Noise ordinances › Fresno, CA

Fresno noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: September 20, 2026

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Quiet hours in Fresno

The article has no curfew of its own; its clock is in the ambient table of Sec. 10-102(b), which fixes the lowest level the ambient can be deemed to be: residential districts 50 dB from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., 55 dB from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., 60 dB from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; commercial districts 60 dB at night (10 p.m.–7 a.m.) and 65 dB by day; industrial 70 dB at any time. Because Sec. 10-106 makes anything more than 5 dB over the ambient a prima facie violation, the night floor of 50 dB is what makes 10:00 p.m. the practical start of quiet hours. Two firm windows sit in the exceptions and the amplifier rules: construction, repair, remodeling, site preparation and grading under a City permit are outside the article only between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. on any day except Sunday (10-109(a)), and registered loudspeakers and sound trucks on streets, sidewalks, parks and other public property may run only from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (10-108(f)(2)). The reasonable-person prohibition in 10-105 applies at any hour.

Decibel limits

Yes, but relative. Sec. 10-106: "Any noise or sound exceeding the ambient noise level at the property line of any person offended thereby, or, if a condominium or apartment house, within any adjoining living unit, by more than five decibels shall be deemed to be prima facie evidence of a violation." The ambient (10-102(b)) is a 15-minute average taken with the offending source silent, and it can never be deemed lower than the table: residential 50 dB (10 p.m.–7 a.m.), 55 dB (7–10 p.m.), 60 dB (7 a.m.–7 p.m.); commercial 60 dB (10 p.m.–7 a.m.), 65 dB (7 a.m.–10 p.m.); industrial 70 dB any time. Readings are A-weighted, slow response, referenced to 0.0002 microbar, on an ANSI S1.4 meter with an omnidirectional microphone about four feet above the ground, at least ten feet from walls and obstructions where possible, recorded at 15-second intervals for 15 minutes with and without the source and averaged (10-103, 10-104). Registered public-address systems may not exceed 15 decibels above the ambient at any property line (10-108(f)(3)). Beside the numbers, Sec. 10-105 prohibits any sound "which causes discomfort or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing or working in the area," naming amplified sound, animals, fans, pumps, air conditioners, engines and construction tools as covered sources. There is no plainly-audible distance test in the article.

What the ordinance actually says

Sec. 10-106: "Any noise or sound exceeding the ambient noise level at the property line of any person offended thereby, or, if a condominium or apartment house, within any adjoining living unit, by more than five decibels shall be deemed to be prima facie evidence of a violation of Section 8-305." (the cross-reference to Section 8-305 is as printed in the code)

Sec. 10-102(b): "Where the ambient noise level is less than that designated in this section, however, the noise level specified herein shall be deemed to be the ambient noise level for that location." Table: "Residential 10 pm to 7 am 50; Residential 7 pm to 10 pm 55; Residential 7 am to 7 pm 60; Commercial 10 pm to 7 am 60; Commercial 7 am to 10 pm 65; Industrial anytime 70" (sound level decibels).

Sec. 10-105: "No person shall make, cause, or suffer or permit to be made or caused upon any premises or upon any public street, alley, or place within the city, any sound or noise which causes discomfort or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing or working in the area, unless such noise or sound is specifically authorized by or in accordance with this article."

Sec. 10-109: "The provisions of this article shall not apply to: (a) Construction, repair or remodeling work accomplished pursuant to a building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, or other construction permit issued by the city or other governmental agency, or to site preparation and grading, provided such work takes place between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. on any day except Sunday. (b) Emergency work. (c) Any act or acts which are prohibited by any law of the State of California or the United States."

Sec. 10-108(f): "(2) The operation of such sound amplifying equipment shall only occur between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. each day. (3) No sound emanating from such sound amplifying equipment shall exceed fifteen decibels above the ambient noise as measured at any property line. (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (3) of this subsection, such sound amplifying equipment shall not be operated within two hundred feet of churches, schools or hospitals."

Sec. 10-104(e)(3): "Without the offending noise source in operation, set the microphone in a vertical position on the complaining party's property with the microphone head approximately four feet above the ground or floor. The operator shall face the noise source and record the meter's instantaneous response (reading) observed at fifteen second intervals for a period of fifteen minutes. The arithmetical average (mean) reading is interpreted as the ambient noise level of that sampling point."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Fresno Municipal Code, Chapter 10 "Regulations Regarding Public Nuisances and Real Property Conduct and Use," Article 1 "Noise Regulations" (the "Noise Ordinance of the City of Fresno"), Secs. 10-101 (title), 10-102 (definitions and the district/time ambient table), 10-103 (decibel measurement criteria), 10-104 (monitoring procedures), 10-105 (excessive noise prohibited), 10-106 (prima facie violation), 10-107 (schools, hospitals and churches), 10-108 (public address systems), 10-109 (exceptions), 10-110 (permits), 10-111 (injunction). Article repealed and re-added by Ord. 72-163 (1972); Sec. 10-105 last amended by Ord. 2014-16 (eff. 4-18-14). Text read on Municode (the City's code host, Supp. No. 54, codified through Ord. 2026-002) 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 Fresno

Per fresno.gov, City Attorney, Code Enforcement FAQs: for loud parties call the Fresno Police Department at (559) 621-7000; for construction noise call the Building and Safety Division at (559) 621-8084; for industrial or commercial noise call Neighborhood Revitalization at (559) 621-8400. The Police Department's "Neighborhood Nuisances" page says loud parties are not emergencies, so use the non-emergency line (559) 621-7000 rather than 9-1-1; the dispatcher will ask for the location, the number of people and whether other crimes are in progress, and you may ask that officers not contact you. Non-emergency city issues can also be logged 24/7 through 3-1-1, (559) 621-CITY (2489) or the FresGO app. The same FAQ says the City does not get involved in minor neighbor disputes such as barking dogs and suggests courteous communication first. A meter-based case under 10-106 needs the 15-minute readings of 10-104, which is inspector work, so a party is reported to police and a persistent mechanical or business source to Neighborhood Revitalization.

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Fresno. 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) Fresno has no absolute limit; the number is always ambient plus 5, and the table in 10-102(b) is a floor for the ambient, not a cap on the source. On a quiet street at 2 a.m. the floor of 50 dB gives an effective 55 dB limit; on a loud one the limit rises with the traffic. (2) The article dates from 1972 and shows it: Sec. 10-106 still says a violation of "Section 8-305," a section number from a superseded code, and the prohibition it means is 10-105. (3) Measurement is slow and formal, two 15-minute samples read every 15 seconds and averaged, so a party complaint is a police reasonable-person call under 10-105 in practice and the meter test is for fixed sources. (4) Construction is exempt only with a permit and only 7 a.m.–10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; Sunday work is never exempt, and an unpermitted job is not exempt at any hour (10-109(a)). (5) Loudspeakers in public places need a registration statement filed with the Controller five days ahead, may play only music or speech, only 7 a.m.–10 p.m., at no more than 15 dB over ambient, and never within 200 feet of a church, school or hospital (10-108). (6) The Chief Administrative Officer can permit otherwise-prohibited noise on a public-interest or hardship showing, weighing eight listed factors (10-110). (7) Sec. 10-107's protection for schools, churches and hospitals applies only where signs mark the institution. (8) A violation is declared a public nuisance abatable by injunction (10-111); the article does not restate a fine, which falls under the code's general penalty provisions. (9) The Municode client path changed to /ca/fresno/; older /ca/fresno_/ links redirect to the state landing page.

Document it before you report it

Fresno's limits are measured numbers, so a reading is direct evidence of how loud it really is. 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 Fresno noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.