Noise ordinances › Wilmington, NC

Wilmington noise ordinance: quiet hours, limits and complaints

Last updated: November 9, 2026

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Quiet hours in Wilmington

The night band is midnight to 7 a.m., every day. In those hours the sound level limits drop to 55 dB(A) for residential, 65 dB(A) for downtown and 70 dB(A) for commercial and industrial areas (6-33), and three activities are violations by name: construction activity in residential or downtown areas, except by permit for necessary activity (6-30(d)); the collection of garbage, recyclables or yard waste in residential areas (6-30(g)); and the operation of lawn mowers and other domestic power tools outside (6-30(h)). From 7 a.m. to midnight, lawnmowers, agricultural equipment and domestic power tools with standard noise-reducing equipment in proper condition, and the collection of garbage, recyclables or yard waste, are excepted from the article (6-31(i), (l)). Construction activity in residential or downtown areas is also a violation at any time on New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, except by permit for necessary activity (6-30(d)); construction performed by or for an agency of government is excepted (6-31(c)). Regularly scheduled outdoor athletic events at Legion Stadium, on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, at any city park or at any school athletic facility within the city limits, and concerts and other events at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater, Legion Stadium and the Northern Waterfront Park, are excepted from 7 a.m. to midnight (6-31(a), (b)). Church bells and the bells of the New Hanover County Courthouse may not sound for more than five minutes in any hour and, from midnight to 7 a.m., may only mark the hour (6-31(e)). The other specific prohibitions (horns, sirens, missing mufflers, sound projected to attract attention to a business, and noisy animals) have no time band (6-30). The article sets no separate weekend hours.

Decibel limits

Yes. Sec. 6-33 sets maximum sound level readings by zoning area. Downtown (any area zoned CBD): 75 dB(A) from 7 a.m. to midnight and 65 dB(A) from midnight to 7 a.m. Residential (any area zoned R-15, R-10, R-7, R-5, R-3, MHP, MF-L, MF-M, MF-H, HD-R, HD, RO or HDMU): 65 dB(A) and 55 dB(A). Commercial/Industrial (any area zoned AI, IND, LI, CB, CS, RB, O&I, UMX, MX or RFMU, or any area presently devoted to a commercial use that is a nonconforming situation under the zoning ordinance): 75 dB(A) and 70 dB(A). Measurement (6-32): the A-weighting scale on slow response; readings are made from within the boundary line of an adjoining or complaining property, but the limit that applies is the one for the zoning area of the property that is the source of the sound (6-32(d)); the reading is averaged over at least one minute, and sound levels may not exceed the limit by more than three decibels at any time during the measurement period (6-32(e)); impulsive or non-continuous noise is measured over at least one minute, and noise that exceeds the limit more than two times in a minute is deemed to exceed it (6-32(h)); traffic noise and noise from other sources not connected with the sound being measured are not considered (6-32(g)); meters are serviced, calibrated and operated as the manufacturer recommends and under police department regulations, by persons trained in sound level measurement (6-32(c)). An officer who does not have a department-owned and ANSI-approved meter may not measure with any other device, including phone applications and personal hand-held meters, and must proceed under the other sections of the article instead (6-32(i)). By permit, the Chief of Police can raise the allowable sound level by up to 10 decibels, and the City Manager by more (6-34(c), (d)). Rules with no meter: enforcement does not require a sound level meter (6-32(a)); willfully producing a noise disturbance on adjoining or neighboring properties or public areas is prohibited (6-28), a noise disturbance being sound that because of its volume, quality or time of day tends to annoy, disturb, frighten or otherwise cause an adverse psychological or physiological effect upon reasonable persons of normal sensitivity, or unreasonably prevents them from enjoying their activities of daily living (6-29); and the specific prohibitions in 6-30 need no reading.

What the ordinance actually says

§ 6-28: "Except as allowed in this article, no person shall willfully engage in any activity on any premises or public area in the city, which activity produces or constitutes a noise disturbance on adjoining or neighboring properties or public areas. A violation of section 6-28 shall constitute a misdemeanor."

§ 6-29: "Noise disturbance. Any sound or combination of sounds which, because of its volume or quality or time of day, tends to annoy, disturb, frighten, or otherwise cause an adverse psychological or physiological effect upon reasonable persons of normal sensitivity, or unreasonably prevents such persons from being able to enjoy their activities of daily living."

§ 6-33, Residential: "7:00 a.m. to Midnight 65 dB(A) Midnight to 7:00 a.m. 55 dB(A)"; Downtown: "7:00 a.m. to Midnight 75 dB(A) Midnight to 7:00 a.m. 65 dB(A)"; Commercial/Industrial: "7:00 a.m. to Midnight 75 dB(A) Midnight to 7:00 a.m. 70 dB(A)"

§ 6-32(a): "Enforcement of this article does not require the use of a sound level meter to determine compliance."

§ 6-32(d): "Sound level measurements shall be made from within the boundary line of an adjoining or complaining property. Whether the sound level violates the prescribed limits in section 6-33 below will be determined by whether the readings taken within the adjoining or complaining property are in excess of the levels allowed for the zoning area of the property that is the source of the sound."

§ 6-32(i): "If an officer does not have possession of a department-owned and ANSI-approved sound level meter at the time of responding to a noise complaint, sound level measurements for the purpose of determining violations of this article may not be taken using any other device, including but not limited to applications on cellular devices or any hand-held personal sound level meters obtained from any other source."

§ 6-30(d): "Construction activity in residential or downtown areas between the hours of Midnight and 7:00 a.m., or at any time on the following holidays: New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day, except by permit for necessary activity."

§ 6-30(f): "Keeping any animal or bird which frequently or for long periods of time makes noises that would tend to disturb or annoy a reasonable person of normal sensitivity in the vicinity."

§ 6-35(b): "An officer does not have to use a sound level meter or actually witness the sound or noise personally in order to take enforcement action under this section. Citations may be issued based upon statements and evidence obtained from complaining witnesses when the officer determines that such evidence is reliable, appropriate, and sufficient."

§ 6-35(c): "It shall be a violation of this article for any person to communicate a noise complaint to any city staff or official, using the 911 system or otherwise, for the purpose of harassing the subject of the complaint, and knowing or having reason to know that no noise disturbance actually exists or existed."

§ 6-1(b)(2)a: "The first violation on a civil citation within a rolling one (1) year period subjects the violator to a civil penalty of two hundred dollars ($200.00)."

§ 6-1(b)(2)d: "All fourth and subsequent violations on a civil citation by the same person or business or at the same location within a rolling one (1) year period of the first violation shall subject both the violator and any non-occupant owner of the premises to a civil penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), subject to the owner notice requirements of section 6-36 of article II."

Quoted verbatim from the official codified text (Code of Ordinances of the City of Wilmington, North Carolina (Wilmington City Code), Chapter 6 (Offenses, Miscellaneous), Article II (Noise Control), Secs. 6-26 to 6-37: 6-26 Purpose; 6-27 Scope; 6-28 General prohibition; 6-29 Definitions; 6-30 Specific prohibitions; 6-31 Exceptions; 6-32 Noise violation based on sound level meters; 6-33 Sound level limits by zoning area; 6-34 Noise permits; 6-35 Noise violations not based on sound level meters; 6-36 Owner/occupant responsibility; 6-37 Noise violation appeal process. The editor's note says Ord. No. O-2019-43, § 2, adopted Aug. 20, 2019, repealed the former Article II and enacted a new one; every section's history line cites it (8-20-19), and Secs. 6-28, 6-30, 6-32, 6-34, 6-35 and 6-36 add Ord. No. O-2021-84, § 1(Exh. 2, § 3), 11-16-21. The penalties are in Article I of the same chapter, Sec. 6-1 Penalties and remedies (last history entry Ord. No. O-2021-84, 11-16-21); Sec. 1-3 Penalties, in Chapter 1, says the penalties for each chapter are set out in that chapter. Text read on Municode, version Sep 1, 2026 (current), Supplement 42, codified through Ordinance No. O-2026-31, enacted June 16, 2026, on 2026-11-09.). Verified against the live code on 2026-11-09. 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 Wilmington

The Wilmington Police Department has primary enforcement responsibility for noise (Sec. 6-27), and its Reporting Crime page gives the non-emergency dispatch number, 910.452.6120, for filing a report about a situation that is not an emergency. New Hanover County's 911 Center page gives the same number, 910-452-6120, for non-emergent situations and names a barking dog as one. The City's Noise Ordinance page lists a Wilmington Police Department contact of 910.343.3609; that page covers the ordinance, permits and appeals and does not say which number to call about noise in progress, and no City page read today names noise on the dispatch line. Police headquarters is at 615 Bess St., 910.343.3600, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For animals, the New Hanover County Sheriff's Animal Services Unit takes complaint calls at 910-798-7500, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and lists barking dogs under public assistance, eighth of ten in its order of priority; the pages read do not say how the unit and the police divide barking complaints inside the city. New Hanover County's Report a Violation page lists the Sheriff's Office (910-798-4200) for noise complaints and sends violation reports within the City of Wilmington to the city's Code Enforcement Services (910-341-3266); inside the city the code gives the Police Department primary enforcement (6-27). What an officer can do: issue a civil citation or enforce any other penalty under the article on finding that a noise disturbance exists, without a meter and without hearing the noise personally, on reliable statements and evidence from complaining witnesses (6-35(a), (b)). Making a noise complaint to harass its subject, knowing or having reason to know that no noise disturbance exists, is itself a violation (6-35(c)). Penalties (Sec. 6-1(b)(2)): a civil penalty of $200 for the first violation on a civil citation within a rolling one-year period; $350 for a second by the same person or business or at the same location within a rolling one-year period of the first; $500 for a third; and $1,000 for a fourth and each later one. From the third violation the penalty also falls on any non-occupant owner of the premises, subject to the owner notice requirements of 6-36. A written warning is not required before a citation and no more than one may be given within a rolling one-year period; a civil penalty not paid within 10 business days brings a $50 delinquency charge; and each separate time an officer responds to the same location to assess a violation is a separate offense with its own penalty. A violation of 6-28, 6-30, 6-32, 6-35 or 6-36 is also a misdemeanor, and a violation of 6-34 (permits) is a civil citation or a misdemeanor, but an officer may arrest for an Article II violation only when the alleged violator refuses to give a name and address, refuses to stop after being issued a civil citation, any person interferes with the officer's enforcement, or an arrest is also being made for other charges (6-1(b)(2)g). A civil penalty can be appealed in writing to the chief of police within 10 calendar days after it is issued, which stays the penalty; a written determination follows within 10 working days of receipt; and that decision can be taken to the Superior Court of New Hanover County within 30 days of the date it was mailed (6-37). Sources: https://www.wilmingtonnc.gov/Connect-With-Us/Codes-Ordinances/Noise-Ordinance, https://www.wilmingtonnc.gov/Public-Safety/Wilmington-Police-Department/Reporting-Crime, https://www.wilmingtonnc.gov/Public-Safety/Wilmington-Police-Department, https://www.nhcgov.com/160/When-Do-I-Call-911, https://www.nhcgov.com/956/Animal-Complaints and https://www.nhcgov.com/535/Report-a-Violation.

Step by step, with what to log and what to expect after you file: how to file a noise complaint in Wilmington. 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) Night starts at midnight, not 10 or 11 p.m.: the daytime limits, and the exceptions for lawnmowers, domestic power tools and trash collection, all run from 7 a.m. to midnight (6-31, 6-33). (2) The source's zoning sets the limit. The reading is taken within the adjoining or complaining property, but it is compared with the level allowed for the zoning area of the property the sound comes from (6-32(d)), so sound from a downtown or commercial source is measured against that area's higher limit wherever it is heard. (3) No meter is needed, and the officer does not have to hear the noise: a citation may rest on statements and evidence from complaining witnesses that the officer finds reliable, appropriate and sufficient (6-32(a), 6-35(b)). The twelve factors for deciding whether a noise disturbance exists include volume, intensity, background noise, proximity to residential sleeping facilities, zoning, time of day, duration and the "Statements of any complaining witnesses, including any pictures or audio/video documentation produced by complaining witnesses" (6-35(d)). (4) Phone apps are barred for official readings: an officer without a department-owned, ANSI-approved meter may not measure with a phone application or a personal hand-held meter and must use the non-meter sections instead (6-32(i)). The section restricts the officer's measurement; a resident's recording still counts as witness documentation under 6-35(d). (5) A false complaint is a violation: reporting noise to harass someone, knowing or having reason to know that no noise disturbance exists or existed, breaks the article (6-35(c)). (6) Construction in residential or downtown areas is a violation at any time on New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, as well as from midnight to 7 a.m. on other days, except by permit for necessary activity (6-30(d)); construction by or for an agency of government is excepted if the equipment is operated to the manufacturer's specifications and has all its noise-reducing equipment in proper condition (6-31(c)). Construction is defined to include repair, clearing of land, earth moving, blasting and landscaping (6-29). (7) Exceptions apply only "To the extent that such uses are for a legitimate purpose" (6-31). Besides those above they cover safety signals, warning devices and emergency pressure relief valves; street fairs, festivals or other public celebrations produced, sponsored or approved by the City; film and video production with a city film permit; lawful fireworks; necessary business equipment such as heating and air conditioning units, electrical generators, water pumps, ventilation systems and chillers, if operated to the manufacturer's specifications, in good working order and with appropriate noise-reducing equipment and any reasonable screening (6-29, 6-31(j)); music during parades or military ceremonies; emergency vehicles on duty; and any other sound authorized by city-issued permit or city contract. (8) Permits (6-34): a noise permit is needed in advance for any activity expected to exceed the sound level or time limits on any other property; the application goes to the Wilmington Police Department at least five city business days ahead, except for a necessary activity; the chief of police may extend a time limit by no more than one hour and raise a sound level by no more than 10 decibels, and only the city manager may go further; one permit covers no more than 30 days of events, all within one calendar year; and a violation of 6-34 is a civil citation or a misdemeanor and may also be the basis for revoking any permit, at the discretion of the responding officer after consulting a supervising officer. A denial must be explained in writing and can be appealed to the city manager. As codified, 6-34 has two subsections lettered (f) and two lettered (g); the City's page cites 6-34(f) for the denial appeal. The City's Noise Ordinance page says one permit may cover "up to thirty (30) events or incidents in a one-year period"; the code says no more than 30 days of events on a single permit, with no more than one calendar year between the first and the last (6-34(e), (f)), and the code controls. (9) Owners and occupants (6-36): everyone responsible for the premises or the sound source who is actively or constructively present is listed on the same citation and is jointly and severally responsible; an absentee owner answers for third or subsequent violations by tenants, guests or other licensees, but only if already notified by registered or certified mail of earlier violations within the previous twelve-month period, and never criminally; and the person in charge of a commercial establishment cannot defend by saying a tenant, guest, invitee, permittee or licensee caused the violation. (10) Animals: keeping any animal or bird that frequently or for long periods makes noises that would tend to disturb or annoy a reasonable person of normal sensitivity is a specific prohibition, with no minutes test and no time band (6-30(f)). (11) Other prohibitions by name: sounding a horn for an unnecessary or unreasonable period of time or to harass another person; a siren on any vehicle other than emergency vehicles; operating a motor vehicle without a proper muffler system; and intentionally projecting sound from a drum, music, loudspeaker or other device onto adjoining or neighboring properties to attract attention to a business, location, performance, show, event, sale or display (6-30(a), (b), (c), (e)). (12) Scope: the article applies to all sound, vibration and other noise originating within the corporate limits of the City of Wilmington, and does not limit other legal remedies for damages or abatement (6-27). (13) Fines follow the address as well as the person: a second or later violation counts if it is by the same person or business or at the same location within a rolling one-year period of the first, at $200, $350, $500 and then $1,000 each; from the third, a non-occupant owner who has had the notice 6-36 requires is penalized too; and an unpaid penalty gains $50 after 10 business days (6-1(b)(2)). The fines are in Sec. 6-1, in Article I of the chapter, not in the noise article. (14) A misdemeanor with limited arrest: 6-28, 6-30, 6-32, 6-35 and 6-36 each end by saying a violation of the section shall constitute a misdemeanor (their history lines add Ord. No. O-2021-84, 11-16-21), yet an officer may arrest for an Article II violation only in the four cases listed in 6-1(b)(2)g. North Carolina law makes violating a city ordinance a misdemeanor only if the city specifies that in the ordinance (G.S. 160A-175(b)); the offense is a Class 3 misdemeanor with a fine of not more than $500, and of not more than $50 unless the ordinance expressly states a higher maximum (G.S. 14-4(a)). Sec. 6-1(a) names "a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00)". (15) The City's PDF is out of date: its Noise Ordinance page says "You can read the complete ordinance" and links a PDF of the article that lacks the misdemeanor sentences and has different wording for the permit revocation clause in 6-34, and that states no fine. The decibel limits, hours, prohibitions and exceptions read the same in both. The City's summary slideshow, dated August 20, 2019, gives an effective date of October 1, 2019.

Document it before you report it

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