Noise ordinances › Tucson, AZ

Tucson 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 Tucson acts on. Log noise levels for a complaint — free, runs in your browser, records no audio.

Quiet hours in Tucson

Night for the decibel table is 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.: the limit at the property line drops from 70 to 62 dB(A) where the receiving property is residential, 72 to 65 commercial, 85 to 70 industrial (Table I). The plainly-audible rules in subsection (b) have no hours except construction: repair, remodeling, demolition, drilling, wood cutting and excavation are prohibited from 8:00 p.m. through sunrise Monday–Saturday and at any time on Sundays and legal holidays, with a homeowner allowed to do such work at their own residence sunrise–8:00 p.m. Monday–Saturday and 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. on Sundays and holidays ((b)(5)). Race tracks and amusement courses may not run engines between 10:30 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Sunday–Thursday or midnight and 8:00 a.m. Friday–Saturday ((h)); street vendors may not make sales sounds between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. or from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. ((i)). A car stereo plainly audible at 50 feet is a violation at any hour ((k)(2)), and an "unruly gathering" of five or more people that disturbs the quiet enjoyment of any property is a civil infraction at any hour (16-32).

Decibel limits

Yes. Sec. 16-31(a) and Table I: no activity may produce a dB(A) beyond the person's property line above 70 by day and 62 at night when the receiving property is residential, 72 / 65 commercial, 85 / 70 industrial (day 7:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m., night 10:00 p.m.–7:00 a.m.); on mixed residential and commercial property the residential levels apply only to the part used solely as a residence. Two more numbers: race-track hours may be extended to midnight if sound stays under 70 dB(C) at 100 feet ((h)), and sales sounds from a pushcart, bicycle or vehicle may not exceed 70 dB(A) at 50 feet ((i)). Subsection (b) then makes clear the meter is not the only test: sounds "not measurable by the sound level meter" or under the table are still violations if they are plainly audible beyond the property line and disturb the peace and quiet of a neighborhood or person, naming a radio, television, amplifier or instrument running continuously or intermittently for at least 15 minutes, loud loading and unloading, animals that howl or bark frequently or continuously, shouting, yelling, screaming or other raucous vocalization, and construction outside the permitted hours. Vehicle sound systems are expressly taken off the meter because "decibel measurements are difficult to obtain from moving vehicles": the test is annoyance, plainly audible at 50 feet, or vibration felt at 50 feet ((k)).

What the ordinance actually says

Sec. 16-31(a): "No person shall conduct or permit any activity that produces a dB(A) beyond that person's property line exceeding the levels specified in Table I. Where property is used for both residential and commercial purposes, the residential sound levels shall be used only for measurements made on the portion of the property used solely for residential purposes." Table I (Use of Property Receiving the Sound; 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. / 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.): "Residential 70 / 62; Commercial 72 / 65; Industrial 85 / 70. All limits expressed in dB(A)"

Sec. 16-31(b): "Some sounds may be such that they are not measurable by the sound level meter or may not exceed the limits set forth in subsection (a) of this section, but nonetheless may be excessive and may disturb the peace and quiet of a neighborhood or person. Noises prohibited by this subsection are in violation of this chapter notwithstanding the fact that there is no apparent violation of subsection (a) of this section. The following activities are prohibited if they produce plainly audible sound beyond the property line of the property on which they are conducted and they disturb the peace and quiet of a neighborhood or person: (1) Allowing or causing any continuous or intermittent noise that persists for a period of at least fifteen (15) minutes and which is caused by using, operating or permitting to be played any radio, television, tape deck, record player, amplifier, musical instrument, or instrument, machine or device used for the production, reproduction or emission of sound;"

Sec. 16-31(b)(5): "Any noise created by construction activities including, but not limited to, repair, remodeling, demolition, drilling, wood cutting or excavation work conducted from 8:00 p.m. through sunrise Mondays through Saturdays, and at any time on Sundays and legal holidays; except that a person may engage in the above listed activities at that person's own residence from sunrise through 8:00 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Sundays or legal holidays."

Sec. 16-31(k)(2): "Except as authorized by law, no person shall operate or permit the operation of any sound amplification system in or on a vehicle in such a manner that the sound is plainly audible at a distance of fifty (50) feet, or in such a manner that it causes a person to be aware of vibration accompanying the sound at a distance of fifty (50) feet."

Sec. 16-31(j): "Persons responsible for noise violations. If the person responsible for an activity that violates this section cannot be determined, the owner, lessee or occupant of the property on which the activity is located shall be deemed responsible for the violation."

Sec. 16-32(a): "Unruly gathering means a gathering of five (5) or more persons on any private property, including property used to conduct business, in a manner which causes a disturbance of the quiet enjoyment of private or public property by any person or persons. Such disturbances include, but are not limited to, excessive noise or traffic, obstruction of public streets by crowds or vehicles, drinking in public, the service of alcohol to minors or consumption of alcohol by minors, fighting, disturbing the peace, and littering."

Sec. 16-32(g)(1): "The penalty for a party found responsible for an unruly gathering, as provided in subsection (e), shall be a minimum mandatory fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00). Additionally, if the party found responsible for an unruly gathering has previously been found responsible for an unruly gathering, regardless of the location of the prior violation, the penalty shall be a minimum mandatory fine of seven hundred and fifty dollars ($750.00)."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Tucson Code, Chapter 16 "Neighborhood Preservation," Article IV "Unlawful Acts," Sec. 16-31 "Excessive noise" (subsections (a) maximum permissible sound levels and Table I, (b) other noises prohibited, (c) general exemptions, (d) temporary exemptions, (e) variances, (f)–(g) noisy vehicles and mufflers, (h) race tracks, (i) street vendors, (j) persons responsible, (k) sound amplification systems in vehicles, (l) penalty, (m) enforcement; Ord. No. 9816 (2-24-03), Ord. No. 10126 (3-1-05), Ord. No. 11024 (10-9-12, eff. 11-1-12)) and Sec. 16-32 "Unruly gatherings" (Ord. No. 11445, 3-21-17). Penalties under Sec. 1-8 and the civil-infraction procedures of Chapter 8. Text read on American Legal Publishing (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 Tucson

Per tucsonaz.gov (Contact TPD): the Tucson Police Department non-emergency line is 520-791-4444 (listed 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; "If this is an emergency, or for immediate police assistance, please call 911"); non-emergency reports can also be filed online through the City's crime-reporting system or in person at a substation, and general city service requests through the 311 Service Request Portal. Sec. 16-31(m) authorizes the police department and city attorney to enforce the section and says a complaining member of the public "shall not necessarily be required to appear in court"; animal noise citations can also be issued by any peace officer or county animal control officer ((b)(3)). Unruly gatherings (16-32) are enforced by police on a complaint from a member of the public, with the premises posted for 180 days; the department's Red Tag unit handles those postings. Violations are civil infractions with a court-ordered abatement, and where the person responsible cannot be identified the owner, lessee or occupant is deemed responsible ((j)).

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Tucson. 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) Tucson's numbers are high (70 dB(A) by day at a residential line, 62 at night) but the plainly-audible list in (b) does most of the work: fifteen minutes of audible music across the line, or any shouting or loading noise that disturbs a neighbor, is a violation even when the meter reads under the table, and the section says so in terms. (2) The table is keyed to the property receiving the sound, so a home next to a commercial lot gets the residential limit and a shop next to a factory the industrial one. (3) Construction "night" starts at 8:00 p.m. and ends at sunrise, a moving line; Sunday and holiday work is barred for contractors but allowed 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. for a homeowner on their own property. (4) Car stereos are governed by hearing and touch: plainly audible or felt as vibration at 50 feet, with private-property use exempt only if inaudible beyond the line ((k)). (5) The "Red Tag" ordinance (16-32) is the party rule: five or more people, one disturbance, and the premises are posted for 180 days; a second unruly gathering in that window makes the owner, tenant, sponsor and disruptive guests each liable for minimum fines of $750, $1,000 and $1,500 plus up to $1,000 in police response costs, with a $500 minimum for the first gathering and a mandatory $100 for removing the posted notice. (6) Everything is a civil infraction under Sec. 1-8 and Chapter 8, and the court must enter an abatement order alongside the fine ((l)); Chapter 16 has no jail term. (7) The city manager can grant a written temporary exemption from the table for up to 30 days on seven listed factors ((d)), and pre-2003 activities can seek a variance from the board of adjustment ((e)). (8) Exemptions cover emergency work, alarms, government operations, permitted parades and festivals within City-approved limits, and school and university athletics and music ((c)). (9) Older references place Tucson's noise rules in Chapter 16 Article VI or in Chapter 11; the current text is Article IV, Secs. 16-31 and 16-32.

Document it before you report it

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