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Texas noise laws: is there a statewide noise ordinance?

Last updated: November 11, 2026

No statewide noise ordinance or quiet hours in Texas

Texas leaves quiet hours and decibel limits for homes to cities. The Texas State Law Library puts it plainly: "Texas law gives cities the ability to create local laws regulating noise. Counties, however, do not have the same ability and must rely on state criminal law to govern noise outside city limits."

Two of those powers are in Local Government Code chapter 217. A Type A general-law city may "suppress or prevent any riot, affray, noise, disturbance, or disorderly assembly in any public or private place in the municipality" (s 217.003), and a home-rule city may "define and prohibit any nuisance within the limits of the municipality and within 5,000 feet outside the limits" (s 217.042). That is why Houston, Austin and Dallas each have different hours and limits.

Counties have no such power. In Opinion KP-0491 (25 June 2025) the Attorney General concluded that a county commissioners court "does not possess authority to enact an order penalizing a dog owner for a 'public nuisance' due to the dog's excessive barking where, as here, no statute confers such authority". A 2025 bill to let counties regulate noise in residential areas, H.B. 3641, passed the House but stopped in a Senate committee. The state environment agency is not a route either: the TCEQ lists noise among the matters outside its jurisdiction when it reviews a permit.

Unreasonable noise under Texas Penal Code 42.01

The one noise rule that applies everywhere in Texas is the disorderly conduct offense in Penal Code section 42.01. A person commits it if he "intentionally or knowingly" "makes unreasonable noise in a public place other than a sport shooting range ... or in or near a private residence that he has no right to occupy". Noise counts as near a home "if it produces its offensive or proscribed consequences in the public place or near a private residence" (s 42.01(c)(1)), so what matters is where the noise is heard, not only where it is made.

The 85-decibel rule is a presumption, not a limit that applies to everyone. Section 42.01(c)(2) says "a noise is presumed to be unreasonable if the noise exceeds a decibel level of 85 after the person making the noise receives notice from a magistrate or peace officer that the noise is a public nuisance". Before that notice, the question is simply whether the noise was unreasonable. The statute does not say where, how or with what weighting the 85 decibels is measured. For scale, see how loud 85 decibels is.

The offense is a Class C misdemeanor (s 42.01(d)), punished "by a fine not to exceed $500" (Penal Code s 12.23), with no jail. Repeat offenders are the exception: a person with three earlier convictions for disorderly conduct or public intoxication, each committed in the 24 months before, faces a fine of up to $2,000, up to 180 days in jail, or both (s 12.43(c)). The section does not cover lawfully conducted space flight noise, or students younger than 12 at a public school campus during regular school hours. Where the noise is speech, a gathering to hear it or a peaceful protest, section 42.04 says the person "must be ordered to move, disperse, or otherwise remedy the violation prior to his arrest", unless he has already intentionally harmed the interests the law protects. A 2025 bill to add a 58-decibel presumption for homes within 30 feet of the property line where the noise is made (S.B. 2739) never left committee, and the section was last amended in 2023.

Loud cars, mufflers and car stereos in Texas

Transportation Code section 547.604 says "A motor vehicle shall be equipped with a muffler in good working condition that continually operates to prevent excessive or unusual noise" and "A person may not use a muffler cutout, bypass, or similar device on a motor vehicle." Driving a vehicle that does not meet the equipment rules is a misdemeanor (s 547.004). The section sets no decibel figure.

Texas has no state car stereo law: neither the rules of the road (chapter 545) nor the vehicle equipment chapter (547) mentions sound systems. Loud car stereos fall under city ordinances, such as Houston's rule against amplified sound plainly audible 50 feet from the vehicle, and in a public place under the unreasonable noise offense.

Quiet hours in Texas cities

Quiet hours in Texas 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.

How to make a noise complaint in Texas

No state agency takes noise complaints about neighbors. The Texas State Law Library says "For complaints related to noise, contact your local law enforcement agency for assistance", and notes that the Department of State Health Services "cannot investigate noise complaints". The TCEQ gives the same answer for noise: "Contact local police or city officials to see if local ordinances are in place." Inside a city, call the police non-emergency line or the city's 311 or code enforcement line. Outside city limits there is no county noise ordinance to enforce, so the route is the county sheriff or a constable, who can act under state criminal law such as the unreasonable noise offense. Property owners' associations may also have their own noise rules.

A neighbor whose noise goes on night after night can also be sued for private nuisance in civil court. In Town of Dish v. Atmos Energy (2017), the Supreme Court of Texas describes a nuisance as a condition that substantially interferes with "the use and enjoyment of land by causing unreasonable discomfort or annoyance to persons of ordinary sensibilities attempting to use and enjoy it", judged on "an objective standard of persons of ordinary sensibilities, not on the subjective response of any particular plaintiff". A lawyer can advise whether a case is worth bringing.

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, and a phone reading does not start the 85-decibel presumption, which needs notice from an officer or magistrate first. Turn A-weighting on (dBA vs dBC) and write down the time and the session average. A dated log of repeated noise is what police, a landlord or a court will ask for; the noise complaints guide covers what to log.

Sources

Texas Penal Code ss 12.23, 12.43, 42.01 (last amended by H.B. 3065, 2023) and 42.04, Code of Criminal Procedure art. 42A.510, Transportation Code chapters 545 and 547 (ss 547.004 and 547.604), and Local Government Code ss 217.003 and 217.042, all from the Texas Legislative Council's Texas Constitution and Statutes; Texas Legislature Online bill histories for H.B. 3641 and S.B. 2739 (89th Legislature, 2025) and the introduced text of S.B. 2739; Attorney General of Texas, Opinion No. KP-0491 (25 June 2025); Supreme Court of Texas, Town of Dish v. Atmos Energy Corp., No. 15-0613 (19 May 2017); Texas State Law Library, Neighbor Law guide, "Noise & Nuisances"; TCEQ, "Concerns Outside of TCEQ's Authority" and "Who Can Help With Your Environmental Complaint"; Texas Municipal Courts Education Center, Level I Chapter 1; Texas Department of Public Safety, inspection manual chapter 6 (exhaust system). All read on 11 November 2026. This page covers state law; your city's ordinance sets the hours and limits where you live. It is a plain-language summary, not legal advice; the statutes control.

Is there a statewide noise ordinance in Texas?

No. Texas has no statewide noise ordinance, decibel limit for homes or quiet hours. Cities set those under Local Government Code chapter 217. The state rule is Penal Code section 42.01, which makes unreasonable noise in a public place or near a home you have no right to occupy a Class C misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $500.

What are quiet hours in Texas?

There are none under state law. Each city sets its own: Houston's nighttime sound limit runs from 10:01 p.m. to 7:59 a.m., and Austin bars noise audible next door from 10:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. Outside city limits there are no county quiet hours; the state offense of making unreasonable noise applies at any hour.

How loud is too loud under Texas law?

Unreasonable noise made intentionally or knowingly in a public place, or in or near a home you have no right to occupy, can be an offense under Penal Code section 42.01 whatever its level. Noise over 85 decibels is presumed unreasonable, but only after the person making it has been told by a magistrate or peace officer that the noise is a public nuisance. Cities often set their own lower decibel limits.

Can police ticket a loud car or car stereo in Texas?

For a loud exhaust, yes: Transportation Code section 547.604 requires a muffler that prevents "excessive or unusual noise" and bans cutouts and bypasses. Texas has no state car stereo law, so a loud stereo is ticketed under a city ordinance or, in a public place, the unreasonable noise offense.

Who do I call about noise outside city limits in Texas?

The county sheriff or a constable. Texas counties cannot pass noise ordinances, so outside city limits officers enforce state criminal law, chiefly the unreasonable noise offense in Penal Code section 42.01. The Attorney General concluded in 2025 that a county cannot even penalize a dog owner for excessive barking unless a statute allows it.

Noise laws in other states

• Florida
• California
• Ohio
• New Jersey
• Colorado

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