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Ohio noise laws: is there a statewide noise ordinance?
Ohio has no statewide noise ordinance, quiet hours or decibel limit for homes. Cities and villages set their own, and townships may regulate noise in residential zones. Statewide, "unreasonable noise" that recklessly causes inconvenience, annoyance or alarm is disorderly conduct under R.C. 2917.11: a minor misdemeanor, or a fourth-degree misdemeanor if it goes on after a warning. Call local police.
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No statewide quiet hours in Ohio
No Ohio statute sets quiet hours or a decibel limit for homes. Cities and villages write their own noise ordinances under the home rule powers in Article XVIII, Section 3 of the Ohio Constitution, which is why Columbus measures a one-hour average in decibels from inside the affected building while Cleveland bans music that is plainly audible outside the room it is played in.
Outside cities and villages, township trustees may adopt noise rules. R.C. 505.172 lets them adopt "regulations and orders that are necessary to control noise within the unincorporated territory of the township that is generated at any premises to which a D permit has been issued by the division of liquor control or that is generated within any areas zoned for residential use." Agriculture, coal and surface mining, and oil and gas wells and pipelines are exempt. Breaking a township noise rule is a misdemeanor of the second degree, with a fine of up to $750 (R.C. 2929.28) and up to 90 days in jail (R.C. 2929.24), and anyone harmed by a breach may sue for "a declaratory judgment, an injunction, or other appropriate relief". A township rule exists only where the trustees have adopted one, so check with yours.
| Rule | Set by | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Quiet hours, decibel limits and music rules in cities and villages | Each city or village, by ordinance | Ohio Constitution, art. XVIII, s 3 (home rule) |
| Noise in residential zones and at premises with a D liquor permit, in unincorporated township areas | Township trustees, by resolution | R.C. 505.172 |
| Car and motorcycle decibel limits on posted roads | Counties and townships that adopt them | R.C. 4513.221 |
| Unreasonable noise that recklessly causes inconvenience, annoyance or alarm | State law, anywhere in Ohio | R.C. 2917.11(A)(2) |
| Mufflers: no excessive or unusual noise, no cutouts or bypasses | State law, on vehicles | R.C. 4513.22 |
Unreasonable noise under Ohio Revised Code 2917.11
The noise rule that applies everywhere in Ohio is disorderly conduct. R.C. 2917.11 says "No person shall recklessly cause inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm to another by doing any of the following", and the second item on the list is "Making unreasonable noise". It is a minor misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $150 and no jail. It becomes a misdemeanor of the fourth degree if "The offender persists in disorderly conduct after reasonable warning or request to desist" (or, among other cases, if it happens in the vicinity of a school), which raises the maximum to a $250 fine and 30 days in jail (R.C. 2929.28, R.C. 2929.24).
The Supreme Court of Ohio upheld the noise clause in State v. Carrick (2012). Sheriff's deputies were called to a Halloween party outside Wooster after neighbors a quarter of a mile away complained of bass that kept their children awake. They warned the host, then cited him for a minor misdemeanor, then arrested him on a third visit, after a complaint at about 1:30 a.m. The court said the statute "incorporates an objective standard by prohibiting only noise that is 'unreasonable'", and that "A person of ordinary intelligence would understand that R.C. 2917.11(A)(2) proscribes playing music at a late hour at such a volume that it keeps the neighbors from sleeping, causes windows to vibrate on a house a quarter of a mile away, and prompts numerous calls of complaint to authorities". Recklessly, it added, means acting "with heedless indifference to the consequences". The statute names no decibel level and no hours.
Loud cars and motorcycles in Ohio
R.C. 4513.22 says "Every motor vehicle and motorcycle with an internal combustion engine shall at all times be equipped with a muffler which is in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise, and no person shall use a muffler cutout, by-pass, or similar device upon a motor vehicle on a highway." Motorcycle mufflers must have baffle plates. A violation is a minor misdemeanor. A loud exhaust can justify a traffic stop: in State v. Crowley (April 2026) the Fifth District noted that "Loud mufflers have been found to provide reasonable suspicion to effectuate a traffic stop."
Ohio's decibel figures for cars and motorcycles are in R.C. 4513.221, and they are optional. A county, or a township under R.C. 505.17, "may regulate passenger car and motorcycle noise on streets and highways under their jurisdiction"; such rules must include these decibel limits, measured on the "A" scale "based on a distance of not less than fifty feet from the center of the line of travel". The limits apply only on roads where signs give notice of them, never to commercial racetracks, and breaking one is a minor misdemeanor.
| Vehicle | At 35 mph or less | Over 35 mph |
|---|---|---|
| Passenger car | 70 decibels | 79 decibels |
| Motorcycle | 82 decibels | 86 decibels |
In their unincorporated areas, the same section lets counties and townships ban vehicles without a working muffler and the racing of a motor so that the exhaust "emits a loud, cracking, or chattering noise unusual to its normal operation". Relying on that clause, the Attorney General advised in Opinion 99-050 that township trustees may ban engine retarders, which trucks use to slow down, where the board reasonably finds they cause that noise.
There is no state car stereo law: the vehicle equipment chapter of the Revised Code (4513) has no section on sound systems. Loud car stereos are a matter for city ordinances, such as Cleveland's ban on music plainly audible outside the car, and for the disorderly conduct statute.
Quiet hours in Ohio cities
Quiet hours in Ohio are set city by city and county by county. These are the places we cover, each from its own code; a place added in the last few weeks is listed without a link while we measure how its page is found.
| City or county | Quiet hours |
|---|---|
| Akron | 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. (amplified sound in residential areas); barking dogs 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. |
| Cincinnati | 7 p.m. – 7 a.m. (55 dBA residential; 60 Fri–Sat); construction needs permit 9 p.m. – 7 a.m. |
| Cleveland | 7:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. (construction and unnecessary noise within 500 ft of homes) |
| Columbus | 10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. |
| Toledo | 10 p.m. – 7 a.m. (machinery dB limits); the music rule names 9 p.m. – 7 a.m. |
How to make a noise complaint in Ohio
The police enforce the disorderly conduct statute and local noise ordinances, so they are the first call. Inside a city or village, call the police non-emergency line or the city's 311 line. In a township, call the county sheriff, or the township police where there is one: in Carrick, the neighbors "each called the sheriff's office multiple times after 11:00 p.m."
Where a township has a noise resolution, R.C. 505.172 lets any law enforcement officer with jurisdiction, from a sheriff's deputy to a constable or township police officer, order premises with a D liquor permit to cease and desist from a violation that causes "substantial and material harm", and lets anyone harmed sue in civil court. Ask the township trustees whether a resolution exists and what hours it sets.
Keep a record. The free online decibel meter runs in your browser and records nothing; it is an uncalibrated estimate of about ±10 dB, enough to show 50 against 70 but not a measurement a court will rely on. Turn A-weighting on (dBA vs dBC) and write down the time and the session average. A dated log of repeated noise, and of every call to the police, is what an officer, a landlord or a court will ask for; the noise complaints guide covers what to log.
Sources
Ohio Revised Code ss 505.17 (effective 3 April 2025), 505.172 (effective 29 September 2011), 1.61, 2901.02, 2917.11 (effective 22 March 2019), 2929.24, 2929.28, 4513.22 (effective 16 October 2009) and 4513.221 (effective 26 June 1986, with its authenticated PDF), the chapter 4513 index, and Ohio Constitution art. XVIII, s 3, all on codes.ohio.gov (Legislative Service Commission); Supreme Court of Ohio, State v. Carrick, 131 Ohio St.3d 340, 2012-Ohio-608; Fifth District Court of Appeals, State v. Crowley, 2026-Ohio-1402 (17 April 2026); Ohio Attorney General, Opinion No. 99-050 (21 September 1999); Clearcreek Township Resolution 5605 (28 July 2025). All read on 11 November 2026. This page covers state law; your city, village or township sets the hours and limits where you live. It is a plain-language summary, not legal advice; the Revised Code controls.
Is there a statewide noise ordinance in Ohio?
No. Ohio has no statewide noise ordinance, quiet hours or decibel limit for homes. Cities and villages set their own rules, and townships may adopt noise resolutions for residential zones under R.C. 505.172. The state rule is disorderly conduct: making unreasonable noise that recklessly causes inconvenience, annoyance or alarm to another, under R.C. 2917.11.
What are quiet hours in Ohio?
There are none under state law. Each city, village or township sets its own: in Columbus, for example, lower night limits apply from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Where no local rule exists, the disorderly conduct statute still applies at any hour, and the Supreme Court of Ohio upheld it in a case of late-night party music that kept neighbors a quarter of a mile away from sleeping.
Is there a decibel limit for noise in Ohio?
Not for homes under state law. The Revised Code's decibel figures for cars and motorcycles are optional limits that a county or township may adopt on posted roads: 70 decibels for a car at 35 mph or less and 79 above, and 82 and 86 for motorcycles, measured at 50 feet or more. Some cities, such as Columbus, set their own limits.
Can police ticket a loud car or motorcycle in Ohio?
Yes. R.C. 4513.22 requires a muffler that prevents "excessive or unusual noise" and bans cutouts and bypasses; a violation is a minor misdemeanor. Ohio appeals courts have held that a loud muffler can give an officer reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle. Ohio has no state car stereo law, so stereos fall under city ordinances.
Who do I call about noise in an Ohio township?
The county sheriff, or the township police if the township has its own department. Deputies can act under the disorderly conduct statute anywhere, and under the township's noise resolution if it has adopted one under R.C. 505.172. Ask the township trustees whether there is a resolution and what hours it sets.
