Noise ordinances › Kansas City, MO

Kansas City noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: September 20, 2026

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Quiet hours in Kansas City

Night runs from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. in Table I (residential outdoor limit 55 dBA instead of 60, indoor 40 instead of 45; commercial receiving property is a flat 80 dBA outdoors and 52 dBA indoors around the clock) and in most of Sec. 46-5: powered saws, drills, sanders, grinders and lawn or garden tools may not run 10:00 p.m.–7:00 a.m. on residential property or within 250 feet of a residential line unless they stay within Table I (46-5(1)); loading, unloading and handling of boxes, crates, building materials or garbage cans may not cause a noise disturbance across a residential line in those hours (46-5(2)); portable sound systems on public space may be plainly audible up to 50 feet by day but only to the operator between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (46-5(3)); model vehicles and racing events may not disturb across a residential line at night (46-5(4)–(5)). Car stereos have their own clock: plainly audible at 50 feet is the limit from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and 25 feet from 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. (46-5(6)). Refuse and recycling trucks may not collect or compact within 500 feet of residential property between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., or in commercial areas between midnight and 5:00 a.m. (46-5(9)). Loud exhausts on streets posted 35 mph or less are a plainly-audible offense at 300 feet (350 feet over 10,000 lb) only between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (46-16(a)), and vehicles on private residential property are held to 90 dB by day and 55 dB at night (46-16(b)). Construction has no hours because it has no rule: Sec. 46-26(3) exempts "construction work" from the entire chapter.

Decibel limits

Yes. Table I (Sec. 46-4) gives A-weighted and octave-band limits by receiving property: residential property outdoors 60 dBA from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and 55 dBA from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., indoors 45 and 40 dBA; commercial receiving property 80 dBA outdoors and 52 dBA indoors at all hours; with a nine-band octave table alongside (residential daytime outdoors runs from 77 dB at 31.5 Hz to 40 dB at 8,000 Hz). Levels are equivalent continuous levels (Leq) over at least two minutes, or two minutes within a 30-minute period (46-3), and a reading is a violation only if it is more than 5 dB above the ambient measured at least 50 feet from the source; where the ambient cannot be isolated, the plainly-audible standard is used instead (46-4(d)). A commercial source inside a mixed-use development, entertainment district or urban renewal district within 250 feet of a home is judged by the commercial levels (Table I footnote). Two other numbers: a place of public entertainment seating fewer than 500 must post a hearing-damage warning if levels at any customer position exceed 85 dB(A) (46-5(8)), and a vehicle on private residential property may not exceed 90 decibels by day or 55 at night on a two-minute reading (46-16(b)). Data centers drawing 50 MW or more are exempt while under 80 dBA at their boundary (46-26(8)). The unmetered rules sit beside the table: noise louder than needed for the voluntary listeners in the room, vehicle or chamber, or plainly audible across a residential property line 50 feet or more from the source, violates Sec. 46-4(b) at any hour, and "plainly audible" expressly includes the rhythmic bass of music without identifying the song (46-3).

What the ordinance actually says

Sec. 46-4(a): "No person shall make, cause, suffer, continue, allow or permit the operation of any source of sound on any receiving property in such a manner as to create a sound level that equals or exceeds the sound level limits set forth in table I, when measured at the real property boundary or within the real property lines of any of the receiving properties listed in table I."

Sec. 46-4(b): "No person shall make, cause, suffer, continue, allow or permit the operation of any source of sound that disturbs the peace, quiet and comfort of the neighboring residential inhabitants at any time with louder volume than is necessary for convenient hearing for the persons who are in the room, vehicle or chamber in which the noise is generated and who are voluntary listeners, nor shall a person make a noise that is plainly audible across a residential property line 50 feet or more from the source of the noise."

Sec. 46-4(d): "Ambient noise. It shall not be a violation of this article unless the sound measured is at least more than five decibels, db or db(A), above ambient noise. Ambient noise shall be measured no closer than 50 feet from the source of the sound or measured at the outside wall of a building adjacent to the public right-of-way or public space from which the sound originates. If a sound cannot be excluded for an ambient reading, including due to a potential violator's failure to cooperate, a plainly audible standard may be used."

Sec. 46-3: "Plainly audible means any sound that can be detected by a person using his or her unaided hearing faculties of normal acuity. As an example, if the sound source under investigation is a portable or vehicular sound amplification or reproduction device, the detection of the rhythmic bass component of the music is sufficient to verify plainly audible sound. The noise control officer or police officer need not determine the title, specific words, or the artist performing the song."

Sec. 46-5(6): "Vehicular stereos. a. Daytime. Vehicular music amplification or reproduction equipment shall not be operated in such a manner that is plainly audible at a distance of 50 feet in any direction from the operator or sound source between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. b. Nighttime. Vehicular music amplification or reproduction equipment shall not be operated in such a manner that it is plainly audible at a distance of 25 feet in any direction from the operator or sound source between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m."

Sec. 46-5(1): "Domestic power tools. No person shall operate or permit the operation of any mechanically or electrically-powered saw, drill, sander, grinder, lawn or garden tool, or similar device used in a residential district between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on a residential property or within 250 feet of a residential real property boundary (when operated on commercial or light-industrial property), unless such activities do not exceed the limits set forth in table I of section 46-4 above."

Sec. 46-26: "The provisions of the noise code shall not apply to: (1) The emission of sound for the purpose of alerting persons to the existence of an emergency; (2) The emission of sound in the performance of emergency work; (3) Construction work, as defined in section 46-3; (4) The unamplified human voice; (5) Interstate railway locomotives and cars; ..."

Sec. 46-39(b): "The administrative citation fine amount for a first violation under the provisions of this chapter shall be $100.00 and each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense for which the violator may be fined."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Code of Ordinances of Kansas City, Missouri, Chapter 46 "Noise Control": Article I In General, Secs. 46-1 (title), 46-2 (findings), 46-3 (definitions, including "plainly audible," Leq and "noise disturbance"), 46-4 (prohibited noise generally, Table I maximum permissible sound levels), 46-5 (specific prohibitions: power tools, loading, portable and vehicular sound systems, alarms, places of public entertainment, refuse vehicles), 46-6 (methods of measurement); Article II Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles, Secs. 46-16 through 46-20; Article III, Secs. 46-26 (exceptions), 46-27 (special permits), Division 2 Penalties, Abatement and Other Remedies, Secs. 46-36 through 46-49 (administration by the director of health, abatement orders, administrative citations and hearings), and Sec. 46-50 (penalty). The chapter was rewritten by Ord. No. 150190 (5-7-15) and amended by Ord. No. 160213 (5-19-16, vehicle article), 190504 (6-27-19, data centers), 220053 (1-27-22, administrative citations) and 221049 (12-15-22). Text read on Municode (the City's code host) 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 Kansas City

Per kcmo.gov (311 and Health Department pages): contact 311 for complaints about noise; call 311 or 816-513-1313, Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m., report through the myKCMO app or website, or e-mail 311 (reply within 24–48 business hours). The noise control program is administered by the director of the Kansas City Health Department (Sec. 46-36), whose noise control officers take the meter readings (46-6) and issue abatement orders and administrative citations (46-38, 46-39): $100 for a first violation, $100–$300 for a second, $300–$500 for a third and $500–$1,000 for a fourth within twelve months, each day a separate offense, with an unpaid fine doubling once. A party or car stereo in progress is a police matter: the Kansas City Police Department's non-emergency line is 816-234-5111 (kcpolice.org: "NON-EMERGENCY: 816-234-5111"); police also enforce the plainly-audible rules, which need no meter (46-16(a)).

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Kansas City. 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) Construction is exempt from the whole noise code (46-26(3)), and "construction" is defined broadly to include site preparation, repair, alteration and demolition of rights-of-way, structures and utilities; Chapter 46 gives a neighbor no hours to hold a builder to. (2) The table is a floor, not a trigger: a reading has to beat the ambient by more than 5 dB as well as exceed Table I, so on a loud street the effective limit rises; and the ambient itself is measured at least 50 feet from the source (46-4(d)). (3) Two standards run in parallel and the unmetered one is broader: 46-4(b) treats any music plainly audible 50 feet across a residential line as a violation, day or night, and the definition lets an officer verify it by the bass alone. (4) The downtown loop (Missouri River to the Kansas City Terminal Railway tracks, State Line to Troost) is defined as both "commercial property" and "mixed use development" (46-3), and a bar within 250 feet of a home in a mixed-use or entertainment district is judged by the 80 dBA commercial levels rather than the 60/55 residential ones (Table I footnote). (5) Car-stereo distances shrink at night (50 feet to 25 feet) and the night for stereos ends at 8:00 a.m., an hour later than the rest of the chapter (46-5(6)). (6) Loud exhausts on the street are an offense only at night and only where the speed limit is 35 mph or less (46-16(a)); by day the vehicle rules apply on private residential property, where a two-minute reading of 90 dB is allowed (46-16(b)). (7) Venues under 500 seats may run above 85 dB(A) if they post "WARNING: SOUND LEVELS WITHIN MAY CAUSE PERMANENT HEARING IMPAIRMENT" at each entrance (46-5(8)). (8) Alarms must stop within 15 minutes (46-5(7)); refuse trucks are barred 8:00 p.m.–7:00 a.m. near homes and midnight–5:00 a.m. in commercial areas, enforceable by time-stamped photos and video (46-5(9)). (9) The 2019 data-center exemption (46-26(8)) and the 2022 administrative-citation scheme (46-39 to 46-49, replacing court penalties as the default) are recent; the octave-band table is unusual for a US city ordinance.

Document it before you report it

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