Noise ordinances › DeKalb County, GA

DeKalb County noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: November 9, 2026

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Quiet hours in DeKalb County

11 p.m. to 7 a.m., every day, is the core of the ordinance. In a residential area it is unlawful in those hours to make, cause or allow sound from a source you own or control that enters a single-family detached dwelling owned or occupied by another and is plainly audible anywhere inside it with all of its windows and doors closed (Sec. 16-303(a); sealed dwelling, Sec. 16-302), or that is plainly audible within the common area of a multifamily dwelling (Sec. 16-303(b)). The same night test applies to sound from a commercial area, industrial area or mixed-use development that reaches those homes or common areas (Sec. 16-305(c)). The article sets no general daytime rule for residential areas: its stated aim is to keep plainly audible sound from disturbing residents in their homes during typical sleeping hours (Sec. 16-301(a)), and by day it regulates only the activities below, which Sec. 16-304 governs instead of the night test. Animals: from 7:01 a.m. until 10:59 p.m., pets and nondomesticated animals may not make any vocalizations for more than 15 minutes without interruption or more than 30 minutes if intermittent; between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. the plainly audible test applies; neither applies if the vocalizations are given as a warning to the presence of an intruder (Secs. 16-304(b), 16-306(b)). Landscaping: power tools for landscaping or yard maintenance only between 7:01 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays, or 9:01 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekends, and all motorized equipment must have a muffler (Sec. 16-304(c); the same in mixed-use developments, Sec. 16-306(c)). Construction and demolition activity or deliveries: only 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, and none on Sundays or on New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, Memorial Day, July 4 or Labor Day, unless the activity arises from an emergency which puts the site or neighboring property owners and their property at risk of harm or loss (Sec. 16-304(d); mixed-use developments, Sec. 16-306(d)). Testing burglar or fire alarms: no more than 5 minutes, and not between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. (Secs. 16-304(e), 16-306(e)). Consumer fireworks: unlawful on any day before 10 a.m. and after 9 p.m., except that on January 1, the last Saturday and Sunday in May, July 3, July 4, the first Monday in September and December 31 they are lawful after 10 a.m. up to and including 11:59 p.m., and on January 1 from midnight up to and including 1 a.m. (Sec. 16-311). The decibel limits for commercial, industrial and mixed-use property change at 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. (Sec. 16-305(b)).

Decibel limits

In residential areas there is no decibel limit. The test is whether sound is plainly audible, which Sec. 16-302 defines as any sound which can be heard or detected by the unaided and unimpaired human ear; words and phrases need not be discernable. Decibel limits apply only to sound emitting from property in commercial and industrial areas and mixed-use developments in the unincorporated county (Sec. 16-305(a)). Sec. 16-305(b) bars operating any source of sound on such property that exceeds 70 dB(A) in commercial areas, 80 dB(A) in industrial areas, and 70 dB(A) or 73 dB(C) in mixed-use developments, from 7:01 a.m. until 10:59 p.m., "or sixty (60) dB(A) or sixty-three (63) dB(C) from the hours of 11:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m." The sentence gives that one pair of night figures without naming the areas it covers. Sound is measured at any location at or within the property line of the affected property, and a level over the limit is prima facie evidence of a violation, meaning enough to prove one unless it is rebutted (Sec. 16-305(b)). When a meter cannot be placed at or within the property line, the measurement is made as close to it as is reasonable (Sec. 16-308(a)). Meter readings are taken by sound control officers, who must complete a certification course approved by the sound control administrator (Sec. 16-307). The meter must conform to ANSI S1.4-1983 or its successors (Sec. 16-302); the meter and calibrator must be recertified annually, and calibration and batteries field checked before and after every set of measurements (Sec. 16-308(b)). The article says the A-weighted level approximates the response of human hearing for sounds of low to moderate intensity, and defines the C-weighted level only by its meter setting (Sec. 16-302). The exclusions in Sec. 16-303(c) apply to these limits and to the night test alike (Sec. 16-305(d)). They include public safety and emergency sounds; building burglar or fire alarms and car alarms that stop within 5 minutes if uninterrupted or 10 minutes if intermittent; aircraft operations where federal regulations preempt local rules; railroads; sound from motor vehicles, as regulated by O.C.G.A. § 40-6-14(a); properly muffled motor vehicles on a public right-of-way; agricultural activities; residential air conditioner units; swimming pool filtering systems; protests, marches, parades and events sanctioned by the federal, state or county government; and activities under a special administrative permit. All of this is the codified text, which Municode shows as current through an ordinance enacted December 16, 2025, with online content updated on September 2, 2026. A pending Board file, 2025-0015, proposes rules based on decibel levels; the files read do not show whether it has been adopted.

What the ordinance actually says

§ 16-301(a): "DeKalb County seeks to prevent plainly audible sound from disturbing the county's residents in their homes during typical sleeping hours, as such sound jeopardizes the public health, welfare, and safety of the county's residents and degrades the quality of life in the county. This article applies to the unincorporated areas of the county."

§ 16-302: "Plainly audible means any sound which can be heard or detected by the unaided and unimpaired human ear. Words and phrases need not be discernable in order for them to be considered plainly audible."

§ 16-302: "Sealed dwelling means any dwelling that has all of its windows and doors closed."

§ 16-303(a): "Single-family detached dwellings. It is unlawful for any person, between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., to make, cause, or allow any sound from a source within his ownership or control that projects, emits or transmits into any single-family detached dwelling in a residential area owned or occupied by another, such that the sound is plainly audible anywhere within the interior of a sealed dwelling."

§ 16-303(b): "Multifamily dwellings. It is unlawful for any person, between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., to make, cause, or allow any plainly audible sound from a source within his ownership or control that projects, emits or transmits within the common area of a multifamily dwelling in a residential area."

§ 16-304(b): "Animal vocalizations. Animal vocalizations in a residential area during the hours from 7:01 a.m. until 10:59 p.m. shall be regulated as follows. Pets and nondomesticated animals may not make any vocalizations for more than fifteen (15) minutes without interruption or more than thirty (30) minutes if intermittent. The limitations in subsections 16-303(a) and (b) apply to animal vocalizations between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The limitations in this subsection and in section 16-303 do not apply if the vocalizations are given as a warning to the presence of an intruder."

§ 16-304(c): "Landscaping. Power tools used for landscaping or yard maintenance shall only be operated between the hours of 7:01 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on weekdays, or between the hours of 9:01 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on weekends. Power tools used for landscaping or yard maintenance shall not be operated between the hours of 9:01 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, or between the hours of 9:01 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekends. All motorized equipment used in these activities shall be operated with a muffler."

§ 16-304(d): "Construction and demolition activity. Construction and demolition activity or deliveries shall only be performed between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on weekdays, or between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays. There shall be no construction or demolition activity or deliveries on Sundays or New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, Memorial Day, July 4, or Labor Day unless such activity arises from an emergency which puts the site or neighboring property owners and their property at risk of harm or loss."

§ 16-305(b): "No person shall cause, suffer, allow, or permit the operation of any source of sound on any property within commercial areas, industrial areas, mixed-use developments that exceeds seventy (70) dB(A) in commercial areas; eighty (80) dB(A) in industrial areas; and seventy (70) dB(A) or seventy-three (73) dB(C) in mixed-use developments from the hours of 7:01 a.m. until 10:59 p.m. or sixty (60) dB(A) or sixty-three (63) dB(C) from the hours of 11:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. Sound shall be measured at any location at or within the property line of the affected property, and sound levels in excess of those established in this section shall constitute prima facie evidence that such sound is in violation of this article."

§ 16-305(c): "It is unlawful for any person between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. to make, cause or allow any sound from a source within his ownership or control that projects, emits or transmits from a commercial area, industrial area, or a mixed-use development if such sound is plainly audible within the interior of a single-family detached sealed dwelling in a residential area or in a common area of a multifamily dwelling in a residential area."

§ 16-309(b): "Any person requesting temporary relief or a stay from the enforcement of this article shall apply for a special administrative permit for a period of time not to exceed a total of fifteen (15) days within any one (1) year."

§ 16-310(a): "The provisions of this article may be enforced by police officers, code compliance officers, and/or the sound control administrator."

§ 16-310(b), (b)(1): "Any person that does anything prohibited or fails to do anything required by this article, upon citation by a police officer, a code compliance officer, or the sound control administrator and conviction of the violation in a court of competent jurisdiction, shall be subject to fine and/or imprisonment in accordance with section 1-10, with the following minimum penalties. (1) Upon a first conviction of any violation of this article, the court shall impose a fine of not less than two hundred dollars ($200.00) in addition to any other penalty or punishment imposed by the court."

§ 16-310(b)(2), (3): "(2) Upon a second conviction of a violation of this article within twelve (12) months measured from the date of the first conviction, the court shall impose a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) in addition to any other penalty or punishment imposed by the court. (3) Upon a third conviction of a violation of this article within twenty-four (24) months measured from the date of the first conviction, the court shall impose a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) in addition to any other penalty or punishment imposed by the court."

§ 16-311: "It shall be unlawful for a person to ignite or discharge, or cause to be ignited or discharged, any consumer fireworks on any day before 10:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m."

§ 1-10(c)(2): "If a summons, citation or accusation is personally served upon an accused, a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days, or a combination thereof may be imposed. Any fine imposed shall be subject to immediate execution."

§ 1-10(c)(5): "With respect to violations of this Code that are continuous with respect to time, each day the violation continues is a separate offense."

Quoted verbatim from the official text (DeKalb County Code Chapter 16 Article VII (Noise Ordinance), Secs. 16-301 to 16-311. Code of DeKalb County, Georgia on Municode, "Codified through Ordinance No. 2025-1606, enacted December 16, 2025. (Supp. No. 72)", online content updated on September 2, 2026 (version dated Sep 2, 2026): Chapter 16 (Miscellaneous Provisions and Offenses), Article VII (Noise Ordinance): Sec. 16-301 and Secs. 16-303 to 16-309 (Ord. No. 10-20, Pt. I, 11-16-10); Sec. 16-302 (Ord. No. 10-20, Pt. I, 11-16-10; Ord. of 7-23-19(1), Pt. I); Sec. 16-310 (Ord. No. 10-20, Pt. I, 11-16-10; Memo. of 2-9-22); Sec. 16-311, consumer fireworks (Ord. of 7-23-19(1), Pt. I). Municode lists five adopted ordinances not yet codified (adopted 6/23/26 to 8/25/26); none is titled as a Chapter 16 or sound change. Pending, not law in the text read: Board of Commissioners file 2025-0015, "An Ordinance to Amend The Code of DeKalb County, Georgia Chapter 16 Pertaining To Regulation Of Sound And For Other Purposes", which the committee minutes of April 28, 2026 record as held in committee; the files read hold no later Board record, so whether it has since been adopted is not shown here. Sec. 1-10 (General penalty; continuing violations), which Sec. 16-310(b) cites for the fine and imprisonment, was read in the same version; its history ends with a Memo. of 9-23-20. O.C.G.A. § 40-6-14 was not read. Text read 2026-11-09.). Verified against the live code on 2026-11-09. 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 DeKalb County

For noise happening now in unincorporated DeKalb County, call the County's E-911 Communications non-emergency line, 678-406-7929, and call 911 for an emergency. The E-911 page says its center answers emergency and non-emergency calls and dispatches police, lists non-urgent police matters among the uses of that line, and warns that waits can be long because 911 calls take priority. The Police Department's Contact Us page lists a second number, Non-Emergency 404-294-2911, for police reports and general questions. No County page read for this row names a number for noise complaints, so these are the lines the County's pages support. The article may be enforced by police officers, code compliance officers and the sound control administrator, who is the police chief or a designee (Secs. 16-309(a), 16-310(a)). Code Compliance Administration is at 404-687-3700 and codeenforce@dekalbcountyga.gov, and takes reports through an online Submit a Code Violation form that requires a valid address within unincorporated DeKalb County. Its pages do not mention noise and say initial inspections typically occur within 3 business days, so it is not a route for noise in progress. Penalty: on conviction a violator is subject to fine and/or imprisonment in accordance with Sec. 1-10 of the County Code, with minimum fines the court must impose of not less than $200 on a first conviction, $500 on a second within 12 months of the first conviction, and $1,000 on a third within 24 months of the first (Sec. 16-310(b)). Sec. 1-10(c) sets the ceilings: a fine not exceeding $1,000, or imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed 120 days, or a combination, where the summons, citation or accusation is personally served on the accused; a fine not exceeding $500 where the summons or citation is served by leaving a copy at the premises, mailing a copy to the owner and publishing notice; and each day a continuing violation lasts is a separate offense. The sound control administrator may issue warnings before or in place of citations (Sec. 16-309(a)(6)). Barking is covered by the same article (Sec. 16-304(b)). For noise at a short-term rental, the County runs an STR Complaint Hotline, 770-727-1051, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and strcomplaints@dekalbcountyga.gov. Aircraft noise from DeKalb-Peachtree Airport goes to the airport's noise office, pdknoise@dekalbcountyga.gov or the hotline 770-936-5442, which is not answered by a live person; the article itself excludes aircraft operations where federal rules preempt. General county information is at 404-371-2000, the Citizen Help Center. The article covers only the unincorporated areas, so inside a city contact that city. Sources: https://dekalbcountyga.gov/departments/public-safety/e-911-communications, https://dekalbcountyga.gov/departments/public-safety/police/contact-us, https://dekalbcountyga.gov/departments/code-compliance, https://epermits.dekalbcountyga.gov/submit-record, https://engagedekalb.dekalbcountyga.gov/short-term-rental, https://dekalbcountyga.gov/departments/airport/noise-program and https://dekalbcountyga.gov/residents/report-311.

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in DeKalb 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: the article applies to the unincorporated areas of the county (Sec. 16-301(a)), and Code Compliance says it works in unincorporated DeKalb County. It does not apply inside the county's cities, whose rules were not read for this page. The County's E-911 page lists Avondale Estates, Clarkston, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Stone Mountain, Stonecrest, Tucker, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Decatur, Doraville and Dunwoody in its service areas, along with the DeKalb County portions of Atlanta. Atlanta, whose noise map this page links, has its own noise ordinance (see the Atlanta page), which this page does not cover. (2) The night test is taken inside the listener's house with every window and door closed, with no distance and no meter. Words need not be made out, and the definition of sound says bass reverberations constitute sound (Sec. 16-302). (3) Apartments, condominiums, duplexes, triplexes and attached townhomes all count as multifamily dwellings, and for them the night rule is written for the common area, which the article defines to include hallways, stairwells, lobbies, parking lots, laundry rooms and yards. Sec. 16-303(b) does not mention sound heard inside a neighboring unit. (4) There is no general daytime limit at homes. Between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. the residential rules reach only animals, landscaping power tools, construction and alarm testing; fireworks have their own hours (Sec. 16-311). (5) Weekend yard work starts late: power tools for landscaping may not run before 9:01 a.m. on weekends (7:01 a.m. on weekdays) or after 9 p.m. on any day (Sec. 16-304(c)). (6) Construction, demolition and deliveries are barred all day on Sundays and on six named holidays, and Saturday work ends at 5 p.m. (Sec. 16-304(d)). (7) Air conditioners and pool filters are excluded from the night test, as are agricultural sound and sound from motor vehicles, which the article leaves to O.C.G.A. § 40-6-14(a) (Sec. 16-303(c)(10), (12), (14), (15)). That statute was not read for this page. (8) Commercial area and industrial area are defined by zoning: commercial includes property zoned O-I, O-I-T, C-2, O-D, NS and C-1 and property zoned OCR, excluding property used for residential use; industrial includes property zoned M-1 and M-2 (Sec. 16-302). The mixed-use limits add a C-weighted figure, 73 dB(C) by day. (9) Special administrative permits: the sound control administrator may grant temporary relief for no more than a total of 15 days within any one year if strict enforcement will result in unnecessary hardship; an application not decided within 30 days stands denied, and an appeal goes to the executive assistant, whose decision is final (Sec. 16-309(b), (e), (g)). (10) Fire drills may be held outside the alarm-testing limits no more than once a month, with prior notification to all properties within 250 feet of the property line where the testing will take place (Sec. 16-304(e)). (11) Fines have floors as well as ceilings: minimums of $200, $500 and $1,000, counted from the date of the first conviction (Sec. 16-310(b)). The general ceiling is a fine not exceeding $1,000, jail for up to 120 days, or both, where the accused was personally served, so the third-conviction minimum equals the top fine (Sec. 1-10(c)(2)). (12) A rewrite is pending, and this page describes the codified text only. Municode's code reads "Codified through Ordinance No. 2025-1606, enacted December 16, 2025. (Supp. No. 72)", with online content updated on September 2, 2026, and its Article VII still uses the plainly audible test at homes. Board file 2025-0015 would, by its own summary, establish daytime and nighttime sound regulations and "establish regulations based on decibel levels rather than plainly audible", adjust the hours for motorized lawn and yard equipment and add holiday restrictions. The committee's draft minutes of March 24, 2026 record a recommendation to defer it, due back on 4/14/2026, and its minutes of April 28, 2026 record it held in committee, due back on 5/12/2026. The April minutes also record that several versions of the ordinance existed, that members spoke for decibel meters, and a remark that police had asked to use the plainly audible method at night rather than meters. The files read for this row hold no later Board record, and Municode's list of adopted ordinances not yet codified (five, adopted 6/23/26 to 8/25/26) names no Chapter 16 ordinance. Whether the Board has since adopted the rewrite is not shown in those files, so check the County's legislation site before relying on this page. (13) Short-term rentals: the County's program page says short-term rental regulations in unincorporated DeKalb County went into effect on May 20, 2026, that all STRs must comply with the nuisance and noise regulations of Chapter 16, and that owners and agents may not advertise them for parties, weddings, concerts or similar events. (14) The landscaping, construction and alarm-testing hours are written for residential areas (Sec. 16-304) and mixed-use developments (Sec. 16-306(c) to (e)). The article sets no such hours for commercial and industrial areas, where the decibel limits and the night test apply (Sec. 16-305); the animal rule covers all of them (Secs. 16-304(b), 16-306(b)).

Document it before you report it

Some of DeKalb County's limits are measured numbers, so a reading can help, and a dated log counts either way. 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 Atlanta noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.