or long-continued duration, howls, barks, squawks, or makes other sounds or noise, creates excessive and unnecessary noise across a residential or commercial real property line or within a noise sensitive area. ... means a dog that barks, bays, cries, howls, or makes other noise continuously and/or incessantly for a period of ten minutes, or barks intermittently for one-half hour or more which disturbs the comfort or repose of persons of ordinary sensibilities in the vicinity."
Sec. 11-8-23(14): "Domestic power tools. Operating or permitting the operation out of doors of any mechanically powered saw, grinder, lawn or garden tool or similar device between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in a residentially zoned district."
Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (The General Code of the City of Birmingham, Alabama, Title 11 "Crimes and Offenses", Chapter 8 "Nuisances", Article B "Noises": Sec. 11-8-21 Illegal noises, Sec. 11-8-22 Definitions, Sec. 11-8-23 Prohibited acts, Sec. 11-8-24 Determining circumstances, Sec. 11-8-25 Exemptions; Secs. 11-8-26—11-8-40 Reserved (Ord. No. 98-25, § 1, 2-17-1998; Ord. No. 02-47, § 1, 4-30-2002, amending Secs. 11-8-22 and 11-8-23; Ord. No. 04-98, § 1, 9-14-2004).). Verified against the live code on 2026-10-21. 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 Birmingham
Birmingham Police Department's contact page lists "Emergency" "Call 911" and "Non-Emergency" "P: 205-328-9311" (Police Headquarters 205-254-1700, 1710 1st Avenue N). The City's 311 customer service page says "If you prefer to speak with a customer service representative, call 311 or dial 205-254-2489.", offers the My Bham 311 App and an online request form (SeeClickFix), and says "If you have a police, fire, or medical emergency, call 911 immediately."; its examples of requests (potholes, blocked storm drains, broken traffic signals, illegal dumping, missed trash) do not mention noise. Article B names no enforcing agency and no complaint procedure. Sources: https://www.birminghamal.gov/government/city-departments/birmingham-police-department/contact-birmingham-police-department and https://www.birminghamal.gov/government/city-council/residents/311-birminghams-customer-service-center.
Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Birmingham. For the general playbook — documenting the problem, talking to a landlord or HOA, when 311 beats 911 — see the noise complaints guide.
Worth knowing
Notable quirks: (1) Owners and controllers answer too: it is unlawful and a nuisance to permit such noise in or on any residence, business, structure, premises or vehicle a person owns, possesses, manages or controls (11-8-21(a)). (2) "Plainly audible" has two distances, ten feet from a vehicle and 50 feet from a building, structure or open space, judged by ear with a direct line of sight; bass counts and words need not be made out (11-8-22). (3) Barking dogs: a "barking dog" is one that barks, bays, cries or howls continuously for ten minutes, or intermittently for half an hour or more, disturbing persons of ordinary sensibilities nearby; animals and birds are covered when their noise crosses a residential or commercial property line or occurs within a noise sensitive area (11-8-23(2)). (4) A "noise sensitive area" is anywhere within 500 feet of a school, hospital, nursing home, church, court or public library (11-8-22); separately, excessive noise within 500 feet of a school, church or court in use, or adjacent to a hospital or nursing home, is barred only where conspicuous signs mark the street (11-8-23(16)). (5) Vehicles: a horn or alarm may not sound for more than 30 seconds constantly except as a required danger warning, nor while traffic is held up, and exhaust-operated horns and whistles are banned (11-8-23(1)); engines and vehicles need a working muffler (11-8-23(4)); vehicles that grate, grind or rattle from disrepair or their load are covered (11-8-23(10)); and exterior burglar alarms and car alarms must shut off within 15 minutes unless there has been an attempted or actual entry (11-8-23(13)). (6) Fireworks are banned except displays in public parks or other open places under a fire marshal permit (11-8-23(6)). (7) Commercial advertising by drum, loudspeaker, amplifier or similar device audible more than 50 feet across a property line or more than ten feet from a vehicle is barred (11-8-23(7)); selling by shouting or outcry is barred in residential and commercial areas except in a stadium or sports arena (11-8-23(5)); a business public address system used for operations, not advertising, is exempt (11-8-25(9)). (8) A passenger on a common carrier who plays a sound device without an external ear plug speaker that keeps the sound audible only to the user is listed as a violation (11-8-23(8)c). (9) Exemptions (11-8-25): emergency signals and emergency work; Birmingham International Airport; permitted demonstrations, special events, races and runs (kept to 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. within 50 feet of a residentially zoned district, and conducted so as to avoid excessive or disturbing noise within 500 feet of a school, church or court in use or next to a hospital or nursing home); bells and chimes on schools, places of worship, public buildings and other places of assembly; on-site noise of organized sporting events on school campuses and in parks, stadiums, arenas and tracks; school band, choir and orchestra practices and performances; and the sounds of children 12 years of age or under, including speech, laughter, cries and play. (10) Stationary non-emergency bells, chimes, sirens and whistles may not sound more than one minute in any hour (11-8-23(3)), though bells and chimes on schools, places of worship and public buildings are exempt (11-8-25(5)). (11) The article protects free speech expressly (11-8-21(b)), and the list of prohibited acts is not exclusive (11-8-23). (12) Article B itself states no fine or penalty amount.
Document it before you report it
Birmingham enforces mostly by audibility, 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 check how loud your block is on the Birmingham noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.
