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Jacksonville noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: August 11, 2026

Quiet hours in Jacksonville

Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, Sec. 4.101, defines "Daytime hours: 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m." and "Nighttime hours: 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m." Between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. the permitted sound level at a receiving residential or noise-sensitive property drops: noise reaching Class A (noise-sensitive) or Class B (residential) land may not exceed 55 dBA from Class A, B or C land, or 60 dBA from Class D land, versus a daytime allowance of 55/55/60/65 dBA. Construction is separately barred at night: Rule 4.209(A) says "No person shall operate or permit the operation of construction or maintenance equipment during nighttime hours excluding:" two carve-outs. The first is generators, mudhogs and well point pumps that do not exceed 60 dBA. The second is permitted concrete placement, in two variants: on a development site of at least five acres where no construction equipment runs within 250 metres of occupiable Class A or B land, or, on any permitted site, where no construction equipment runs both before 3:00 a.m. and within 150 metres of occupiable Class A or B land, so a pour closer than 150 metres cannot begin until 3:00 a.m. while equipment kept beyond 150 metres may run earlier in the night, subject to nine extra conditions (broadband white-noise backup alarms before 7 a.m., no pump-truck horn signalling, no airing off, staging away from homes, routing trucks away from residences, 48-hour written notice to occupiable Class A or B land within 250 metres, a copy of that notice to airresponse@coj.net, on-site signage, and a 24-hour complaint hotline reporting to the Division within 24 hours). Rule 4.209(B) separately allows staging (not operating) golf course landscaping equipment from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. at up to 60 dBA. During the day, construction and maintenance equipment may not exceed 65 dBA at a complainant's property line in Class A or Class B land, or 75 dBA in Class C or Class D land (4.209(C)). A stricter 9 p.m. curfew applies to yard and small-motor equipment: Rule 4.215(B) prohibits operating leaf or trash blowers and lawn maintenance equipment between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and Rule 4.210(E) bars operating or testing any motorized unit, including an outboard or inboard motor, chain saw or lawn maintenance equipment, between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

Decibel limits

Jacksonville sets real numeric limits, but they live in Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, not in the ordinance itself: Sec. 368.202 fixes the maximum permissible level at "the general levels fixed in the rules of the Board." Rule 4.201 sorts all land into classes by Standard Land Use Coding Manual (SLUCM) code. Only Class A is given a name in the rule, "CLASS A land (Noise Sensitive Areas)"; Class B is defined by a code list that begins with 110 (household units) and is in practice the residential class, Class C by a list of commercial-type codes and Class D by a list of industrial-type codes. A violation occurs if EITHER the A-weighted (dBA) limit OR the separate octave-band table is exceeded, so bass-heavy music can violate the low-frequency rows even when the overall dBA reading looks compliant. Receiving Class A land (Rule 4.202): daytime 55 dBA from Class A or B land, 60 from Class C, 65 from Class D; nighttime 55 from Class A, B or C, 60 from Class D. Receiving Class B (residential) land (Rule 4.203): daytime 55/55/60/65 dBA from Class A/B/C/D; nighttime 55/55/55/60 dBA. Receiving Class C land (Rule 4.204): 60 dBA from Class A or B, 65 dBA from Class C or D. Receiving Class D land (Rule 4.205): 70 dBA from any class. Nighttime octave-band caps protecting Class A or B land run, for example, 72 dB at 31.5 Hz, 65 dB at 125 Hz, 51 dB at 500 Hz and 45 dB at 1000 Hz when the source is on Class A, B or C land. Impulsive sound such as pile driving, blasting or emptying a dumpster has its own table (4.208): to Class A or B receiving land the cap is 55 dBA in every case; to Class C or D receiving land it is 65 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime from Class A or B land, and 75 dBA at any hour from Class C or D land. Source-specific caps: construction/maintenance by day 65 dBA (Class A/B) or 75 dBA (Class C/D) (4.209(C)); air conditioning, air handling or refrigeration equipment 60 dBA at a Class A or Class B property line (4.213); vehicle repair work on Class A or B land 60 dBA day / 55 dBA night (4.214); leaf or trash blowers 80 dBA at a complainant's property line, and only between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (4.215(A)); parking-lot sweeping and trash removal 65 dBA (7 a.m.-9 p.m.) / 55 dBA (9 p.m.-7 a.m.) (4.216); public address systems 60 dBA day and night in every class (4.217); motorboats measured at the complainant's shoreline 75 dBA day / 55 dBA night (4.210(C)); powered model vehicles banned outright within 100 metres of Class A or B land (4.210(D)); alarms and sirens may not sound continuously for more than 15 minutes or exceed 60 dBA at the complainant's property line (4.210(A)); vehicle-mounted refrigeration units 55 dBA at night at a Class A or B complainant's property line (4.301(C)); off-highway motorcycles and motor driven cycles 65 dBA (Class A/B) or 75 dBA (Class C/D) by day, 55/65 dBA at night (4.303); motor racing facilities 65 dBA 7 a.m.-10 p.m. and 55 dBA 10 p.m.-7 a.m. in Class A and Class B land, with no race or qualification heat started after 10:00 p.m. (4.401(D), 4.403). Rule 4.103(D) fixes where the reading is taken: at the complainant's property line or any right-of-way or public land, never closer than ten feet to the source; Sec. 368.203 puts it "at or within the real property boundary of the receiving land use."

What the ordinance actually says

Sec. 368.201: "No person shall make or continue or cause to be made or continued, except as permitted by this Chapter, a noise disturbance or a noise in excess of the standards for noise established in the rules of the Board."

Sec. 368.202: "With the exception of sound levels specifically authorized by the rules of the Board, the maximum permissible sound levels allowed at or within the real property boundary of a receiving land use shall not exceed the general levels fixed in the rules of the Board."

Sec. 368.203: "The measurement of sound shall be made with a sound-level meter meeting the standards prescribed in the rules of the Board. Recorded measurements shall be taken so as to provide a proper representation of the noise source. The measurement of sound levels shall be made at or within the real property boundary of the receiving land use."

EPB Rule 4, Sec. 4.101(H) and (AA): "Daytime hours: 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m." / "Nighttime hours: 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m."

EPB Rule 4, Sec. 4.203(B): "Except as specified elsewhere in this Rule, no person shall cause, allow or permit the emission of sound during nighttime hours from any noise source located on any Class A, Class B, Class C or Class D land to any receiving Class B land when measured within such Class B receiving land which exceeds either of the following:"

EPB Rule 4, Sec. 4.103(D): "All noise violations shall be established at the property line of the complainant or at any right-of-way or public land, but in no case shall the distance from the point of measurement to the actual source be less than ten (10) feet."

EPB Rule 4, Sec. 4.209(A): "No person shall operate or permit the operation of construction or maintenance equipment during nighttime hours excluding:"

EPB Rule 4, Sec. 4.215: "No person shall operate or permit the operation of a leaf or trash blower that emits noise exceeding 80 dBA at any complainant's property line, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m." / "The operation of leaf or trash blowers and lawn maintenance equipment between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. is prohibited."

EPB Rule 4, Sec. 4.210(E): "No person shall operate or test or permit the operating or testing of any motorized unit, i.e. outboard or inboard motor, chain saw or lawn maintenance equipment in Class A, Class B, Class C, or Class D lands between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m."

EPB Rule 4, Sec. 4.206(B): "Operate only between the hours of 9 am and 11 pm;" / "Not exceed 75 dB(A) at the complainant's property line; and"

Sec. 250.113: "It shall be unlawful and a class D offense for any person licensed or required to be licensed pursuant to this Chapter to use any sound amplifier, loud speaker, radio, or any similar instrument or device which can be heard for a distance greater than 50 feet while engaged in activities regulated by this Chapter. This prohibition shall not apply to street vendors."

Sec. 250.602(a)(1): "By means of any outcry, sound, speaker or amplifier, or any instrument or device which can be heard for a distance greater than 300 feet, or when passing a hospital."

Sec. 123.205: "Not creating noise which is frequent, habitual, or long, and plainly audible at a distance of 100 feet from the area where the individual is located;"

Sec. 368.302(a): "Makes or continues or causes to be made or continued a noise disturbance or a noise in excess of the standards for noise established under the rules of the Board;" ... "May be administratively or judicially assessed a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Jacksonville, FL Ordinance Code, Title X (Environmental Affairs), Chapter 368 "Noise Control" (Municode, codified through Ordinance No. 2026-151-E, enacted March 24, 2026; Supp. No. 6, Update 1, posted online July 2026) - Part 1 General Provisions, Secs. 368.101-368.109 (368.101 legislative findings; 368.102 exercise of County powers, application throughout the General Services District; 368.103 short title, the Jacksonville Noise Control Ordinance; 368.104 definitions of noise, noise disturbance, noise pollution; 368.105 exceptions; 368.106 Board rulemaking authority; 368.107 adoption of ANSI S1.4-1983 / S1.1-1994 meter standards; 368.108 Chapter 360 applicable; 368.109 Metropolitan Park special-event sound standard); Part 2 Noise Disturbances, Secs. 368.201 (unlawful noises prohibited), 368.202 (maximum permissible sound levels), 368.203 (measurement of sound at the receiving property boundary); Part 3 Enforcement, Secs. 368.301 (criminal penalties, class D offense), 368.302 (civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation), 368.303 (assessment and recovery), 368.304 (variances), 368.305 (appeals). The numeric limits themselves are set by Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, "Noise Pollution Control," adopted under Secs. 368.106, 368.201, 368.202 and 73.102: Part I general provisions (4.101 definitions including daytime/nighttime hours, 4.102 prohibition, 4.103 measurement procedures, 4.104 variances, 4.105 appeals, 4.106-4.107 penalties and enforcement, 4.108 severability), Part II land-use sound limits (4.201 land classification by SLUCM code, 4.202-4.205 dBA and octave-band limits by receiving/emitting class, 4.206-4.207 Class E amplified-music permit, 4.208 impulsive sound, 4.209 construction and maintenance, 4.210 prohibited sound emissions, 4.211 refuse service/dumpster collection, 4.212 exceptions, 4.213 air conditioning and refrigeration, 4.214 vehicle work, 4.215 leaf blowers and lawn equipment, 4.216 parking lot cleaning, 4.217 public address systems), Part III motor vehicles (4.301-4.304), Part IV motor racing facilities (4.401-4.403). Rule 4 amended 04/20/2026, effective May 11, 2026 (signed by Adam Hoyles, Chair, at the April 20, 2026 regular Board meeting). Related: Sec. 250.113 (excessive noise by Chapter 250 licensees), Sec. 250.602 (street vendors), Sec. 123.205 (motion photography production permits), Sec. 656.401 (zoning performance standard, auto laundries).). Verified against the live code on 2026-08-11. 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 Jacksonville

Call the city's complaint line at 630-CITY (904-630-2489) or file online through MyJax (myjax.custhelp.com); noise complaints are routed to the Environmental Quality Division (Office of Administrative Services), where Air Quality Branch staff handle noise and take the sound level meter readings. The division's published contact address for air, odor and noise matters is airresponse@coj.net, and Rule 4.209 requires nighttime construction contractors running under the concrete-placement carve-out to operate a 24-hour complaint hotline and report complaints to the division within 24 hours. Complaints can be filed anonymously, but the city warns that for noise and odor concerns staff may need a name associated with the address. For a disturbance happening right now, especially at night, residents call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office non-emergency line at 904-630-0500; Rule 4.107 gives any City law enforcement officer authority to write a citation for failure to comply with any part of the rule.

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Jacksonville. For the general playbook — documenting the problem, talking to a landlord or HOA, when 311 beats 911 — see the noise complaints guide.

Worth knowing

The structure is the biggest trap: Chapter 368 sets no general numeric limit at all. It delegates every everyday limit to Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board Rule 4, which was amended 04/20/2026 and took effect May 11, 2026, so any summary written before mid-2026 may be stale (the 2026 amendment restated Rule 4.201, the Class A tables in 4.202 and the impulsive-sound table in 4.208). The one place numbers do appear in the chapter itself is Sec. 368.109, the Metropolitan Park special-event standard. Drafting gap worth knowing: in the adopted May 2026 Rule 4 PDF the daytime octave-band table at 4.202(A)(1) (sound emitted to Class A land during daytime hours) is printed blank, so the daytime octave-band figures for noise-sensitive receiving land are simply absent from the current official text; the daytime dBA table below it and every nighttime table are intact. Jurisdiction: Sec. 368.102 makes the chapter an exercise of the City's county powers applying "throughout the General Services District" (consolidated Jacksonville/Duval County), but the separately incorporated beach municipalities also keep their own, differently drafted noise chapters. Jacksonville Beach, for example, has its own Chapter 18 (NOISE) built on a plainly-audible test, so a reader at the beaches is under a second and quite different standard. Permit regimes: a not-for-profit establishment wanting live or recorded amplified music can apply for a Class E Land Use permit, which then allows music only between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. and up to 75 dB(A) at the complainant's property line, and cannot be sited adjacent to Class A or Class B land without the neighbor's written consent (Rule 4.206, 4.207); nighttime dumpster collection within 200 metres of Class A or B land needs a Board permit (Rule 4.211); variances are available under Sec. 368.304 / Sec. 360.111 and the city publishes the approved variance orders in effect. Special events at Metropolitan Park drawing 500 or more people with amplified sound run under a separate standard in Sec. 368.109: up to 105 dB(A) measured as a five-minute time-average (Leq 5min) no more than 100 feet perpendicular from the stage at the sound board, with permitted hours set by day of week and a graduated fine schedule, and it expressly governs, supersedes and controls any inconsistent provision of Chapter 368 and Rule 4 for those events. Exemptions in Sec. 368.105 and Rule 4.212 are broad: the unamplified human voice, unamplified carillons/bells/chimes, emergency work, farm activity under the Florida Right to Farm Act, sport shooting ranges under F.S. 823.16, safety relief valves and rupture discs, and commercial water-borne, mass transit, air and rail transportation (railroad switching yards excepted). Rule 4.212 adds one the ordinance does not: fireworks or outdoor musical entertainment permitted under Chapter 191, Part 2 is exempt from all of Part II of the rule. Motor racing facilities get their own Part IV and are exempt from Parts II and III. Motor vehicle noise on public roads is largely a state matter; the chapter's own footnote cross-references F.S. §§ 316.293 and 403.415 et seq. and F.A.C. Ch. 62-18. Audibility rules do exist in the code, but none of them reach an ordinary resident: Sec. 250.113 makes it a class D offense for a person licensed under Chapter 250 (peddlers, transient merchants, auctioneers and similar) to use a sound amplifier or similar device "which can be heard for a distance greater than 50 feet," street vendors excepted; Sec. 250.602 covers those street vendors separately at 300 feet, dropping to 50 feet before 9:00 a.m. on weekdays; and Sec. 123.205 conditions a motion photography production permit on noise not being "plainly audible at a distance of 100 feet." There is also one stray numeric standard in the Zoning Code: Sec. 656.401 caps motorized equipment at an auto laundry at 60 dBA measured at the property line. Penalties: civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation, each day a separate offense (Sec. 368.302); criminal exposure is a class D offense punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or not more than 90 days in jail, or both (Sec. 368.301), and Rule 4.106 routes any citation written by a City law enforcement officer through that class D track.

Document it before you report it

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