Noise ordinances › Oklahoma City, OK

Oklahoma City noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: August 11, 2026

Quiet hours in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City does not impose a blanket night-time curfew on all noise. The Table I decibel limits split every day into 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., and drop by 5 dBA at 10:00 p.m. in residential and commercial districts (residential goes from 55 dBA L90 / 65 dBA L10 to 50 dBA L90 / 60 dBA L10; industrial and agricultural districts stay at 70 / 80 dBA around the clock). Separately, and at any hour of the day or night, section 34-4(a)(6) reaches a radio, TV, instrument, speaker or similar device that is plainly audible inside a dwelling unit that is not the source of the sound, or that is operated on public property or a public right-of-way so as to be plainly audible 50 feet or more away. Read with the section 34-4(a) chapeau, such a device is a violation when it produces a noise disturbance or excessive noise, and "noise disturbance" is itself defined as plainly audible sound that annoys or disturbs a reasonable person of normal sensitivities, so no decibel reading is needed. Construction has no fixed start and stop times in Oklahoma City: under section 34-4(a)(2) construction, demolition and repair work is held to the same Table I limits for the district and the time of day, so the same 5 dBA drop applies to a job site at 10:00 p.m. Two carve-outs override that, since section 34-5(7) and (8) fully exempt construction, demolition and repair work in the DBD Downtown Business District and work on the Oklahoma City Streetcar route. A separate construction/demolition noise permit is available from the Director of the Department of Development Services under section 34-7.1. Event noise permits under section 34-7 can never run past 11:00 p.m. in a residential zoning district (or a PUD/SPUD carrying residential district regulations) or past midnight in a nonresidential zone.

Decibel limits

Yes. Table I at section 34-12 sets numeric limits that vary by zoning district and time of day, stated as percentile levels in dBA: L90 is the level exceeded 90 percent of the measurement period, L10 the level exceeded 10 percent of it. Residential districts (R-A, RA-2, R-1, HP, R-1ZL, R-2, R-3, R-3M, R-4, R-4M, R-MH-1, R-MH-2, plus starred mixed districts the Director classifies as residential): 55 dBA L90 and 65 dBA L10 from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., 50 dBA L90 and 60 dBA L10 from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Commercial or business districts (O-1, O-2, RC, C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-CBD, C-HC, SYD and others): 60 dBA L90 and 70 dBA L10 daytime, 55 dBA L90 and 65 dBA L10 at night. Industrial or agricultural districts (AA, TP, I-1, I-2, I-3 and others): 70 dBA L90 and 80 dBA L10, the same day and night. Three modifiers apply under section 34-6(a): a short-duration peak (L1) more than 15 dB(A) above the district's ambient L90 limit is a violation on its own; sound projected from one district into a district with a lower limit is measured at the boundary against the lower limit; and for impulsive sound the Table I limits are reduced by five dB(A). Measurement is taken at the boundary of, or at any point within, the affected property, with a Type 2 or better sound level meter on the A-weighted scale, field-calibrated before and after measurements each day, over a measurement period of not less than ten minutes and not more than 30 minutes (sections 34-6(b), 34-2(a)(1) and (18)). Scope limit that matters: these numeric standards apply to a "stationary source of sound" (defined at 34-6(c) as residential, commercial, industrial or agricultural machinery, pumps, fans, compressors, air conditioners and refrigeration equipment) and, via 34-4(a)(2), to construction, demolition and repair work. A neighbour's party stereo is handled instead under the plainly-audible test in section 34-4(a)(6), which carries no decibel number.

What the ordinance actually says

§ 34-3(a): "It shall be unlawful, except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, for any person to make, continue, allow or cause to be made, continued or allowed any excessive noise or noise disturbance."

§ 34-4(a) (opening): "The following acts, among others and not to exclude other such acts, if they produce a noise disturbance or excessive noise, are declared to be in violation of this chapter, except and unless a noise permit has been issued by the City Manager:"

§ 34-4(a)(6): "Operating or permitting the use or operation of any device designed for sound production, amplification, or reproduction, including but not limited to any radio, musical instrument, phonograph, television set, tape recorder, loud speaker, or other similar device: a. if plainly audible within any dwelling unit which is not the source of the sound; or b. on public property or on a public right-of-way so as to be plainly audible 50 feet or more from such device, except as authorized by permit."

§ 34-2(a)(22): "Noise disturbance means any plainly audible sound which: 1. injures or endangers the safety or health of a human; or 2. annoys or disturbs a reasonable person of normal sensitivities; or 3. endangers or injures personal or real property." and "Plainly audible means where the listener clearly can hear the content of the sound produced by the noise source. Sounds which may be clearly audible include, but are not limited to, musical rhythms, spoken words, vocal sounds, and engine noises."

§ 34-6(a): "It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or to permit to be operated any stationary source of sound which, during any sound level measurement period time interval thereof when measured at the boundary or at any point within the property affected by such sound: ... (2) creates a 90th percentile sound level (L90) or a tenth percentile sound level (L10) which exceeds limits as set out within a given time division of land use classifications of Table I;"

§ 34-6(a)(4): "for any stationary source of sound which emits impulsive sound, the limits set forth in Table I shall be reduced by five dB(A)."

§ 34-6(c): "'Stationary source of sound' means a device which creates sound while fixed in position, including but not limited to residential, commercial, industrial or agricultural machinery, pumps, fans, compressors, air conditioners and refrigeration equipment."

§ 34-4(a)(2): "Performance of construction, demolition, and/or repair work at or on any structural or roadway project or undertaking whether by manual or mechanical means, such as to produce noise beyond the sound pressure levels established as local limits within the zoning district classifications and times of day as set out by Table I, Section 34-12."

§ 34-12, Table I "LIMITING SOUND LEVELS FOR LAND USE DISTRICTS", residential row, each cell exactly as printed - district cell: "R-A, RA-2, R-1, HP, R-1ZL, R-2, R-3, R-3M, R-4, R-4M, R-MH-1, R-MH-2, NC*, C-CBD*, PUD*, SPUD*, CUP*, BC*, NB*, DBD*, DTD-1*, DTD-2* (residential)"; time cell: "7:00 a.m.—10:00 p.m." over "10:00 p.m.—7:00 a.m."; L90 cell: "55 dBA" over "50 dBA"; L10 cell: "65 dBA" over "60 dBA".

§ 34-12, Table I footnote: "*The Director shall make a determination on CUP, PUD, SPUD, NC, C-CBD, BC, NB, DBD, DTD-1 and DTD-2 zoning districts as to their classification."

§ 34-7(c): "A permit may be granted only for an effective time period of three consecutive days or less. A permit may be renewed if an urgent necessity exists, for three consecutive days or less. No permit shall be granted beyond the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. in a residential zoning district or a Planned Unit Development or Simplified Planned Unit Development containing use and development regulations of the residential districts described in § 59-6100.1 of the Oklahoma City Municipal Code or 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight in a nonresidential zone."

§ 34-5(7): "performance of construction, demolition, and/or repair work at or on any structural or roadway project or undertaking whether by manual or mechanical means, in the DBD Downtown Business District."

§ 34-5(8): "performance of construction, demolition, and/or repair work at or on any structural or roadway project or undertaking whether by manual or mechanical means performed on the Oklahoma City Streetcar and along the Oklahoma City Streetcar route."

§ 34-4(d): "Creation of a noise disturbance or excessive noise within 500 feet of any school, other such institution of learning, church, hospital, convalescent hospital or mass-care home, hotel or motel, or court of law, so designated by outdoor signage, is prohibited during the facility's hours of operation and noise permits shall not be issued for such areas during the facility's hours of operation. ... This subsection shall not apply to public event facilities, located on City owned or public trust owned property, or the Bricktown Entertainment Area, as defined in Section 38-610 of this Code."

§ 32-515(c) (vehicles, separate chapter): "No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motor vehicle, including motor scooters, motorcycles, and trucks, in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted louder than that emitted by the muffler originally installed on the vehicle."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Oklahoma City Municipal Code 2020, Chapter 34 (Noise), sections 34-1 through 34-12, hosted on Municode. 34-1 findings of fact; 34-2 definitions (noise disturbance and plainly audible at 34-2(a)(22)); 34-3 general prohibition on excessive noise and noise disturbance; 34-4 specific prohibitions (animals, construction and demolition, exhausts, engine brakes, horns and fireworks, sound-reproducing devices, boisterous noisemaking, watercraft, powered models, aircraft, places of public entertainment, noise sensitive zones, property owner liability); 34-5 exemptions; 34-6 community sound level standards and measurement method; 34-7 event noise permit; 34-7.1 construction/demolition noise permit from the Director of the Department of Development Services; 34-8 duties of City departments; 34-9 violation and abatement procedures; 34-10 penalty; 34-11 injunctive relief; 34-12 Table I, sound level limits by zoning district and time of day. Chapter 34 reaches vehicle noise directly at 34-4(a)(3) (sound-laden exhaust from a stationary, portable or mobile engine or motorized vehicle), 34-4(a)(4) (engine brakes on any public road other than a turnpike), 34-4(e) (a property owner, lessor or lessee knowingly allowing a vehicle that creates a noise disturbance to be driven across the property) and 34-9(b)(2) (the enforcement officer may stop any motor vehicle, motorcycle or motorboat reasonably suspected of violating the chapter). Vehicle equipment rules sit separately in Chapter 32 (Motor Vehicles and Traffic), Article XV: 32-515 (exhaust pipes and mufflers) and 32-516 (bells, sirens and speakers). Code currency verified 2026-08-11 against the live Municode job (jobId 492047, productId 17000): the Supplement History Table's last row is Ordinance No. 28070, adopted 4-21-26, "Supp. No. 5, Update 1". Chapter 34 itself carries no amendment after Ord. No. 26091, 2-26-19, and Table I has not been touched since Ord. No. 24036, 3-23-10.). 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 Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City publishes no 311 line. For non-emergency neighbourhood and code complaints, use the City's Action Center: call (405) 297-2535, text (405) 252-1053, email action.center@okc.gov, report online or check a report's status at https://www.okc.gov/Services/Action-Center, or use the OKC Connect app for iOS or Android. The page lists Action Center hours as Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with phone coverage split 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. and 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., and it frames the channel as non-emergency code violations (weeds, abandoned vehicles, neighbourhood concerns). Because that desk is closed nights and weekends, noise happening right now (a party, a car stereo, a late job site) goes to the police. okc.gov lists "Police Dispatch - 911" and "Police Dispatch (if calling from out of town) (405) 231-2121" on https://www.okc.gov/Services/Public-Safety/Police/Contact-Us; present 231-2121 as the police dispatch number the City publishes, not as a "non-emergency line", which is a label okc.gov does not use. If you are the one making the noise, the event noise permit application is a PDF at https://www.okc.gov/Services/Permits/Noise-Permit and section 34-7(a) requires it at least ten business days before the event.

For the general playbook — documenting the problem, talking to a landlord or HOA, when 311 beats 911 — see the noise complaints guide.

Worth knowing

Oklahoma City runs a meter standard and an audibility standard side by side, and which one applies depends on the source. The Table I decibel limits reach "stationary sources of sound" (machinery, pumps, fans, compressors, air conditioners, refrigeration equipment) and construction, demolition and repair work. Everything else, including a neighbour's stereo, barking dogs and shouting, is judged by the noise-disturbance and plainly-audible tests in sections 34-3 and 34-4, with no decibel number attached. Note the structure: the section 34-4(a) list of specific prohibitions bites only where the act produces "a noise disturbance or excessive noise", and "noise disturbance" is defined at 34-2(a)(22) as plainly audible sound that injures or endangers health, annoys or disturbs a reasonable person of normal sensitivities, or damages property. Zoning drives the numbers, and for the starred mixed districts (CUP, PUD, SPUD, NC, C-CBD, BC, NB, DBD, DTD-1, DTD-2) the Director decides which classification applies, so a downtown or Bricktown address may not get residential limits. Impulsive sound gets a 5 dBA tighter limit, and a peak (L1) more than 15 dB(A) above the district's ambient L90 limit is a violation on its own. Sound crossing into a district with a lower limit is measured at the boundary against the lower limit. Two construction exemptions are unusually broad: work in the DBD Downtown Business District and work on the Oklahoma City Streetcar route are exempt outright (34-5(7) and (8)), so there is effectively no noise-hours protection against downtown or streetcar construction. Other exemptions cover safety and storm sirens, emergency vehicle sirens, disasters, organized sporting events, and interstate railway locomotives and trains en route and not switching within residential classifications between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Noncommercial public speaking and public assembly on public space is exempt (34-5(5)) unless the noise is plainly audible inside a dwelling unit that is not the source (34-3(c)). The noise-sensitive zone rule (500 feet of a school, church, hospital, hotel or court with outdoor signage) can only be enforced on the complaint of an authorised representative of that facility, not a passer-by, and it does not apply to the Bricktown Entertainment Area or to City-owned or public-trust public event facilities. Permits are two separate regimes: event noise permits from the City Manager (apply at least ten business days ahead, maximum three consecutive days, no more than three per year at the same residential location absent urgent necessity, hard cutoff at 11:00 p.m. residential and midnight nonresidential, and the permit must designate a distance of no more than 2,500 feet beyond which the permittee still cannot create a disturbance), and a construction/demolition noise permit from the Director of the Department of Development Services under 34-7.1. Engine brakes are banned on any public road other than a turnpike unless needed to avoid imminent danger or where other means of stopping have failed (34-4(a)(4)). Animals and birds that produce "frequent or prolonged noisemaking" violate 34-4(a)(1), with publicly operated zoos excepted and police dogs exempt under 8-137. A place of public entertainment may run levels that produce a noise disturbance inside only if it posts the hearing-impairment warning sign required by 34-4(c), and it still may not create a disturbance beyond the premises. Aircraft movements conducted under federal law or air traffic control are expressly outside the ordinance (34-4(b)). Loud vehicles sit in a different chapter: 32-515 requires a maintained muffler and bans exhaust modifications that increase noise, and 32-516 bans externally mounted vehicle speakers and speaker modifications that increase output, with a carve-out for licensed ice cream vendors (who may not play more than five minutes in one place or within 500 feet of a school, church or public assembly in session). Enforcement notes: abatement orders are available only for stationary sources (34-9(a)(3)), a first violation is a Class "a" offence and a repeat a Class "b" (34-10), and each day of a continuous disturbance is a single offence while separate incidents on the same day are separate offences.

Document it before you report it

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