Noise ordinances › Tulsa, OK

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

Quiet hours in Tulsa

None. Section 1400 contains no clock time at all; the offense is the same at noon and at 3 a.m., and the only temporal language is the "Quiet Zone" rule in subsection C, which applies during the posted regular business hours of a school, church, hospital or medical clinic that has put up a sign (hospitals and clinics open around the clock need not post hours). Nothing in Chapter 14 sets construction hours, party hours or a curfew for amplified sound; the listed examples are a vehicle horn used other than as a danger signal (A), amplified music or an instrument played so as to unreasonably disturb anyone in a dwelling, hotel or residence (B), noise audible inside a posted quiet-zone building (C), habitual dog or animal noise (D), unmuffled exhausts (E), unmuffled compressed-air tools (F), and playing instruments on a street or public place without a written permit from the Mayor (G).

Decibel limits — or rather, the lack of them

There are none. Section 1400 contains no decibel figure, no measurement procedure and no plainly-audible distance; the words "decibel" and "dB" do not appear in Chapter 14. The standard is willfulness plus unreasonableness: it is an offense "to willfully or maliciously disturb the public peace or quietude or the life, health or safety of a reasonable person of normal sensitivities in any manner, by creating any noise of such character or duration so as to be unreasonably loud or disturbing," and the seven listed acts are examples, not limits ("including but not limited to"). Section 1402 separately makes "unnecessary or inappropriate noise" disorderly conduct. Do not attribute a decibel number or a 50-foot test to Tulsa's noise ordinance; summaries that do are describing another city or the zoning code's performance standards, which this row does not cover.

What the ordinance actually says

Section 1400: "It shall be an offense for any person to willfully or maliciously disturb the public peace or quietude or the life, health or safety of a reasonable person of normal sensitivities in any manner, by creating any noise of such character or duration so as to be unreasonably loud or disturbing, including but not limited to the following:"

Section 1400 B: "The playing of any musical instrument or amplified music in any manner or in such volume, so as to unreasonably disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of any person in any dwelling, hotel or other type of residence;"

Section 1400 C: "Singing, chanting, whistling, shouting, yelling, use of bullhorns, auto horns, sound amplification equipment or other sound equipment at a volume that can be heard inside any building or structure located on property occupied by a school, church, hospital or medical clinic during the regular business hours of such school, church, hospital or medical clinic, provided that such school, church, hospital or medical clinic posts a \"Quiet Zone\" sign on any public right-of-way or similar public access area in front of or adjacent to any such building or structure, and posts the hours of operation near a public entrance of any such building or structure."

Section 1400 G: "The playing of musical instruments upon any street or public place without a written permit from the Mayor or his designee."

Section 1402 A: "It shall be an offense for any person at any time to willfully or maliciously disturb the public peace or quietude or the life, health or safety of any individual in any manner by making unnecessary or inappropriate noise; by any disorderly conduct thereby interrupting, disquieting or disrupting any lawful congregation or assembly of people; by keeping, maintaining or operating any place of public resort wherein loud or disturbing noises are made by drunken, disorderly or noisy persons congregating therein; or by failing to expel or restrain such persons when they are so acting."

Section 1408: "Unless otherwise provided for in this chapter, any person convicted of violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be punished by a fine of not more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), excluding costs, fees and assessments. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Tulsa Revised Ordinances, Title 27 "Penal Code," Chapter 14 "Disturbing the Peace," Section 1400 "Noises" (subsections A–G; Ord. Nos. 20494, 20520, 20825; amended by Ord. No. 25381, § 1, 8-7-2024), Section 1402 "Disorderly conduct" (unnecessary or inappropriate noise; Ord. No. 17559), and Section 1408 "Penalty" (Ord. No. 19605). 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 Tulsa

Per cityoftulsa.org: for a party or music in progress call the Tulsa Police Department non-emergency line, (918) 596-9222 (9-1-1 for emergencies); for other City services dial 3-1-1 (Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m.) or, from outside the city limits, (918) 596-2100; non-emergency police reports can also be filed online at cityoftulsa.org. Because the standard is the reasonable person and nothing is measured, a useful report gives the address, the time, what the sound is and how long it has been going on. Section 1400 is a criminal offense prosecuted in Municipal Court: a fine of up to $200 per day under Section 1408, or up to $100 and 30 days under the disorderly-conduct section (1402 B).

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Tulsa. 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 2024 amendment (Ord. 25381) rewrote Section 1400 around a "reasonable person of normal sensitivities" and "unreasonably loud or disturbing," a content-neutral objective standard; the pre-2024 text is what most online summaries still describe. (2) Willfulness is an element: the section reaches a person who "willfully or maliciously" disturbs the peace, which is why officers warn first in practice. (3) There is no night: no hours, no curfew, no construction window anywhere in Chapter 14, so a 7 a.m. leaf blower and a 1 a.m. party are judged by the same sentence. (4) Quiet zones are opt-in: a school, church, hospital or clinic gets the protection of subsection C only if it posts a "Quiet Zone" sign and its hours. (5) Street musicians need a written permit from the Mayor's office (G), a rule most cities dropped. (6) Penalties are small: a maximum of $200 per day under 1408, and the disorderly-conduct route (1402) carries $100 and up to 30 days in jail. (7) Chapter 14 does not regulate vehicle sound systems by distance; loud exhausts are covered only by the muffler clause (E) and the traffic code. (8) The row covers Title 27 only; Tulsa's zoning code (Title 42) carries land-use performance standards that are not a neighbor's complaint tool and are not summarized here.

Document it before you report it

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