Noise ordinances › San Jose, CA

San Jose noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: September 20, 2026

Documenting this? A dated log of when the noise started, when it stopped and how loud it got is what San Jose acts on. Log noise levels for a complaint — free, runs in your browser, records no audio.

Quiet hours in San Jose

None. Chapter 10.16 contains no clock time: no night window, no construction hours, no curfew for music or amplified sound. Sec. 10.16.010 applies around the clock, and the illustrative list in 10.16.020 B names horns used other than as state law allows, defective exhausts, revving a stationary engine, loud peddlers and vendors, radios, phonographs, orchestras and other musical devices or instruments "disturbing or unreasonably loud to a reasonable person outside the facility or unit from which the noise emanates," and shouting, screaming, wailing or other vocalization judged the same way. Loudspeakers and amplifiers projecting sound outdoors or out of a building need a permit from the chief of police at any hour (10.16.030), and the permit can carry time, place, manner, sound-level and duration conditions (10.16.040 D). Construction hours and equipment standards are set by permit conditions and other titles of the code, not by this chapter.

Decibel limits — or rather, the lack of them

There are none. Chapter 10.16 contains no decibel figure, no measurement procedure and no plainly-audible distance; the words "decibel" and "dB" do not appear in it. The standard is "disturbing or unreasonably loud noise" that disturbs "the peace, quiet and comfort of any neighborhood" (10.16.010), with the listed noises "merely illustrative" (10.16.020 A), and for music and voices the reference point is a reasonable person outside the facility or unit the sound comes from (10.16.020 B.5–6). The chief of police may set a sound-level restriction as a condition of an individual loudspeaker permit (10.16.040 D.1), which is the only place a number can enter. Do not attribute a decibel limit or a 50-foot test to San Jose's noise ordinance; the City's General Plan and zoning code address noise for land-use approvals, which are not a neighbor's complaint tool and are not summarized here.

What the ordinance actually says

Sec. 10.16.010: "No person shall disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of any neighborhood by creating therein any disturbing or unreasonably loud noise."

Sec. 10.16.020 A: "It is the intent of this chapter to prohibit all noises which are disturbing or unreasonably loud. The types of noises set out in subsection B. shall not be deemed or construed as in any way exclusive, but merely illustrative."

Sec. 10.16.020 B.5: "The playing or operating of any radio, phonograph, orchestra or other musical device or instrument in a manner that is disturbing or unreasonably loud to a reasonable person outside the facility or unit from which the noise emanates;"

Sec. 10.16.030: "No person shall operate any loudspeaker or sound amplifier or similar device in such a manner as to cause any sound to be projected outside of any building or out-of-doors, except upon receipt of a permit from the chief of police as provided in Section 10.16.040."

Sec. 10.16.110 B: "Whenever a police officer at the scene warns any responsible party present to discontinue the disturbance, the responsible party shall be liable for the actual cost of each subsequent response required for a disturbance within twelve hours of the first response."

Sec. 10.16.090 B: "An owner or occupant of any property who is affected by a violation or threatened violation of any provision of this chapter who prevails in such an action shall be entitled to recover damages and costs, including reasonable attorney fees; and such other relief as determined by the court. In addition to all other damages or other relief, the court may award the city or private party a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars for each violation of this chapter."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (San Jose Municipal Code, Title 10 "Public Peace, Morals and Welfare," Chapter 10.16 "Offenses Against Public Peace": Part 1 Disturbing the Peace, Secs. 10.16.010 (disturbing the peace prohibited) and 10.16.020 (disturbing noises designated) (prior code §§ 4231–4232; Ord. 24198); Part 2 Loudspeakers and Sound Amplifiers, Secs. 10.16.030–10.16.090 (permit from the chief of police, conditions, summary suspension, hearings, private right of action; Ords. 19764, 21289, 24198); Part 3 Cost Recovery for Responses to Disturbances, Secs. 10.16.100–10.16.130 (Ord. 24314). State law cross-reference: California Penal Code § 415. Text read on Municode (the City's code host) on 2026-09-20.). 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 Jose

Per sanjoseca.gov (Contacting the City): dial (408) 277-8900 to report non-emergency police situations "such as noise disturbances," parking complaints, lost and found property and crimes not in progress; use 9-1-1 only for an emergency. Non-emergency city issues can also be reported through San José 311 (311.sanjoseca.gov, the SJ311 app, or 3-1-1 inside the city). Barking dogs and other animal noise go to Animal Care Services ("Report a Noisy Animal"). Two features of the chapter matter to a complainant: after a first police response and warning, every further response to the same disturbance within twelve hours is billed at actual cost to the responsible parties, jointly and severally (10.16.110–10.16.120); and an owner or occupant affected by a violation may sue directly for damages, an injunction and a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation (10.16.090).

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in San Jose. 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) The test is where the sound is heard, not how loud it is: music or shouting is judged by "a reasonable person outside the facility or unit from which the noise emanates," so an apartment stereo audible in the hallway can qualify. (2) There is no night in the chapter; the same sentence governs noon and 3 a.m., and construction hours are not here at all. (3) Any loudspeaker or amplifier projecting sound outdoors, from a backyard party to a store front, needs a police-chief permit with a five-working-day decision window, fee, and possible sound-level conditions; the chief can summarily suspend it on the spot (10.16.030–10.16.050), with expedited hearings for events within five days (10.16.070). (4) Repeat responses are billed: after one warning, each further police response within twelve hours costs the hosts the actual cost of personnel and equipment, the responsible parties (owner, lessee, organizer, participants, or a minor's parent) being jointly and severally liable, appealable to the appeals hearing board (10.16.100–10.16.130). (5) Neighbors have their own cause of action with attorney's fees and up to $1,000 per violation (10.16.090), unusual for a noise ordinance. (6) Title 10 is a police-power title; enforcement is the police department's, and the chapter cross-references Penal Code § 415, the state disturbing-the-peace statute, which officers can charge instead. (7) The chapter does not regulate vehicle sound systems by distance; loud exhausts appear only as "disturbing or unreasonably loud" exhaust noise (10.16.020 B.2) and are otherwise a Vehicle Code matter.

Document it before you report it

San Jose enforces mostly by audibility, but a log of measured levels still makes a complaint concrete and credible. 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 San Jose noise map. For time-stamped measurement history you can show a landlord or code officer, the app keeps a log.