Noise ordinances › San Francisco, CA

San Francisco noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: September 20, 2026

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Quiet hours in San Francisco

Article 29 has no single citywide curfew. Its clock times attach to particular limits: the fixed-source interior standard is 45 dBA between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. and 55 dBA between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. (Sec. 2909(d)), and construction becomes a night activity earlier than that, at 8:00 p.m.: between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. it is unlawful to erect, demolish, excavate, alter or repair a building if the noise exceeds the ambient by 5 dBA at the nearest property plane, unless the Director of Public Works or the Director of Building Inspection has granted a special permit (Sec. 2908). The 5, 8 and 10 dBA-over-ambient limits of Sec. 2909(a)–(c) apply at all hours; the ambient itself is measured at the time of the complaint, so the same source can be lawful at noon and unlawful at 2 a.m. The City's own reporting page (sf.gov, "Report a noise problem") summarizes the practical rule for people and animals as: allowed during the day unless the noise becomes unreasonable or occurs between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. — that window is the City's guidance, not a sentence in Article 29.

Decibel limits

Yes, but almost all of them are relative to ambient rather than fixed numbers. Sec. 2909(a)(1): a machine, device, music or entertainment on residential property may not produce a noise level more than 5 dBA above the ambient at any point outside the property plane; Sec. 2909(a)(2): in a multi-unit building, no more than 5 dBA above the local ambient measured three feet from any wall, floor or ceiling inside another dwelling unit with its windows and doors closed. Sec. 2909(b): commercial and industrial property, 8 dBA above the local ambient outside the property plane, and a licensed Place of Entertainment or Limited Live Performance Locale additionally may not exceed the low-frequency ambient by more than 8 dBC. Sec. 2909(c): public property, 10 dBA above the local ambient at 25 feet or more. Sec. 2909(d) is the one fixed standard: a fixed noise source (pumps, fans, air conditioning, refrigeration, process machinery) may not cause the level inside any sleeping or living room on residential property to exceed 45 dBA from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. or 55 dBA from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., windows open. The ambient has floors: it is never taken to be below 35 dBA for interior residential noise or 45 dBA elsewhere, and the low-frequency ambient never below 45 dBC indoors or 55 dBC elsewhere (Sec. 2901(a), (f)). Measurement is by a type 1 precision sound level meter: the ambient is an LAeq/LCeq over at least ten minutes with the offending source silent, the noise level an LAeq/LCeq over at least one minute; outdoors the microphone sits at least four feet above ground and four and one-half feet from walls, indoors at least three feet from any wall averaged over three positions (Secs. 2901(g), 2902). Two absolute source limits sit outside Sec. 2909: powered construction equipment may not exceed 80 dBA at 100 feet (Sec. 2907(a), with impact tools exempted if they carry approved mufflers and shrouds), and truck-mounted waste compaction systems may not exceed 75 dBA at 50 feet (Sec. 2904).

What the ordinance actually says

Sec. 2909(a)(1): "No person shall produce or allow to be produced by any machine, or device, music or entertainment or any combination of same, on residential property over which the person has ownership or control, a noise level more than five dBA above the ambient at any point outside of the property plane."

Sec. 2909(b): "No person shall produce or allow to be produced by any machine, or device, music or entertainment or any combination of same, on commercial or industrial property over which the person has ownership or control, a noise level more than eight dBA above the local ambient at any point outside of the property plane."

Sec. 2909(d): "In order to prevent sleep disturbance, protect public health and prevent the acoustical environment from progressive deterioration due to the increasing use and influence of mechanical equipment, no fixed noise source may cause the noise level measured inside any sleeping or living room in any dwelling unit located on residential property to exceed 45 dBA between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. or 55 dBA between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00p.m. with windows open except where building ventilation is achieved through mechanical systems that allow windows to remain closed."

Sec. 2908: "It shall be unlawful for any person, between the hours of 8:00 p.m. of any day and 7:00 a.m. of the following day to erect, construct, demolish, excavate for, alter or repair any building or structure if the noise level created thereby is in excess of the ambient noise level by 5 dBA at the nearest property plane, unless a special permit therefor has been applied for and granted by the Director of Public Works or the Director of Building Inspection."

Sec. 2901(a): "However, for purposes of this Article 29, in no case shall the ambient be considered or determined to be less than: (1) 35 dBA for interior residential noise, and (2) 45 dBA in all other locations."

Sec. 2907(a): "Except as provided for in Subsections (b), (c), and (d) hereof, it shall be unlawful for any person to operate any powered construction equipment if the operation of such equipment emits noise at a level in excess of 80 dBA when measured at a distance of 100 feet from such equipment, or an equivalent sound level at some other convenient distance."

Sec. 2917(a): "When charged as an infraction, and upon conviction thereof, such person shall be fined in an amount not exceeding (1) $100 for a first violation of this Article; (2) $200 for a second violation of this Article; and (3) up to $300 for each additional violation of this Article within one year of the date of a second or subsequent violation. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as such."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (San Francisco Police Code, Article 29 "Regulation of Noise," Secs. 2900–2926: Sec. 2900 declaration of policy; Sec. 2901 definitions (ambient, low-frequency ambient, noise level, property plane); Sec. 2902 noise level measurement; Sec. 2904 waste disposal services (75 dBA at 50 feet); Sec. 2907 construction equipment (80 dBA at 100 feet); Sec. 2908 construction work at night (8:00 p.m.–7:00 a.m.); Sec. 2909 noise limits (residential, commercial and industrial, public property, fixed residential interior); Sec. 2910 variances; Sec. 2912 Department of Public Health responsibilities; Sec. 2913 amplified sound on unenclosed tour buses; Sec. 2916 enforcement; Sec. 2917 violations. Text read on American Legal Publishing (the City's code host) on 2026-09-20; Sec. 2901 was last amended by Ord. 118-25 (eff. 8/17/2025), Sec. 2909 by Ord. 100-13 (eff. 7/6/2013), Sec. 2916 by Ord. 163-17 (eff. 8/26/2017).). 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 San Francisco

Per sf.gov "Report a noise problem": call 3-1-1 (415-701-2311 from outside San Francisco), use 311 online or the SF311 app, and you receive a tracking number. Residential sound, a street performance unaffiliated with a business, car music or an encampment: SFPD non-emergency, 415-553-0123. Construction on private property and building equipment such as HVAC: Department of Building Inspection (three-day and ten-day response targets); construction on public property: Public Works; establishments with live entertainment: the Entertainment Commission, through the separate sf.gov form "Report a business or event for a sound issue"; tour buses, delivery or service trucks, and garbage or recycling collection each have their own 311 category. Noise in an apartment building may be the landlord's responsibility (Rent Board), and persistent disputes between neighbors or with a business are referred to Community Boards mediation. The ordinance assigns enforcement the same way: Sec. 2916 lets the Director of Public Health enforce Secs. 2904, 2909 and 2912, Building Inspection and Public Works enforce the construction sections, the Entertainment Commission's Executive Director enforce venue standards, and the Chief of Police enforce Sec. 2909 and "noise created by humans or any other noise source not specifically assigned" to another department.

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in San Francisco. 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) There is no fixed outdoor decibel number to quote for San Francisco. A neighbor's stereo is judged against the ambient measured at the time, and the ambient has a floor of 45 dBA outdoors (35 dBA indoors), so the effective residential limit is at least 50 dBA outside the property plane and at least 40 dBA inside another unit, rising with the street noise around it. (2) Bass is regulated separately for licensed venues: a Place of Entertainment or Limited Live Performance Locale must also stay within 8 dBC of the low-frequency ambient (Sec. 2909(b)), a C-weighted test most cities do not have. (3) Construction "night" begins at 8:00 p.m., two hours before the interior standard's 10:00 p.m., and the daytime construction limit is a fixed 80 dBA at 100 feet from the equipment (Sec. 2907), with pavement breakers and jackhammers exempt from the number if they carry approved mufflers and shrouds; helicopters may not be used for construction more than two hours a day or four a week (Sec. 2907(d)). (4) Sec. 2909(e) removes every Sec. 2909 limit from an activity whose City permit carries its own noise conditions, which is how permitted street fairs, events and entertainment permits operate under different numbers. (5) Enforcement is split across five bodies (Sec. 2916): Public Health, Building Inspection, Public Works, the Entertainment Commission and the Police, and Sec. 2912 makes the Department of Public Health the monitor of everyone else's complaint response. (6) Penalties stack: infraction fines of $100, $200 and $300, administrative penalties under Administrative Code Chapter 100, and civil penalties of up to $500 per day sought by the City Attorney (Sec. 2917). (7) Open-top tour buses have their own regime (Sec. 2913): amplified sound must be inaudible at 50 feet or volume-limited, certified by Public Health, and the Sec. 2909 standards do not apply to them. (8) "Person" excludes the City and County itself (Sec. 2901(h)), so municipal operations are not bound by Article 29's limits. Article 29 contains no "plainly audible" distance test for ordinary noise; the only distance test is the 50-foot tour-bus rule.

Document it before you report it

San Francisco's limits are measured numbers, so a reading is direct evidence of how loud it really is. Take a reading right here: the meter below runs in your browser and records nothing, and stopping it saves a dated report. Check how loud your block is on the San Francisco noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.