Noise ordinances › Greensboro, NC

Greensboro noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: October 5, 2026

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Quiet hours in Greensboro

Greensboro has no single quiet-hours rule; separate clocks apply to separate sources. (1) The Residential Decibel Limits Table drops from 70 to 65 dB(C) (from 85 to 75 dB(C) in Mixed Use and PUD districts) for the nighttime band, 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (18-51). (2) From 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. no person, business or entity may use any sound amplification device, amplified musical instrument or sound reproduction device that creates or reproduces audible sound outside any building or structure (18-50.1(a)). Exceptions: restaurants and brewpubs may run a television set (using only its built-in speakers) or a music system with exterior speakers until 2:00 a.m. at no more than 70 dB(C), measured as close to the source as the officer can reasonably stand or reach (18-50.1(b)-(c)); drive-through intercoms are excluded (18-50.1(d)); other businesses such as convenience stores, truck stops, fuel stations and automobile sales or service businesses may use exterior music or outside televisions if the sound is not plainly audible beyond their property line, with no cut-off time stated (18-50.1(e)); and the 11:00 p.m. start does not apply on New Year's Eve, St. Patrick's Day, Independence Day and Halloween (the ban then starts at 2:00 a.m. the next day) or on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday before Memorial Day and before Labor Day, for which the text states no substitute start time (18-50.1(f)). (3) Erection, demolition, alteration or repair of any building, including excavation and grading, is barred from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. in a residential district and from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. in any other district, on any day of the week (18-50(h)). (4) Several exemptions are limited by the clock: yard and garden equipment (mowers, tillers, leaf blowers, edgers, weed eaters) is exempt only from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. (18-54(k)); entertainment venues seating 7,000 or more only from 7:00 a.m. until midnight (18-54(e)); supervised fireworks displays only from noon to 10:00 p.m., or until midnight on the Fourth of July (18-54(h)); and blasting and pile driving on government street projects only from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday (18-54(b)). Commercial street performers may not perform before 10:00 a.m. or after 11:00 p.m. (13-206(c)(9)). The general rule in 18-49 and the radio, television and musical-instrument rule in 18-50(b) carry no hours; time of day is the first factor listed for deciding whether a noise is unreasonably loud (18-49(a)).

Decibel limits

Yes, and they are C-weighted. Sec. 18-51 presumes a noise disturbance where the sound from any activity exceeds the Residential Decibel Limits Table "at a property boundary of the structure" used wholly or partly as a residential dwelling, by the zoning district of that structure: All Residential and TN districts, 70 dB(C) daytime (7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.) and 65 dB(C) nighttime (11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.); Mixed Use and PUD districts, 85 dB(C) daytime and 75 dB(C) nighttime. Where these limits conflict with any other section of the article, 18-51 supersedes. Sec. 18-52: sound is measured on the C-weighting scale with an ANSI-standard sound level meter set to slow response, with a windscreen, while the source is emitting sound, at or within the nearest residential property line occupied by the complainant (for apartments, condominiums and other buildings without clear boundary lines, at any point abutting the exterior of the complainant's unit); the operator takes four consecutive 30-second readings, and "Any decibel reading which exceeds the allowed decibel limits is a violation of this article." Meter operators must have special training, under minimum standards set by the chief of police (18-52(c)). Sec. 18-50.1(b)-(c) caps late-night (11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.) restaurant and brewpub televisions and exterior music at 70 dB(C), measured as close to the source as the officer can reasonably stand or reach. Article IV sets no A-weighted limit and no limit for sound received at commercial or industrial property. Without a meter: the general ban on any unreasonably loud or disturbing noise (18-49), the sixteen listed acts in 18-50, including vehicle sound systems "audible at a distance of thirty (30) feet" on a public street or highway or in the vehicle area of any public or private parking lot, park or drive-through (18-50(c)), and sound amplifiers on public property or public vehicular areas plainly audible at 30 feet, permitted protests and rallies excepted (18-50(o)-(p)); noncommercial loudspeakers may not be audible beyond 150 feet (18-53(a)). Sec. 18-52(d) also lets an officer judge whether a noise is "sufficiently loud or otherwise so offensive" by its volume, intensity, usual or unusual nature, natural or unnatural origin, the ambient noise and the area's zoning.

What the ordinance actually says

Sec. 18-49: "Except as set out in section 18-53 and otherwise notwithstanding any other provision of this article, it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to make, permit, continue, cause to be made, or to create any unreasonably loud or disturbing noise in the city which does annoy, disturb, injure, or endanger the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of persons or causes damage to property or business. Pursuant to G.S. § 14-4, any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a class 3 misdemeanor with a fine of fifty dollars ($50.00)."

Sec. 18-51: "A noise disturbance shall be presumed to exist where the sound or noise caused by any activity exceeds the maximum lawful decibel limits specified in the residential decibel limits table herein at a property boundary of the structure within the zoning districts shown below which is used, wholly or in part, as a residential dwelling." ... "Residential Decibel Limits Table | Zoning Districts | Daytime (7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.) | Nighttime (11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.) | All Residential, TN | 70 dB(C) | 65 dB(C) | Mixed Use, PUD | 85 dB(C) | 75 dB(C)"

Sec. 18-50.1(a): "Except as otherwise permitted under this article, it shall be unlawful between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of the following day for any person, business or entity to play, operate, use or cause to be played, operated or used, any sound amplification device, amplified musical instrument or sound reproduction device which creates or reproduces audible sound outside any building or structure."

Sec. 18-50(c): "Playing any radio, tape recorder, cassette player, compact disc, or other similar device for reproducing sound located on, or in, any motor vehicle on a public street, highway, or within, the motor vehicular area of any public or private parking lot or park, or drive through, if the sound generated is audible at a distance of thirty (30) feet from sound producing equipment."

Sec. 18-50(h): "Erection, demolition, alteration, or repair of any building (including excavation and grading), in a residential district between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of any day or in any district other than a residential district between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of any day."

Sec. 18-58(a)-(b): "The city shall issue a warning notice for the first violation of this article committed by any person. (b) Penalties. Any person who commits more than one (1) violation of this article shall be subject to a two hundred dollar ($200.00) civil penalty for the second violation and three hundred fifty dollars ($350.00) for a third violation. Any person who commits more than three (3) violations of this article, or two (2) violations of this article within one (1) year's time, shall be subject to a five hundred dollar ($500.00) civil penalty."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Greensboro, North Carolina, Code of Ordinances, Chapter 18 "Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions," Article IV "Offenses of Unreasonable or Disturbing Sound," Secs. 18-48 through 18-58.1 (enacted by Ord. No. 07-253, 11-5-07, which repealed the former noise sections 18-41 and 18-41.1; amended by Ord. No. 09-159 (9-15-09), Ord. No. 12-31 (4-16-12), Ord. No. 13-105 (7-16-13), Ord. No. 13-119 (9-17-13), Ord. No. 20-163 (12-15-20), Ord. of 10-3-22(2) and Res. No. 048-24 (2-20-24)): 18-48 intent, 18-49 unlawful noises and sounds, 18-50 unlawful noise producing activities (a) to (p), 18-50.1 outside sound-producing activities, 18-51 sounds impacting residential life (Residential Decibel Limits Table), 18-52 measurement of sound, 18-53 non-commercial free speech, 18-54 exceptions from the article, 18-55 enforcement responsibility, 18-56 noise enforcement officer, 18-57 interference with enforcement officer, 18-58 penalties, 18-58.1 owner and occupant responsibility; with Sec. 1-6 (each day a separate offense), Sec. 5-5 (nuisance animals, as amended by Ord. of 05-19-2026(3)) and Sec. 13-206 (commercial street performers). Text read on Municode (library.municode.com, the City's code host: "Codified through Ordinances of June 16, 2026. (Supp. No. 133, Update 1)"; Municode lists no uncodified Greensboro ordinances) on 2026-10-05.). Verified against the live code on 2026-10-05. 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 Greensboro

Per the Greensboro Police Department's "Connect with GPD" page on greensboro-nc.gov: "If you have an emergency CALL 9-1-1. To report something that is not an emergency, Call 336-373-2222." The GPD "I Want To..." page also says "For Non-emergencies or to report a hit-and-run traffic accident, please call 373-2222," but the same page, in its unwanted-weapon item, calls 336-373-1000 "GPD's non-emergency line"; the two numbers conflict, and 336-373-2222 is the one the department's contact page gives for non-emergency reports. Neither page mentions noise by name, and we found no separate City noise-complaint page or form. Under the code, the chief of police or a departmental designee has primary enforcement responsibility (18-55(a)); a noise enforcement officer acting as the chief's designee is charged with monitoring noise complaints (18-56(h)); any police officer "shall issue a citation" for a violation and may arrest only if the alleged violator refuses to give a name and address, refuses to stop after being cited, or interferes with the officer (18-55(b)). The first violation draws a warning notice and later ones civil penalties (18-58), and a citation or penalty can be appealed to a nonjudicial administrative hearing with the chief of police or a designee, requested within 30 days (18-58(b)). Sources: https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/departments/contact-us and https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/departments/police/i-want-to.

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Greensboro. 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) The limits are C-weighted (dB(C)), not A-weighted (dB(A)), so the figures cannot be compared directly with dB(A) limits; the article sets no dB(A) figure at all. (2) The 11:00 p.m. outdoor-amplification ban in 18-50.1 is not limited to businesses: it covers "any person, business or entity" and audible sound outside any building from any sound amplification or sound reproduction device, so it reaches a speaker in a private yard as well as on a business patio; businesses whose principal use is designated a restaurant or brewpub under the Land Development Ordinance get until 2:00 a.m. at 70 dB(C); the ban starts at 2:00 a.m. instead on four holidays, and the 11:00 p.m. start is lifted on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday before Memorial Day and before Labor Day. (3) Residential construction stops early, at 6:00 p.m., every day of the week, while construction in other districts runs to 10:00 p.m. (18-50(h)); street construction by or for a government agency on public streets is exempt if all equipment is run to the manufacturer's specifications with all legally required noise-reducing devices working, but its blasting and pile driving only from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday (18-54(b)). (4) Penalties run on two tracks. Civil: a warning notice for the first violation, $200 for the second and $350 for the third, and $500 for "more than three (3) violations of this article, or two (2) violations of this article within one (1) year's time" (as written), plus injunctive relief or abatement against anyone who willfully commits three or more violations in a year (18-58(b)). Criminal: violating 18-49, or interfering with an officer taking measurements (18-57), is a class 3 misdemeanor with a fine of fifty dollars, and so is causing any violation of the article on or at a commercial establishment, or being the person in charge of and physically present at one (18-58.1(a)) (all amended by Res. No. 048-24, 2-20-24); each day is a separate offense (1-6). (5) Bars and other commercial establishments: it is no defense for the person in charge that a tenant, guest, invitee, permittee or licensee caused the violation (18-58.1(a)); an absent owner is liable only for civil remedies, including an order to stop all outside sound or close for 24 hours (18-58.1(b)), except that an owner who had prior notice of each preceding violation can be charged with a class 3 misdemeanor for violations within a 24-hour period whether present or not (18-58.1(c), which reads "causing a violations of this article within a 24-hour period of time"); and where a commercial establishment's violation is an imminent danger to public health or safety, the noise enforcement officer may order all outside sound-producing activities stopped at once and close an establishment that does not comply for 24 hours (18-58(c)). (6) Exemptions in 18-54 include emergency and utility restoration work; activities of, or specifically authorized by, the State or federal government and of public or private schools, expressly not including collegiate fraternities or sororities; non-amplified crowd noise from religious activities and from entertainment or sports activities organized and conducted by churches; church, synagogue, temple and mosque bells, chimes and calls to services; generators and water pumps during power outages; government utility and sanitation vehicles; and permitted parades, festivals and events and authorized park uses in the downtown business district. (7) Free speech: noncommercial loudspeakers and amplifiers need no permit but may not be audible beyond 150 feet (18-53), and the 30-foot amplifier rules exempt protests and rallies permitted under chapter 26, article IX (18-50(o)-(p)); advertising loudspeakers on vehicles are banned outright (18-50(m)), and street vendors may not use any sound device to attract attention (18-50(n)). Commercial street performers may use small, portable, self-powered amplification despite 18-50 but must otherwise follow Article IV (13-206(c)(11)). (8) Drafting points: 18-50 declares its listed acts violations "of section 18-48," which is the article's intent section (the prohibition itself is 18-49); 18-50(c) uses "audible" at 30 feet for vehicle sound systems while 18-50(o)-(p) use "plainly audible" at 30 feet; and 18-50.1(f) lifts the 11:00 p.m. start for the Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend nights without saying when the ban begins instead. (9) Animals: 18-50(d) covers any animal or bird whose frequent or long continued noise disturbs persons in the vicinity, and Sec. 5-5(2)e separately makes it a public nuisance to allow an animal to bark, whine, howl, crow or cackle in a long-continued or frequent fashion so as to interfere with the reasonable use and enjoyment of neighboring premises.

Document it before you report it

Greensboro'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 Greensboro noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.