Noise ordinances › Santa Ana, CA

Santa Ana noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: October 1, 2026

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Quiet hours in Santa Ana

Night is 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. in both tables: the exterior standard for residential property falls from 55 to 50 dB(A) (Sec. 18-312) and the interior standard from 55 to 45 dB(A) (Sec. 18-313). Construction, repair, remodeling and grading are exempt from the article only if they do not take place between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, "including Saturday," or at any time on Sunday or a federal holiday (18-314(e)); outside that window the work loses its exemption and is judged against the residential standards like any other noise, so Sundays and federal holidays have no exempt construction hours. Maintenance of real property is exempt from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on any day except Sunday or a federal holiday, and from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on those days (18-314(i)); mobile agricultural noise follows the construction window (18-314(g)). The 50-foot amplified-sound rule in Sec. 10-153 has no hours. Public entertainment is barred from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. on premises open to the public (11-11). Ice cream vendors may not operate any sound device or music system while stopped, standing or parked (36-465), and a driver may not use a vehicle loudspeaker on a street to advertise for commercial purposes (36-43), at any hour.

Decibel limits

Yes. The whole city is "Noise Zone 1" (18-311), and the standards protect residential property. Exterior (18-312): 55 dB(A) from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and 50 dB(A) from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.; it is unlawful to cause, measured on any other residential property, the standard for a cumulative period of more than 30 minutes in any hour, the standard plus 5 dB(A) for more than 15 minutes, plus 10 for more than 5 minutes, plus 15 for more than one minute, or plus 20 for any period of time. Interior (18-313), measured within any other dwelling unit: 55 dB(A) by day and 45 dB(A) at night; the standard for more than 5 cumulative minutes in an hour, plus 5 dB(A) for more than one minute, or plus 10 for any period. Both tables drop by 5 dB(A) when the offending noise consists entirely of impact noise, simple tone noise, speech, music or a combination of them. Where the ambient exceeds a category, the cumulative period for that category is increased to reflect it, and for the top category the maximum is raised to the maximum ambient (18-312(c), 18-313(c)). Measurement: an ANSI S1.4-1971 Type 1 or Type 2 sound level meter, A-weighted at slow response (18-309, 18-310); exterior readings at any point on the affected property, interior readings inside the affected dwelling unit at least 4 feet from the wall, ceiling or floor nearest the source, and they may be made with the unit's windows open (18-317). Schools, hospitals and churches in use get the exterior limits, and protection from noise that unreasonably interferes with their use, only if conspicuous signs are displayed in three separate locations within one-tenth of a mile (18-315). The second test needs no meter: Sec. 10-153 makes it unlawful to emit "loud or raucous noise" from a sound-making or sound-amplifying device on private property, a street, alley or sidewalk, or a public park or place (school district property excepted), and defines it as amplified sound that "can be heard fifty (50) feet" from the device. Licensed entertainment venues with amplified music are held to a stricter distance as a permit condition: "Music/noise shall not be audible beyond twenty (20) feet from the exterior of the premises in any direction" (11-7).

What the ordinance actually says

Sec. 18-311: "The entire City of Santa Ana is hereby designated as "Noise Zone 1.""

Sec. 18-312(b): "It shall be unlawful for any person at any location within the City of Santa Ana to create any noise, or to allow the creation of any noise on property owned, leased, occupied, or otherwise controlled by such person, when the foregoing causes the noise level, when measured on any other residential property, to exceed: (1) The noise standard for a cumulative period of more than thirty (30) minutes in any hour; or (2) The noise standard plus five (5) dB(A) for a cumulative period of more than fifteen (15) minutes in any hour; or (3) The noise standard plus ten (10) dB(A) for a cumulative period of more than five (5) minutes in any hour; or (4) The noise standard plus fifteen (15) dB(A) for a cumulative period of more than one minute in any hour; or (5) The noise standard plus twenty (20) dB(A) for any period of time."

Sec. 18-312(a): "In the event the alleged offensive noise consists entirely of impact noise, simple tone noise, speech, music, or any combination thereof, each of the above noise levels shall be reduced by five (5) dB (A)."

Sec. 18-314(e): "Noise sources associated with construction, repair, remodeling, or grading of any real property, provided said activities do not take place between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, including Saturday, or any time on Sunday or a federal holiday."

Sec. 18-317: "The location selected for measuring exterior noise levels shall be at any point on the affected property. Interior noise measurements shall be made within the affected dwelling unit. The measurement shall be made at a point at least four (4) feet from the wall, ceiling, or floor nearest the alleged offensive noise source and may be made with the windows of the affected unit open."

Sec. 10-153(b): "The words "loud and raucous noise," as used herein, shall mean any sound or any recording thereof when amplified or increased by any electrical, mechanical or other device to such volume, intensity or carrying power, such that it can be heard fifty (50) feet from the location where the electrical, mechanical or other device is amplifying the sound."

Sec. 18-315: "It shall be unlawful for any person to create any noise which causes the noise level at any school, hospital or church while the same is in use to exceed the noise limits as specified in section 18-312 prescribed for the assigned noise zone in which the school, hospital or church is located, or which noise level unreasonably interferes with the use of such institutions or which unreasonably disturbs or annoys patients in the hospital, provided conspicuous signs are displayed in three (3) separate locations within one-tenth ( 1/10 ) of a mile of the institution indicating the presence of a school, church or hospital."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Santa Ana Municipal Code, Chapter 18 "Health and Sanitation," Article VI "Noise Control," Secs. 18-308 through 18-321 (Ord. No. NS-1441, § 1, enacted 8-21-78, which replaced the former Article VI): 18-309 definitions, 18-310 measurement criteria, 18-311 designated noise zone, 18-312 exterior noise standards, 18-313 interior noise standards, 18-314 special provisions (exemptions and construction hours), 18-315 schools, hospitals and churches, 18-316 air conditioning and refrigeration, 18-317 noise level measurement, 18-318 manner of enforcement, 18-319 variance procedure, 18-320 appeals, 18-321 violations (misdemeanors); Chapter 10, Sec. 10-153 loud and raucous noise from sound-making or amplifying devices (Ord. No. NS-2184, § 1, 2-1-93; Ord. No. NS-2964, § 2, 4-2-2019) and Article VII, Secs. 10-300 through 10-305 police services at large parties (Ord. No. NS-1958, 5-16-88); Chapter 5, Secs. 5-1 (barking dog definition), 5-59 and 5-59.1 noisy animals (Ord. No. NS-2818, 5-2-11); Chapter 11, Secs. 11-7 and 11-11 entertainment permits (Ord. No. NS-2847, 8-5-13); Sec. 31-2.10 park noise; Secs. 36-43 and 36-465 vehicle loudspeakers and ice cream vendors. Code codified through Ord. No. NS-3097, adopted 7-7-2026 (Supp. No. 33, Update 1), with no adopted-but-uncodified ordinances listed by Municode. Text read on Municode (library.municode.com, the City's code host) on 2026-10-01.). Verified against the live code on 2026-10-01. 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 Santa Ana

Per santa-ana.gov (the City's "Who Do I Call?" directory; santa-ana.org addresses now redirect to santa-ana.gov): "Noise Complaints" are listed under Police at (714) 834-4211, the same number the directory gives for "Police Dispatch (non-emergency police)"; the directory also lists Animal Control (Police) at (714) 245-8792 and Code Enforcement (Planning and Building) at (714) 667-2780; call 9-1-1 for emergencies. The Police Department's FAQ page separately says "You may report non-emergency problems at (714) 245-8665," and the Police Department Directory lists "Non-Emergency Dispatch" at (714) 245-8049 and "Non-Emergency Reporting" at (714) 245-8665, so the City's pages give three different non-emergency police numbers. Under the code, the chief of police and the Orange County health officer enforce the noise article (18-318) and violations are misdemeanors, each day a separate offense (18-321). For amplified sound audible at 50 feet, officers issue administrative citations under Sec. 10-153(f)-(g): no fine for the first response, then $100, $250, $500, $750 and $1,000 for the second through sixth-and-later responses to the same location within a calendar year, due within 30 days and appealable within 15 days. A second police response to a large party after a first warning can also be billed to the person responsible as a police services fee of no more than $500 for a single incident, though the City may seek actual costs above that through other legal remedies (10-302, 10-303). All noisy-animal and barking-dog complaints "shall be lodged with the Santa Ana Police Department"; an enforcement officer may cite, for a violation the officer did not see or hear, on a community member's complaint signed under penalty of perjury, after a 10-day warning notice (5-59.1).

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Santa Ana. 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) Every section of the noise article, 18-308 to 18-321, carries a single history note, Ord. NS-1441 of August 21, 1978; none shows a later amendment, so the 1978 numbers are still the law. (2) The tables protect homes, not businesses: the standards "apply to all residential property," and the offense is noise measured "on any other residential property" or inside "any other dwelling unit"; schools, hospitals and churches are covered only where conspicuous signs are posted in three separate locations within a tenth of a mile (18-315). (3) The meter goes on the complainant's side: exterior readings are taken at any point on the affected property and interior readings may be taken with the windows open (18-317). (4) There are two independent routes: the decibel article (a misdemeanor enforced by police and the Orange County health officer) and the 50-foot audibility rule for amplified sound (administrative citations under 10-153, with no fine on the first response and fines climbing to $1,000 for repeat responses to the same location within a calendar year, counted from January 1). (5) Section 10-153 makes several people answerable for a party: the owner of record, whoever is in charge of or authorized the use of the property, the organizer, the person running the equipment, and the parents or guardians of a minor in charge (10-153(c)). (6) Construction is not banned at night; it is exempt from the decibel article only from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and judged by the residential standards at other times, with no exempt hours on Sundays or federal holidays (18-314(e)). (7) Variances go through Orange County: applications are filed with the Orange County health officer and decided by the Orange County Noise Variance Board, with an appeal to the City Council (18-319, 18-320). (8) The air-conditioning allowance in 18-316 (+8 dB(A) for units installed before the article) applied only for the five years after the article took effect. (9) Exempt outright: activities on school and college grounds, outdoor gatherings, dances and shows held under a City license, activities in publicly owned parks, emergency work, and anything regulated by preempting state or federal law (18-314); amplified sound in a park needs a permit (31-2.10). (10) A barking dog is defined by time: incessant barking for 30 minutes or more, or intermittent barking for 60 minutes or more, in any 24-hour period, not counting barking at a trespasser or when the dog is teased (5-1). (11) Entertainment-permit venues with amplified music must keep music and noise inaudible beyond 20 feet of the premises (11-7), and public entertainment is barred from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. (11-11).

Document it before you report it

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