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Noise ordinances › Hialeah, FL
Hialeah noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints
Hialeah, FL regulates noise under Code of Ordinances. Quiet hours: 10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. for construction, drilling and repair tools; music has no set hours. 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 Hialeah 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. for construction, drilling and repair tools; music has no set hours |
|---|---|
| Limit type | No general dB limit — audibility / nuisance standard |
| Headline limit | No general decibel limit. Hialeah's three-section noise article bans radios, televisions, instruments and other sound devices that create a "noise disturbance" beyond the boundaries of the property in a residential neighborhood or a mixed commercial and residential neighborhood, meaning sound that is or may be harmful to health or welfare, or that unreasonably interferes with a reasonable person's enjoyment of life or property; the code sets no distance or plainly audible test |
| Official code | Code of Ordinances |
Quiet hours in Hialeah
The noise article sets one time band: operating, or causing the operation of, tools or equipment used in construction, drilling or repair work between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. is listed as a violation "which shall be presumed a nuisance" (Sec. 58-47(b)). The code gives no separate weekend or holiday hours and no daytime limit for that work. Radios, televisions, instruments and other sound devices (58-47(a)) have no quiet hours at all: a noise disturbance beyond the property boundary in a residential or mixed commercial and residential neighborhood is a violation at any hour. Elsewhere the code sets operating hours for particular uses rather than noise hours (for example, mechanical car washes may operate only from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Sec. 98-1898(6)); and private solid waste collectors may collect only between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and not between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. or on Sundays, a limit that applies only in areas within 300 feet of residential property (Sec. 78-164(c)).
Decibel limits — or rather, the lack of them
None. Secs. 58-46 through 58-48 contain no decibel figure, no measurement procedure and no distance test, and a full-text search of the Code of Ordinances on Municode (which includes the Land Development Code) returns no hits for "decibel", "dBA" or "plainly audible". The test is the "noise disturbance" defined in Sec. 58-46: "any sound in quantities that is or may be potentially harmful or injurious to human health or welfare, or that unreasonably interferes with the enjoyment of life or property of a reasonable person with normal sensibilities." Sec. 58-47(a) applies it only to sound devices (radio, television, tape, record, cd, dvd, musical instrument or other device that produces, reproduces or amplifies sound) whose noise disturbance reaches beyond the physical boundaries of the property, and only in a residential neighborhood or a mixed-use neighborhood of commercial and residential zoning districts. Other noise falls under narrower rules: the general nuisance ban in Sec. 58-5, which requires something that interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property of a reasonable person "and which affects at the same time an entire community or neighborhood or any considerable number of persons"; habitual animal noise (10-2(d)); "excessive unnecessary noise" in parks (62-17); the zoning rule that "Nothing shall be allowable on premises that shall in any way be offensive or noxious because of the emission of odors, gases, dirt, smoke, vibration or noise" (98-413(7)); and the licensing rule that an entertainment establishment be "completely soundproof so that no noise from the operation may be heard from outside" (18-238).
What the ordinance actually says
Sec. 58-46: "Noise disturbance means any sound in quantities that is or may be potentially harmful or injurious to human health or welfare, or that unreasonably interferes with the enjoyment of life or property of a reasonable person with normal sensibilities."
Sec. 58-47(a): "Operating, playing or permitting the operation or playing of any radio, television, tape, record, cd, dvd, musical instrument or other machine or device for the producing, reproducing or amplifying of sound that creates a noise disturbance beyond the physical boundaries of property in a residential neighborhood or in a mixed-use neighborhood of commercial and residential zoning districts."
Sec. 58-47(b): "Operating or causing the operations of any tools or equipment used in construction, drilling or repair work between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., which shall be presumed a nuisance."
Sec. 10-2(d): "It is unlawful for any animal owner to permit any animal in the city to cause annoyance, alarm or otherwise unreasonably disturb others by habitually howling, yelping whining, barking, screeching, braying or making other noises."
Sec. 1-11: "Except where a specific penalty is imposed by state law or local building codes, a violation of any provision of an ordinance or any section of this Code is a civil infraction carrying a maximum civil penalty not to exceed $500.00. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation."
Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Code of Ordinances, City of Hialeah, Florida (the "Hialeah Code"), Chapter 58 "Offenses," Article V "Noise," Secs. 58-46 (definitions), 58-47 (violations) and 58-48 (exceptions) (Ord. No. 2001-39, § 1, 5-22-2001, which repealed and re-enacted Chapter 58; Secs. 58-49 to 58-65 reserved); with Sec. 58-5 (nuisances), Sec. 10-2(d) (animal noise), Sec. 62-17 (noise in parks), Sec. 18-238 (soundproofing of licensed entertainment establishments), Sec. 18-31 (special event permits), Sec. 78-164(c) (private collection hours), Sec. 98-413(7) (zoning: noxious noise), Sec. 98-1681 (food trucks), Sec. 98-1898 (car wash hours), Sec. 98-1561 (Factory Town Entertainment Subdistrict pilot program), Chapter 22 (code enforcement, Secs. 22-2, 22-181, 22-184 and 22-190 schedule of civil penalties) and Sec. 1-11 (general penalty). Text read on Municode (the City's code host; "Codified through Ordinance No. 2025-057, enacted June 24, 2025. (Supp. No. 44)") 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 Hialeah
No hialeahfl.gov page found names a noise-specific complaint line, and Article V names no enforcing agency. The Hialeah Police Department pages list "Emergency 911" and "Report a Non-Emergency 305-687-2525" (the same number is given for general information), and the City's Citizen Request Tracker says "For immediate response call 305-687-2525 - available 24 hours a day." Code violations go to the Code Compliance Division: phone (305) 883-5832, email codecompliance@hialeahfl.gov, in person or by mail at City Hall, 501 Palm Ave, 2nd Floor, Hialeah, FL 33010 (hours listed as Monday to Friday, 7:30 to 3:30; the reporting page also lists the first Saturday of the month, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., which the Code Compliance page does not), or the "Code Violation" form in the Citizen Request Tracker. The City's reporting page explains that under Florida law effective July 1, 2021, code enforcement cannot start an investigation based solely on an anonymous complaint, so complainants must give their name and address, unless the inspector believes the violation poses an imminent threat to public health, safety, welfare, or the destruction of habitat or sensitive resources. Under the code, a code inspector who has reasonable cause after personal investigation may issue a notice of civil violation (Sec. 22-181), and the schedule in Sec. 22-190 sets a $250 civil penalty for Chapter 58, Article V, "Noise control." Sources: https://www.hialeahfl.gov/267/Police, https://www.hialeahfl.gov/328/Police-Services, https://www.hialeahfl.gov/RequestTracker.aspx, https://www.hialeahfl.gov/967/Anonymous-Complaints-and-Code-Enforcemen and https://www.hialeahfl.gov/152/Code-Compliance.
Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Hialeah. 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) A very short law: the whole noise article is three sections enacted by Ord. No. 2001-39 in May 2001, and the history notes show no later amendment to them. It has no decibel numbers, no distances and no measurement method. (2) Narrow scope: Sec. 58-47(a) covers only sound devices, and only in residential neighborhoods or mixed commercial and residential neighborhoods; shouting, parties without amplification, or a device in a purely commercial or industrial area fall back on the general nuisance ban in Sec. 58-5, which requires an effect on "an entire community or neighborhood or any considerable number of persons". (3) The construction rule is a presumption, not a decibel cap: construction, drilling or repair work from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. "shall be presumed a nuisance" (58-47(b)); the code sets no daytime construction noise rule and no weekend hours. (4) Exceptions (58-48): sound alerting people to an emergency or made in emergency activities; noncommercial public speaking and assembly in a public space or right-of-way pursuant to lawful authority; aircraft movement under federal law; new products and interstate motor or rail carriers to the extent the federal Noise Control Act of 1972 preempts local regulation; and engines, generators, pumps, construction tools or other equipment for emergency use. (5) Penalties are civil: any code violation is a civil infraction with a maximum $500 civil penalty, each day a separate violation (Sec. 1-11); the Chapter 22 schedule sets $250 for the noise article (22-190), a repeat violation (the same violation by a violator found guilty of it within the last five years) doubles the penalty (22-2, 22-184(e)), and an "uncorrectable or irreparable violation" (a single prohibited act rather than an ongoing condition) is $500 per violation notwithstanding the schedule (22-184(c)); the code does not say which of these categories a given noise violation falls in. Chapter 58, Article I conduct other than Sec. 58-5 is $100 and Sec. 58-5 nuisances $250 on the same schedule. (6) Animals: owners may not let an animal habitually howl, yelp, whine, bark, screech or bray so as to unreasonably disturb others (10-2(d)); Chapter 10 violations other than 10-2(b) and (e) carry a $100 civil penalty (22-190). (7) Entertainment venues: no entertainment license may be issued unless the establishment is completely soundproof so that no noise from the operation may be heard from outside (18-238), and special event permit applications using amplified sound must include speaker locations and orientations and a noise attenuation plan (18-31(i)(2), Ord. No. 2022-003). (8) Factory Town Entertainment Subdistrict: under the pilot program in Sec. 98-1561 (Ord. No. 2019-029, amended by Ord. No. 2020-008), a conditional use approval comes with a light and noise attenuation plan that "shall control in the event of a conflict with the restrictions set forth in section 58-47(a)", and development orders for multifamily housing within the subdistrict must require that buyers, lessees and renters be told the property is near entertainment uses that could create light and noise; the section's own text says the pilot program terminates 180 days after approval unless extended by the council, and this research did not confirm its current status. (9) Parks: "No person entering or upon park and recreation areas shall make excessive unnecessary noise in violation of this Code" (62-17). (10) Food trucks on property zoned C-2, TOD or NBD may not use loud music, amplification devices, microphones, bullhorns, crying out or any other audible methods to gain attention (98-1681(d)(2)k.).
Document it before you report it
Hialeah 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 Hialeah noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.