Noise ordinances › Loudoun County, VA

Loudoun County noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: November 9, 2026

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Quiet hours in Loudoun County

The general rule in Section 654.02 has no clock: sound that is audible and discernible inside another person's residential dwelling, with that dwelling's doors and windows closed, is prohibited at any hour (§ 654.02(c)). The section then lists acts that are violations at set times (§ 654.02(d)): the collection of refuse, waste or recycling in residential areas or within 100 yards of a residence between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.; power lawn or landscaping equipment between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.; powered model vehicles outdoors between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.; and construction, demolition or maintenance activities that produce sound between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., or until 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays. Instruments, machines and devices for producing or reproducing sound are in violation at any hour when plainly audible to someone other than the players, operators and voluntary listeners and plainly audible and discernable 100 feet or more from the source; between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., being plainly audible at 100 feet is prima facie evidence of a violation, meaning it is enough on its face unless rebutted (§ 654.02(d)(5)). Golf course maintenance with power lawn or landscaping equipment is exempt between 5:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (§ 654.02(e)(2)). The animal noise rule has no clock: ten minutes or more of howling, barking or other sounds audible and discernible inside another person's home with doors and windows closed (§ 612.19(a)(5)). The Zoning Ordinance's decibel limits apply at all times of day and night (§ 7.05.03.D), and for uses that have use-specific standards in Chapter 4 of that ordinance, outdoor music is not permitted after 11:00 p.m. unless the use's own standard provides otherwise (§ 7.05.03.F.3).

Decibel limits

Section 654.02 sets no decibel limit. Its tests are whether sound is audible (it can be heard by the human ear, with or without a medically approved hearing aid or device) and discernible (sufficiently distinct to clearly identify its source) inside another person's home with doors and windows closed, or, for sound devices, plainly audible at 100 feet. The decibel limits are in a separate law, the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance, § 7.05.03, which the County's Zoning Enforcement staff apply. Table 7.05.03-1 sets maximum A-weighted levels by the receiving development, the same at all times of day and night: residential and rural economy uses 55 dB(A); mixed-use residential 60 dB(A); commercial, civic and institutional uses 65 dB(A); industrial uses 70 dB(A). Mixed-use residential means a dwelling unit in the TRC, TC, PD-MUB and PUD zoning districts (§ 7.05.03.B). Measurement (§ 7.05.03.C): an integrating sound level meter that meets or exceeds American National Standard Institute S1.43-1997 for Type 1 meters, set to FAST, over 15 seconds (or another period from 10 seconds to 1 minute); a minimum of 3 samples, taken only when the sound can be clearly heard and identified without extraneous sounds such as passing traffic; and the arithmetic average of the samples must comply with the table. Samples are taken from the point on the receiving lot line closest to the source, with the microphone 5 feet above grade; for mixed-use residential they are taken at the nearest dwelling unit, at an open window, door or other aperture facing the source. The table does not apply to (§ 7.05.03.E): aircraft sounds; activities listed in § 654.02(e) of the Codified Ordinances, except that commercial indoor firearm ranges stay under the table and outdoor public address systems at public schools fall under § 7.05.03.F; power equipment such as power lawn mowers and chain saws, and construction, demolition and maintenance activities; generators and accessory equipment operating during an emergency or at the request of a utility, and the testing of those generators; air conditioner condensers for single-family attached and detached dwellings; and utilities and public uses such as utility substations and transmission lines, sanitary landfills, and public sewer and water. It also does not apply to extraction and mining uses, or between multiple uses in the same building or on the same lot unless the receiving property is mixed-use residential (§ 7.05.03.A.2). For uses with use-specific standards in Chapter 4 of the Zoning Ordinance, unless that standard provides otherwise: impulsive sound is limited to 55 dB(A) at the lot line of any adjacent lot that permits a single-family dwelling as a principal use, and loading, unloading and other noise-producing activities are not permitted within 250 feet of an existing principal dwelling (§ 7.05.03.F). Extraction and mining under a special exception has its own figures: airborne noise from operations other than blasting may not exceed 80 dBA, as measured at the lot line of the use, and the peak over pressure from any blast is limited to 129 dB (Zoning Ordinance § 4.06.03.E).

What the ordinance actually says

§ 654.02(c): "No person shall permit, operate, or cause any source of sound or sound generation to create a sound that is audible and discernible in any other person’s residential dwelling with the doors and windows to that other person’s residential dwelling closed."

§ 654.02(b)(2) and (3): audible "means the sound that can be heard by the human ear, with or without a medically approved hearing aid or device." Discernible "means that the sound is sufficiently distinct so as to clearly identify its source."

§ 654.02(d)(2): "The operation of power lawn or landscaping equipment between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m."

§ 654.02(d)(7): "Construction, demolition and/or maintenance activities which produce sound between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (or until 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays)."

§ 654.02(d)(5): "The operation of any such instrument, machine or device between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of 100 feet from the source of the sound shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section."

§ 654.02(f)(1): "Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be deemed to be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor for a first offense. Any person who violates a provision of this section within six months after a previous conviction under this ordinance shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. Any person who violates a provision of this section within one year of a previous conviction under this ordinance shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."

§ 654.02(f)(4): "Nothing herein shall serve to prevent a citizen aggrieved by any violation of this Chapter from applying to a Magistrate for the issuance of a warrant for any such violation."

§ 654.99(a): "Whoever violates any of the provisions of Section 654.02 is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues."

§ 612.19(a)(5): "No person shall own, possess or harbor any animal which continues for ten minutes or more in duration, to howl, bark or make other sounds which are audible and discernible in any other person’s residential dwelling with the doors and windows to that other person’s residential dwelling closed. All such complaints must be verified by an Animal Control Officer or a law-enforcement officer in order for a citation to be issued."

Zoning Ordinance § 7.05.03.D: "The maximum sound levels provided in Table 7.05.03-1 apply at all times of day and night."

Zoning Ordinance § 7.05.03.C.5: "For residential, rural economy, commercial, civic, institutional, and industrial uses, samples of the subject sound must be taken from the point on the receiving lot line that is located the closest to the source of the subject sound."

Quoted verbatim from the official text (Codified Ordinances of Loudoun County Section 654.02 (Excessive Sound in Residential Areas and Dwellings), with Section 654.99(a) (penalty), Section 612.19(a)(5) (animal noise), Section 612.28 (public nuisance animals) and Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance Section 7.05.03 (Noise). Codified Ordinances of the County of Loudoun, Virginia, on American Legal Publishing, version shown as 2026 S-28 (current), "Local legislation current through May 13, 2026": § 654.02 (Ord. 82-01. Passed 1-19-82; Ord. 16-10. Passed 7-13-16; Ord. 18-19. Passed 11-14-18.); § 654.99 (Ord. 95-06. Passed 8-2-95; Ord. 08-14. Passed 11-10-08.); § 612.19 (Ord. 98-11. Passed 10-7-98; Ord. 17-04. Passed 2-15-17; Ord. 17-09. Passed 10-3-17.); § 612.28 (Ord. 11-09. Passed 9-12-11; Ord. 17-04. Passed 2-15-17; Ord. 17-09. Passed 10-3-17.). The code's Comparative Section Table lists the same three ordinances for § 654.02 and none later. Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 7 (Development Standards), § 7.05.03 Noise, and Chapter 4 (Use-Specific Standards), §§ 4.06.02 and 4.06.03, read in the County's PDFs on loudoun.gov; the PDF text shows no adoption or amendment date. Text read 2026-11-09.). Verified against the live code on 2026-11-09. 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 Loudoun County

For noise you can hear inside your home with the doors and windows closed, call the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office non-emergency line, 703-777-1021, while the noise is occurring, and 911 for an emergency. The County's Loudoun Express Request (LEx) page says such complaints "should be submitted directly to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office when the noise is occurring by calling the non-emergency line at 703-777-1021." For recurring noise that is audible outside at your property line and may break the Zoning Ordinance's decibel limits (the County gives amplified music or voice and barking dogs at kennels as examples), report a zoning violation online through LEx. The County says initial review happens during normal county business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, and that once a complaint is submitted Zoning Enforcement can arrange inspections to measure the noise when it is occurring. Barking dogs: Loudoun County Animal Services says first-time complaints about barking dogs at a particular address can be made online through LEx, that all future complaints about the same address should be made by phone to 703-777-0406 while the barking is occurring, and that after hours complaints can be made by phone to 703-777-1021. Under § 612.19(a)(5) the complaint must be verified by an Animal Control Officer or a law-enforcement officer before a citation is issued, and a summons follows if, after notification by the investigating officer, the owner fails to correct the condition within a reasonable period of time. A resident may also apply to a Magistrate for a warrant (§ 654.02(f)(4)). Penalties: two sections of the code state the penalty for § 654.02 and they do not match. Under § 654.02(f)(1) a first offense is a Class 3 misdemeanor, a violation within six months after a previous conviction is a Class 2 misdemeanor, and a violation within one year of a previous conviction is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Section 654.99(a), the chapter's penalty section, says whoever violates § 654.02 is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and is fined not more than $500 for each offense, with each day a separate offense; it has no higher class for a repeat offense. The code does not say which section controls. The Sheriff's Office page puts the range as "from a Class 3 misdemeanor, which carries a maximum fine of $500, to a Class 1 misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of twelve months in jail and a $2,500 fine." The Board of Supervisors may also ask the circuit court for an injunction (§ 654.02(f)(3)). Animal noise under § 612.19(a) is a Class Four misdemeanor. For zoning noise, the County's data center noise page says that if a substantiated violation is not cured, zoning enforcement staff issue a Notice of Violation and then civil penalty fines. The Sheriff's Office pages list its office phone as 703-777-0407. Sources: https://www.loudoun.gov/3055/Report-an-Issue, https://www.loudoun.gov/4718/Noise-Ordinance, https://www.loudoun.gov/3443/Report-a-Concern, https://www.loudoun.gov/4596/Report-A-Crime and https://www.loudoun.gov/6405/Noise-Air-Quality-Concerns.

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Loudoun County. 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) Where it applies: Section 654.02 speaks of the citizens of Loudoun County and the people of the County, and does not say whether it applies inside a town. Other sections of the same code do mention towns: the dog license rule speaks of a resident of Loudoun County and its incorporated towns (§ 612.19(a)(7)) and § 654.08 of the police officials of any town. No County page read says whether § 654.02 applies inside a town, so this page does not say either; if you live in a town, check the town's own code and police as well. The Zoning Ordinance sections read do not say where that ordinance applies. The map linked from this page is Alexandria's, because Loudoun County's own places are not in the map data; Alexandria's noise rules are not covered here. (2) Two laws, two tests, two offices. The Sheriff's Office enforces § 654.02, which has no decibel number and is judged from inside the listener's home. County Zoning Enforcement applies the Zoning Ordinance's dB(A) limits, measured at the receiving lot line (for mixed-use residential, at an open window, door or other aperture of the nearest dwelling unit). The County's own request page sorts complaints the same way: inside a residence with doors and windows closed goes to the Sheriff, recurring noise audible outside at the lot line goes to zoning. (3) The indoor test is strict in one way and narrow in another: any sound that is not exempt and is audible and identifiable inside a closed-up home counts, at any hour, but noise heard only in a yard or through open windows is not covered by the general rule. For that, look to the listed acts in § 654.02(d) or to the zoning limits. (4) Why the test looks like this: the Sheriff's Office says it began enforcing the changed rules on September 1, 2016, after amendments that brought Loudoun into compliance with a Virginia Supreme Court ruling striking down the City of Virginia Beach's noise ordinance, which relied on a reasonable person standard, as unconstitutionally vague. The code shows Ord. 16-10, passed 7-13-16, and a further amendment by Ord. 18-19, passed 11-14-18. The Sheriff's page still describes an education phase with warnings as something to come over the next several weeks, wording that appears to date from the 2016 change. (5) Exempt from § 654.02 (§ 654.02(e)): agricultural operations; bells, chimes or similar instruments from a place of worship; emergency operations and emergency work, including power generators during power outages; parades, fireworks or similar events approved by County authorities; lawful activities that are protected expression under the First Amendment, but not amplified expression; operation of a public facility or public use; school or organized youth athletic contests or practices and other school activities; back-up alarms on trucks and other equipment; activities sponsored by the County of Loudoun; anything preempted by state or federal law; transportation, including public and private airports and aircraft; and the lawful discharge of firearms. (6) Who is liable: the person operating or controlling the sound. If that person cannot be identified, any owner, tenant, resident, manager or authorized user of the premises who is physically present is presumed to be operating or controlling it, and can rebut that (§ 654.02(f)(2)). (7) The two penalty sections do not match. Section 654.99(a), whose history note ends with Ord. 08-14, passed 11-10-08, calls any violation of § 654.02 a Class 3 misdemeanor with a fine of not more than $500 for each offense; § 654.02(f)(1), in a section whose history note ends with Ord. 18-19, passed 11-14-18, makes a repeat within six months after a previous conviction Class 2 and a repeat within one year of a previous conviction Class 1 (as written, a repeat within six months is also within one year, and the section does not explain how the two steps fit together). Both are in the current code, the code does not say which controls, and the Sheriff's page describes a Class 3 to Class 1 range. (8) Vehicles: spinning tires, racing engines and noise from the absence of a muffler or exhaust system conforming to Virginia Code §§ 46.2-1047 and 46.2-1049 are listed violations (§ 654.02(d)(4)). A horn or vehicle alarm sounding for more than twenty consecutive seconds is a violation, except as a danger warning or as permitted by state law, and if an alarm sounds continuously for 15 minutes after a law enforcement officer arrives and the owner cannot be located, the officer may arrange for the vehicle to be towed (§ 654.02(d)(6)). (9) Hotels count as homes: a residential dwelling includes houses, apartments, condominiums, hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts (§ 654.02(b)(10)). Events sponsored by the county, state or federal government are outside the 100-foot sound device rule (§ 654.02(d)(5)). (10) Barking dogs: the animal rule does not apply to agricultural animals kept as part of farming activity (§ 612.19(a)(5)). A dog is deemed a public nuisance after one or more convictions of its owner for dog noise within a twenty-four month period; the owner is summoned to general district court, which may order the animal surrendered, properly confined or the nuisance abated another way, and failing to comply with that order is a class 1 misdemeanor (§ 612.28). (11) Data centers: the County's data center noise page says the county "does not currently have policy or regulatory language specific to tonal noise or low frequency noise" and that amendments to its Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance are anticipated in spring or summer 2027. Today data centers are held to the same dB(A) table, must file noise studies before and after construction (§ 7.05.03.G), and where they are next to residential property may test generators only on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., apart from commissioning (Zoning Ordinance § 4.06.02, Table 4.06.02-2). (12) The zoning table exempts lawn equipment and construction at any hour, but § 654.02(d) still bans both from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (construction until 9:00 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays). (13) Chapter 654 cross-references other County rules that were not read for this page: unnecessary noise in the operation of motor vehicles (Traffic Code 466.02), noise from dog kennels (808.08), outdoor music festivals (Chapter 824) and noise control in park and recreation areas (1092.14).

Document it before you report it

Some of Loudoun County's limits are measured numbers, so a reading can help, and a dated log counts either way. Take a quick reading with the free online decibel meter — it runs in your browser and records nothing — and see the nearest city we map, on the Alexandria noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.