Noise ordinances › Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: August 11, 2026

Quiet hours in Phoenix

Phoenix does not impose a hard curfew on noise. Sec. 23-14(b) makes it a violation to play a radio, phonograph or any other musical instrument "in such a manner or with such volume, particularly between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.," so as to annoy or disturb people in a dwelling, hotel, office or hospital or anyone in the vicinity, and Sec. 23-14(c) applies the same 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. emphasis to yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on public streets. The word "particularly" matters in both places: noise loud enough to annoy or disturb neighbors is a violation at any hour, and staying quiet after 11:00 p.m. is not a defense if the noise disturbs people during the day. Construction has its own separate hours under Sec. 23-14(h): work within 500 feet of an inhabited structure is limited to 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. from May 1 through September 30, and 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. from October 1 through April 30, on non-holiday weekdays only, unless the Planning and Development Director grants a permit. Important caveat, confirmed by the city itself: since May 13, 2025 state law bars Phoenix from enforcing those construction hours against permitted work between May 1 and October 15, when construction is legal 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, and the city must allow concrete to be poured at least one hour before general construction is regularly scheduled to begin.

Decibel limits

There is no general decibel limit in Phoenix. Chapter 23, Article I, Division 2, the actual noise ordinance, contains no dB table, no ambient limits and no day/night numeric standards; enforcement rests entirely on whether the noise is unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary, or annoys or disturbs the quiet, comfort or repose of people nearby. Phoenix's code does, however, attach numeric dB caps to particular uses, none of which reaches ordinary neighbor noise: Sec. 10-167(F) caps mobile food vendor amplified music at fifty-five decibels at one hundred feet from the source, measured by a sound level meter; Sec. 5C-18 caps small wireless facilities in the public right-of-way at 55 decibels (dB) A-weighted, measured at any property line zoned or used for residential purposes; Sec. 23-15(d) conditions an exemption for hand-operated sound devices on bicycles, pushcarts and vending vehicles on producing not more than seventy decibels, "C" scale, at fifty feet (a condition on an exemption, not a limit anyone is cited under); and the Zoning Ordinance sets 55 dBa (with brief rises up to 60 dBa for five continuous seconds or less, no more than five occurrences per hour) for outdoor music or entertainment accessory to restaurants, bars, cocktail lounges and private clubs, fifty-five dB (one LDN) A-weighted at the property line for pet day care facilities and neighborhood collection centers, and 90 dB(A) at the nearest residential boundary for helistops. Zoning Ordinance Sec. 652 also uses a sixty-five dB threshold in the Arcadia Camelback overlay, but only as the trigger for approving a taller sound wall by use permit. A sound-level reading from a phone or meter is useful supporting evidence of how loud and how persistent a noise is, but for a noisy neighbor Phoenix officers are not measuring it against a codified threshold.

What the ordinance actually says

Subject to the provisions of this article the creating of any unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise within the limits of the City is hereby prohibited.

Noise of such character, intensity or duration as to be detrimental to the life or health of any individual or in disturbance of the public peace and welfare is hereby prohibited.

The playing of any radio, phonograph or any other musical instrument in such a manner or with such volume, particularly between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of persons in any office, hospital or in any dwelling, hotel or other type of residence, or of any persons in the vicinity.

Yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on the public streets, particularly between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., or at any time or place so as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of persons in any hospital, dwelling, hotel or other type of residence, or of persons in the vicinity.

Construction including erection, excavation, demolition, alteration or repair of any building within 500 feet of any inhabited structure, other than between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. from May 1 to and including September 30 and between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. beginning October 1 to and including April 30 on non-holiday weekdays.

The use of a hand-operated device producing not in excess of seventy decibels of sound, "C" scale, measured a distance of fifty feet from the instrument emanating sound from bicycles, pushcarts, or other vehicles, or from vehicles in connection with the sale or display of merchandise

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Phoenix City Code, Chapter 23 (Morals and Conduct), Article I (Offenses against Public Peace), Division 2 (Nuisances and Noise), Secs. 23-11 through 23-17.1. Sec. 23-12 is the general prohibition on "unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise"; Sec. 23-13 bans noise detrimental to life, health or the public peace; Sec. 23-14 enumerates, non-exclusively, the noises that violate the article, including horns, radios and instruments, yelling, pets, unmuffled exhaust, building construction hours, street excavation, noise near schools, hospitals, churches and courts, and vehicle loudspeakers; Sec. 23-15 lists exemptions; Sec. 23-17 requires quiet near hospitals. Related provisions: Sec. 23-3 (disturbing the peace), Sec. 2-22 (police response cost recovery for loud parties), Sec. 8-2 (barking dogs), Sec. 36-69 (unnecessary vehicle noise), Sec. 10-167(F) (55 dB cap on mobile food vendor amplified music), Sec. 5C-18 (55 dB cap on small wireless facilities), and use-specific dB conditions in the Zoning Ordinance (Secs. 622, 623, 624, 626, 637, 652, 659, 1203, 1306). Code current through Ordinance G-7524, passed June 17, 2026.). 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 Phoenix

For an in-progress noise problem such as a loud party, music, or a barking dog, call the Phoenix Police Department non-emergency line at 602-262-6151 (911 only for emergencies). For after-hours construction noise, call the Planning and Development Department's on-call inspector line at 602-262-7456: inspectors respond within two hours, they only investigate construction projects that require a permit under the Phoenix Building Construction Code, they first research whether the project holds an Extended Construction Work Hours permit, and the complainant must provide contact information for a call back or the complaint will not be investigated. Phoenix.gov directs noise complaints that do not meet those criteria back to the police non-emergency line at 602-262-6151. Loud party and event response fees under Sec. 2-22 are assessed by the Police Department; the city publishes the Public Records and Services Bureau at 602-262-7803 for questions, and a fee may be appealed within ten days of receipt of notice to a hearing officer designated by the City Manager.

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

Worth knowing

State preemption of construction hours: since May 13, 2025 Arizona law (A.R.S. Sec. 9-500.52) provides that "A municipality may not enact or enforce any noise ordinance, rule or regulation that prohibits any general construction activities between May 1 and October 15 of each year between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. each business day and between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Saturday if the construction work is being performed pursuant to a validly issued building permit issued by the municipality," and requires that concrete be allowed to be poured at least one hour before those hours begin. Phoenix's own Planning and Development Department confirms this, so the codified Sec. 23-14(h) summer window is effectively overridden for permitted summer work. Permit regime: the Planning and Development Director may issue an Extended Construction Work Hours permit for work outside the listed hours, on weekends or on holidays, either for urgent necessity in the interest of public health, safety and welfare (up to 30 days) or on a finding that no loss or inconvenience would result to any party in interest; street excavation outside those hours needs a permit from the Street Transportation Department Director under Sec. 23-14(i). Loud party cost recovery: the city states there are no "allowable" times during the day or night, and if police find a threat to the public peace they can bill the responsible person for the response, capped by Sec. 2-22(C) at one thousand dollars for the first incident within a 12-month period, one thousand five hundred for the second and two thousand for the third and subsequent; the cost is waived if the responsible person requested the police response and assists in dispersing attendees, and a minor's parents or guardian are jointly and severally liable. Separate source-specific rules cover barking or howling dogs (Sec. 8-2, which provides that "No person shall keep a dog within the City limits which is in the habit of barking or howling or disturbing the peace and quiet of any person within the City"), squealing tires (Sec. 36-69), vehicle-mounted loudspeakers used for advertising (Sec. 23-14(m)), and vehicle horns sounded while stopped (Sec. 23-14(a)). Exemptions under Sec. 23-15 cover city vehicles on necessary public business, nighttime bridge, street or highway repairs by or for the City or State, and the reasonable use of amplifiers or loudspeakers for noncommercial public addresses not connected with a moving vehicle. Ice cream truck quirk: the Sec. 23-15(d) exemption applies only while the bicycle, pushcart or vehicle is in motion, requires the device to "play only pleasing melodies," and bars playing between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. and between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. Extra protection applies to streets adjacent to a school, institution of learning, church or court in session (Sec. 23-14(j)), but only where signs are displayed, and near signed hospitals under Sec. 23-17. The Sec. 23-14 enumeration is expressly not exclusive, so unlisted noise can still violate Secs. 23-12 and 23-13, and a noisy neighbor may also be charged under Sec. 23-3, which reaches a person who "maliciously and willfully disturbs the peace or quiet of any neighborhood, family or person by loud or unusual noise" as a misdemeanor. Two errors in third-party summaries are worth knowing: "Phoenix quiet hours 10 p.m. to 7 a.m." is wrong (the code says 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., and only as an emphasis window), and the widely repeated "55 dB residential limit" is a misreading of the small wireless facility and zoning entertainment conditions, which do not apply to a noisy neighbor.

Document it before you report it

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