Noise ordinances › Prince George's County, MD

Prince George's County noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: November 9, 2026

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Quiet hours in Prince George's County

Division 2 sets a day and night clock for its decibel limits. Daytime means the hours from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and nighttime the hours from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. (Sec. 19-121(a)(3), (9)), so the County's night starts at 9 p.m., an hour earlier than Maryland's state standard. At night the limit falls from 65 to 55 dBA on residential land and from 67 to 62 dBA on commercial land; the industrial limit is 75 dBA at all hours (Sec. 19-122(a)(1)). The ban on creating a noise disturbance names no hours, so it applies day and night, and one of its tests is whether the noise is unusual for the time of day or location (Secs. 19-121(a)(11), 19-122(b)). Construction has its own clock. The code sets no permitted hours for construction, only levels: the higher construction levels apply from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with no distinction between weekdays and weekends, and at all other times the ordinary Sec. 19-122(a) levels apply (Sec. 19-122.01(a)(1)), which at homes means 65 dBA until 9 p.m. and 55 dBA after. The County's permitting department puts it differently in its FAQ: "Construction noise is permitted daily from 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m." That matches the code's daytime hours, not the 6 p.m. end of construction's higher allowance. The code controls. Exemptions tied to the clock (Sec. 19-123(b)): household tools and portable appliances in normal usage during daytime hours; lawn care and snow removal equipment used between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.; blasting in the daytime only; pile driving from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; sound that is not electronically amplified from sporting events, entertainment events and permitted public gatherings between 7 a.m. and midnight; trap, skeet or other target shooting between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. at a shooting sports club chartered and in operation as of January 1, 2001; trash collection between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.; and marina equipment used to move boats from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The code lists common acts that violate the section if they exceed the noise levels or create a noise disturbance; one is sounding a vehicle horn on private property, except in an emergency or as a danger warning signal during daytime hours if the device complies with the noise level limits (Sec. 19-122(c)(1)).

Decibel limits

Yes. Sec. 19-122(a)(1) sets maximum allowable noise levels in dBA (decibels on the A-weighting network of a sound level meter) by the land use receiving the sound: residential 65 dBA by day and 55 dBA at night; commercial 67 dBA by day and 62 dBA at night; industrial 75 dBA day and night. Residential means property in a residential zone under Subtitle 27, industrial means property zoned industrial, and commercial means anything else (Sec. 19-121(a)). Sound that crosses between residential and non-residential areas must meet the residential levels (Sec. 19-122(a)(5)). A prominent discrete tone or impulsive noise (the code's examples are weapons fire, pile drivers and punch presses) must stay 5 dBA below the table, at the location on a receiving property where noise from the source is greatest (Sec. 19-122(a)(2)). Where an alleged noise disturbance results in part from low frequency sound of 20 to 200 Hz, the levels may be measured in dBC, the C-weighting that counts bass more fully (Sec. 19-122(a)(6)). Construction may reach 75 dBA from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., or 85 dBA if the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement has approved a noise-suppression plan, measured at the location, at least 50 feet from the source, on a receiving property where the noise is greatest; at all other times the Sec. 19-122(a) levels apply (Sec. 19-122.01(a)). Air conditioning and heat pump equipment on residential property is exempt from the table but capped at 70 dBA for air conditioning and 75 dBA for heat pumps at receiving residential property (Sec. 19-123(b)(13)). Marina equipment is exempt from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. if it does not exceed 80 dBA at 20 meters (Sec. 19-123(b)(17)). Off-road recreational vehicles with internal combustion engines may not be run on private property closer than 300 feet to a neighboring residence or its curtilage without the affected resident's written permission, unless it can be shown to the Department that the vehicle can be operated within the table (Sec. 19-122(a)(4)). Vibration that a person beyond the source's property line can feel or see is banned without a number (Sec. 19-122(a)(3)). A noise disturbance needs no decibel reading: it is any noise that is unpleasant, annoying, offensive, loud or obnoxious, unusual for the time of day or location, or detrimental to health, comfort, quality of life or the reasonable enjoyment of property, as well as any noise over the measured limits (Sec. 19-121(a)(11)). The Department must issue regulations on the equipment and techniques used to measure sound (Sec. 19-126(a)); we did not read them, and the code text itself does not say where on the receiving property an ordinary reading is taken. Separately, Division 2A, a vehicle noise camera pilot program whose current status we did not confirm, is written to enforce the state vehicle noise limits and counts a violation only when a vehicle exceeds the state limit by at least 5 decibels (Sec. 19-126.02(a)(4)).

What the ordinance actually says

Sec. 19-122(b): "Noise disturbance. A person must not cause or permit noise that creates a noise disturbance."

Sec. 19-121(a)(11): "Noise disturbance means any noise that is: (A) unpleasant, annoying, offensive, loud, or obnoxious; (B) unusual for the time of day or location where it is produced or heard; (C) detrimental to the health, comfort, quality of life, or safety of any individual or to the reasonable enjoyment of property or the lawful conduct of business because of the loudness, duration, or character of the noise or; (D) exceeds the objective standards of this Division."

Sec. 19-121(a)(3), (9): "Daytime means the hours from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m." and "Nighttime means the hours from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m."

Sec. 19-122(a)(1): "Except as otherwise provided in Section 19-122.01, a person must not cause or permit noise levels that exceed the following levels:"

Sec. 19-122(a)(2): "A person must not cause or permit the emission of a prominent discrete tone or impulsive noise that exceeds a level, at the location on a receiving property where noise from the source is greatest, that is 5 dBA lower than the level set in paragraph (1) for the applicable noise area and time."

Sec. 19-122(a)(5): "Sound that crosses between residential and non-residential areas must not exceed the level set in paragraph (1) for residential noise areas."

Sec. 19-122.01(a)(1): "A person must not cause or permit noise levels from construction activity that exceed the following levels: (A) From 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.: (i) 75 dBA if the Department has not approved a noise-suppression plan for the activity; or (ii) 85 dBA if the Department has approved a noise-suppression plan for the activity. (B) The level specified in Section 19-122(a) at all other times."

Sec. 19-122.01(b): "Construction noise disturbance. The prohibition on noise disturbance in Section 19-122(b) applies to construction activities, notwithstanding subsection (a)."

Sec. 19-121(a)(16): "Receiving property means any real property where people live or work and where noise is heard, including an apartment, condominium unit, or cooperative building unit."

Sec. 19-124(a): "Any person, who after instructed to cease the noise, shall allow or cause a continued violation of this Section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000.00 for a first offense, and $1,500.00 for each subsequent offense or imprisonment not exceeding thirty (30) days, or both such fine and imprisonment. Each day a violation continues is a separate offense."

Sec. 19-124(b): "As an alternative to criminal action, the Director, Police Chief, enforcement officer or police officer may issue a civil citation for any violation of this Section not exceeding $1,000.00 for a first offense, and $1,500.00 for each subsequent offense."

Sec. 19-125(a): "The Director, Chief of Police, police officer, enforcement officer, or a designee may issue a civil citation to the owner or landlord of the building or premises from which noise in violation of Section 19-122 of this title emanates, if more than two civil citations have been filed against an occupant, at one address, within a one-year period."

Sec. 19-126.06(a): "A person liable for a violation enforced by a noise abatement monitoring system is subject to: (1) a warning notice for a first offense; and (2) a civil penalty not exceeding $75 fine for a second or subsequent offense."

Environment Article § 3-105(a)(2): "A political subdivision may not adopt any noise control ordinance, rule, or regulation that is less stringent than the environmental noise standards, sound level limits, and noise control rules and regulations adopted under this title."

Quoted verbatim from the official text (Prince George's County Code Subtitle 19 (Pollution), Division 2 (Noise Control), Secs. 19-120 to 19-126, with Division 2A and state law. Prince George's County Code on Municode, "Codified through Bill No. CB-018-2026, adopted May 12, 2026, effective July 24, 2026. (Supp. No. 2026, Update 2)", online content updated on August 5, 2026: Sec. 19-120 (CB-21-2011; CB-18-2018); Sec. 19-121 (CB-21-2011; CB-27-2014; CB-18-2018; CB-99-2021; CB-073-2024); Secs. 19-122, 19-123, 19-124 and 19-125 (CB-21-2011; CB-18-2018; CB-073-2024); Secs. 19-122.01 and 19-126 (CB-18-2018; CB-073-2024); Sec. 19-122.02 "Waivers", repealed by CB-073-2024. The County Council's record shows CB-073-2024 enacted 11/19/2024, left unsigned by the County Executive 12/20/2024, effective 2/4/2025; its text was also read in the copy filed with the Maryland General Assembly (mgaleg.maryland.gov). Division 2A (Vehicle Noise Abatement Monitoring Systems), Secs. 19-126.01 to 19-126.06 (CB-083-2024, effective 2/3/2025). Municode's page of ordinances for this code listed 0 ordinances when read. State law: Annotated Code of Maryland, Environment Article §§ 3-105 and 3-401, read on mgaleg.maryland.gov. 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 Prince George's County

For a loud party or other noise happening now, call the County's non-emergency dispatch number, 301-352-1200; the County's page for that number lists "A loud party or noise complaint" among the reasons to call, warns that the same staff answer 9-1-1 so there may be a delay, and says the line cannot take text messages. Use 911 for emergencies only. The County also takes online non-emergency dispatch requests, where the incident type Disturbance covers loud parties, fireworks, equipment noises and loud music. The permitting department's noise guide splits the work: Police respond to noise complaints about loud parties and other events at private residences, at construction sites, and about loud vehicles; the Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) investigates businesses and industrial sites whose noise disturbs residential areas, such as late-night truck deliveries with back-up beepers, loud music from nightclubs, and construction noise late at night or very early in the morning; and the Department of the Environment's Animal Services Division responds to noise from an animal source. The guide says a resident with excessive noise disturbances in the neighborhood may file a complaint by calling 311, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Federal and County holidays, or on www.pgc311.com at any hour, giving the address of the property and a brief description. The County's PGC311 page gives (301) 883-4748 for callers outside the County. For construction noise, DPIE's FAQ says to call the Police non-emergency number, (301) 352-1200. To reach the Police Department for information, when no officer needs to be sent, the County gives 301-516-9777. Who may enforce: an employee or agent of DPIE designated by its Director, or a police officer, for noise from any source, and the Director of the Animal Control Division or a designee for noise from an animal (Sec. 19-121(a)(7)). Penalties: a person who, after being instructed to cease the noise, allows or causes a continued violation is guilty of a misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $1,000 for a first offense and $1,500 for each subsequent offense, or up to 30 days in jail, or both, and each day a violation continues is a separate offense (Sec. 19-124(a)). As an alternative, the Director, Police Chief, an enforcement officer or a police officer may issue a civil citation of up to $1,000 for a first offense and $1,500 for each subsequent offense (Sec. 19-124(b)), and violations may be reviewed by the County's Administrative Court (Sec. 19-124(c)). Sources: https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/government/county-government/departments--offices/public-safety/homeland-security/about-us/divisions/public-safety-communications/non-emergency-dispatch-number, https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/departments-offices/homeland-security/services/online-non-emergency-dispatch-reporting, https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/sites/default/files/media-document/DPIE's%20Role%20in%20Combating%20Noise%20Pollution.pdf, https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/faq/pg311-community-relations/what-pgc311-and-hours-operation, https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/departments-offices/faq/inspections-permitting-inspections-and-enforcement/during-what-hours-can-construction-be-done-there-noise-ordinance-who-do-i-call-report and https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/boards-commissions/nuisance-abatement-board.

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Prince George's 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: Division 2 says its intent is to control noise levels throughout the County (Sec. 19-120), and its definition of a person reaches a department, agency or instrument of the County or of any municipality (Sec. 19-121(a)(14)). The text does not say how the division works inside the county's cities and towns, and we did not read the County Code's Subtitle 15 on municipalities or any municipal code. Many of them run their own services: the County's Code Compliance page lists 18 cities and towns, among them Bowie, College Park, Greenbelt, Hyattsville and Laurel, whose rental licensing the County does not handle. Inside a municipality, ask the city or town as well. None of those places has its own page here. Washington, D.C. is a separate jurisdiction (see the Washington page); this page's map link goes there because the County's own places are not in our noise map. (2) Two tests: a person can break the law with a measured level over the limit or with a noise disturbance, which needs no reading and covers noise that is annoying or loud, or simply unusual for the time of day or location (Secs. 19-121(a)(11), 19-122). (3) Night starts at 9 p.m., not 10 p.m. (4) The 2025 rewrite: CB-073-2024, effective February 4, 2025, rewrote Division 2 and repealed the waiver section (Sec. 19-122.02). The Council's record lists Secs. 19-121, 19-122, 19-122.01, 19-123, 19-124 and 19-125, and Municode's history line shows the bill on Sec. 19-126 as well. The bill text filed with the Maryland General Assembly shows the fines rising from $500 to $1,000 for a first offense and from $1,000 to $1,500 for each subsequent offense. County pages written before it may be out of date. (5) Criminal charges need a prior instruction: the misdemeanor in Sec. 19-124(a) applies to a person who allows or causes a continued violation after being instructed to cease the noise; the civil citation in Sec. 19-124(b) has no such condition. (6) Landlords and owners: once more than two civil citations have been filed against an occupant at one address within a one-year period, the owner or landlord can be cited, with further citations for each subsequent violation within 6 months, after written notice by certified mail or delivery (Sec. 19-125). Sec. 19-125 names no fine amount of its own for the owner's citation. The notice paragraph speaks of two citations within a 60-day period, which does not match the one-year test: the bill text shows CB-073-2024 changed 60-day to one-year in the first paragraph and left the notice paragraph as it was. (7) Bass: for a disturbance that results in part from low frequency sound (20 to 200 Hz), levels may be measured in dBC (Sec. 19-122(a)(6)). (8) Apartments count: receiving property includes an apartment, condominium unit or cooperative building unit (Sec. 19-121(a)(16)). (9) Construction: the 75 and 85 dBA allowances end at 6 p.m. every day, after which construction must meet the ordinary table; the noise disturbance ban applies to construction at all hours (Sec. 19-122.01(b)); and before approving a noise-suppression plan the Director must give public notice, at least 10 days ahead, reasonably calculated to reach at least a majority of the households that might be affected by levels above 75 dBA (Sec. 19-122.01(a)(3)). DPIE's FAQ says construction noise is permitted daily from 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. and that noise heard within fifty (50) feet, or in a residence, outside those hours should be reported to the Police. The code text sets no permitted hours for construction and has no fifty-foot hearing test (50 feet appears only as the minimum distance for measuring construction noise), and the code controls. (10) Animals: the code's examples of violations include allowing an animal to create a noise disturbance (Sec. 19-122(c)(6)) and it names an animal control enforcement officer, yet it defines noise as sound created or controlled by human activity (Sec. 19-121(a)(10)) and exempts household pets on residential property that are maintained in accordance with local zoning requirements (Sec. 19-123(b)(14)). The code does not say how these fit together. The animal control subtitle was not read. (11) Yard and farm equipment: lawn care and snow removal equipment is exempt only between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., and agricultural field machinery only on more than five acres or outside of one hundred feet of the property line (Sec. 19-123(b)(2), (3)). (12) Other exemptions (Sec. 19-123): emergency warning devices, motor vehicles on public roads, aircraft and state-licensed airport operations, boats on State waters and motor vehicles on State lands under the Department of Natural Resources, emergency operations, rapid rail transit vehicles and railroads, construction and repair work on public property, and any source expressly subject to a more stringent state or federal noise law. (13) Shooting clubs: the County exempts target shooting at long-chartered shooting sports clubs between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. (Sec. 19-123(b)(15)); state law says a political subdivision may not adopt a noise rule that prohibits such shooting between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. (Environment Article § 3-105(a)(3)), an hour longer. (14) Vehicle noise cameras: Division 2A, added by CB-083-2024, sets out a Police Department pilot program of no more than three noise abatement monitoring systems to enforce the state vehicle noise law. A first offense brings a warning notice and later ones a civil penalty of up to $75, with no more than one citation a day, no citation in the first 30 days after the warning is mailed, and none for the first 15 days after signs go up at a new location (Secs. 19-126.03, 19-126.05, 19-126.06). The pilot rests on a state session law, Chapter 624 of the 2024 Laws of Maryland, which we did not read. The division still appeared in the code when read, with no end date in its text; we did not confirm how long the pilot is authorized to run or whether any system is in use. (15) Party houses: the County's Nuisance Abatement Board hears complaints about premises with two or more occurrences within a 1-year period of disorderly acts that disturb the public peace, such as gatherings that charge admission; its page says the fine is $1,000 for a 1st violation and $1,000 for a 2nd. (16) Vibration: the Department was to issue regulations on measuring vibration effective July 1, 2026 (Sec. 19-126(d)); we did not read them. (17) State floor: a county may not adopt a noise rule less stringent than the state's standards (Environment Article § 3-105(a)(2)).

Document it before you report it

Some of Prince George's 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 Washington noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.