Colorado Noise Laws: Decibel Limits, Quiet Hours and Penalties

Colorado sets statewide decibel limits. Under the Noise Abatement Act, C.R.S. 25-12-103(1), noise in a residential zone above 55 dB(A) from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., or above 50 dB(A) from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., measured 25 feet or more from the property line, is prima facie evidence of a public nuisance. Those limits are enforced by a civil lawsuit brought by a county or any Colorado resident, not by a police ticket. Separately, making "unreasonable noise in a public place or near a private residence that he has no right to occupy" is disorderly conduct, a petty offense punishable by a fine of up to $300, up to 10 days in jail, or both (18-9-106, 18-1.3-503). Cities and counties may adopt stricter rules, and in 2025 the Colorado Supreme Court held in Hobbs v. City of Salida that the City of Salida had no authority under 25-12-103(11) to issue amplified sound permits excusing a venue's concert noise from the state limits. To compare other states, see our guide to noise ordinance laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-10. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Colorado state law: the Noise Abatement Act (C.R.S. 25-12-101 to 25-12-110) and Hobbs v. City of Salida, 2025 CO 50; disorderly conduct (18-9-106) and the petty offense penalty in 18-1.3-503; the vehicle horn and muffler rules and their scheduled penalties (42-4-224, 42-4-225, 42-4-1701), including HB 25-1039; local vehicle noise limits (25-12-107); county and municipal noise powers and penalties (30-15-401, 30-15-402, 31-15-401, 31-16-101); the right-to-farm statute (35-3.5-102); and the tenant duty in 38-12-504. Statute text is from the Colorado Revised Statutes 2025 edition published by the Office of Legislative Legal Services. It does not cover the text of any city or county noise ordinance, home-rule city charters, aircraft noise, workplace noise, or the law of other states.

Colorado's statewide noise limits

C.R.S. 25-12-101 declares "the policy of the general assembly to establish statewide standards for noise level limits for various time periods and areas. Noise in excess of the limits provided in this article constitutes a public nuisance." Section 25-12-103(1) sets the limits:

"Sound levels of noise radiating from a property line at a distance of twenty-five feet or more therefrom in excess of the db(A) established for the following time periods and zones shall constitute prima facie evidence that such noise is a public nuisance"

Source: C.R.S. 25-12-103(1).

Three adjustments in the same section change how the table works:

• Daytime allowance. "In the hours between 7:00 a.m. and the next 7:00 p.m., the noise levels permitted in subsection (1) of this section may be increased by ten db(A) for a period of not to exceed fifteen minutes in any one-hour period" (25-12-103(2)).
• Shrill or impulsive noise. "Periodic, impulsive, or shrill noises shall be considered a public nuisance when such noises are at a sound level of five db(A) less than those listed in subsection (1) of this section" (25-12-103(3)).
• Construction. "Construction projects shall be subject to the maximum permissible noise levels specified for industrial zones for the period within which construction is to be completed pursuant to any applicable construction permit issued by proper authority or, if no time limitation is imposed, for a reasonable period of time for completion of project" (25-12-103(5)).
• Character of the noise. Every covered activity must be conducted "in a manner so that any noise produced is not objectionable due to intermittence, beat frequency, or shrillness" (25-12-103(1)).
• Measurement. Sound level meter readings are to be made when the wind is "not more than five miles per hour," and "consideration shall be given to the effect of the ambient noise level" (25-12-103(8), (9)).

Under the Act's definitions, a "Residential zone" is "an area of single-family or multifamily dwellings where businesses may or may not be conducted in such dwellings," and it "includes hospitals, nursing homes, and similar institutional facilities" (25-12-102(6)).

Does Colorado have statewide quiet hours?

Not in the sense of a ban on noise after a set hour. Article 12 uses 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. as the points where the decibel limits change, and exceeding them is evidence of a public nuisance; it does not forbid noise during any hours, and its construction rule in 25-12-103(5) sets noise levels, not working hours. Rules that ban loud activity after a set time, or limit construction hours, come from city and county ordinances.

How the state limits are enforced

Article 12 (25-12-101 to 25-12-110) names no state agency to enforce the limits. Enforcement is a civil action under 25-12-104:

"Whenever there is reason to believe that a nuisance exists, as defined in section 25-12-103, any county or resident of the state may maintain an action in equity in the district court of the judicial district in which the alleged nuisance exists to abate and prevent such nuisance and to perpetually enjoin the person conducting or maintaining the same"

The same section bars a county, though not a resident, from bringing this action when the alleged nuisance involves a commercial activity or commercial use of property, farming or ranching, a utility, avalanche control, or mining, construction-materials or oil and gas operations. The court may stay its order for the time reasonably necessary for the defendant to comply (25-12-104).

If a court issues an injunction and it is disobeyed, 25-12-105 provides that the violation "shall be punished as a contempt of court by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two thousand dollars. Each day in which an individual is in violation of the injunction established by the court shall constitute a separate offense."

In practice, that means a neighbor who wants the state limits applied files a case in district court. The day-to-day noise complaint goes to the city or county under its own ordinance, or to police when the disorderly conduct statute applies.

Exemptions for events, and the Hobbs v. City of Salida decision

Section 25-12-103 contains several exemptions and special rules:

• Article 12 is not intended to apply to aircraft or other activities subject to federal noise law (103(4)).
• Railroad rights-of-way are treated as industrial zones (103(6)).
• It does not apply to property used for motor or other vehicle speed or endurance events, but only during the period the use is authorized by the jurisdiction (103(7)).
• It does not apply to making, maintaining or grooming machine-made snow (103(10)).
• For electric transmission facilities of 44 kilovolts or more, the Public Utilities Commission may decide whether projected noise levels are reasonable; cities and counties may not set stricter noise standards for those facilities, and an owner or operator whose facility complies "shall not be liable in a civil action based upon noise" (103(12)).

The one most often at issue for concerts is subsection (11):

"(11) This article is not applicable to the use of property by this state, any political subdivision of this state, or any other entity not organized for profit, including, but not limited to, nonprofit corporations, or any of their lessees, licensees, or permittees, for the purpose of promoting, producing, or holding cultural, entertainment, athletic, or patriotic events, including, but not limited to, concerts, music festivals, and fireworks displays. This subsection (11) shall not be construed to preempt or limit the authority of any political subdivision having jurisdiction to regulate noise abatement."

In Hobbs v. City of Salida, 2025 CO 50 (Colo. Sept. 8, 2025), the Colorado Supreme Court read that subsection narrowly. The court stated:

"We hold that the legislature intended subsection 103(11) to exempt the subordinate entities from the NAA's statewide noise limits only when they're associated with a primary entity's use of property to hold a qualifying event. High Side's concerts weren't held on property used by the City for a statutorily authorized purpose, so Salida didn't have the authority under subsection 103(11) to issue amplified sound permits to excuse High Side's NAA's violations."

The holding is about subsection (11): a lessee, licensee or permittee is exempt only when it is associated with a qualifying entity's use of property to hold a qualifying event. Concerts on property the city was not using for such an event stay subject to the state limits.

Local noise ordinances

Colorado cities and counties keep their own noise powers and may set standards no less restrictive than the state's. Under C.R.S. 25-12-108, "Except as provided in sections 25-12-103 (12) and 25-12-110, this article shall not be construed to preempt or limit the authority of any municipality or county to adopt standards that are no less restrictive than the provisions of this article."

Counties. C.R.S. 30-15-401(1)(m)(I) gives counties power, "In addition to the authority given counties in article 12 of title 25," to enact ordinances that regulate noise on public and private property and to prohibit the operation of any vehicle not equipped with a muffler in constant operation. Under (1)(m)(II), county noise ordinances "do not apply to: (A) Property used for purposes which are exempt, pursuant to section 25-12-103, C.R.S., from noise abatement; and (B) Property used for: Manufacturing, industrial, or commercial business purposes; and public utilities regulated pursuant to title 40."

Cities and towns. Among the general police powers in C.R.S. 31-15-401 is the power "To prevent and suppress riots, routs, affrays, noises, disturbances, and disorderly assemblies in any public or private place."

To find the rule where you live, look up your city's municipal code (usually linked from the city's website or available from the city clerk) and read its noise chapter. If you live in an unincorporated area, check the county's ordinances. A violation of a county ordinance adopted under 30-15-401 is a civil infraction with a fine of up to $1,000 for each violation, plus a $10 surcharge (30-15-402). Under 31-16-101, a municipality may enforce its ordinances with a fine of up to $2,650 (a limit adjusted each January 1 for inflation), up to one year in jail, or both. The penalty for your case is the one set in the ordinance.

Disorderly conduct: unreasonable noise as a petty offense

C.R.S. 18-9-106 provides, in the parts that concern noise:

"(1) A person commits disorderly conduct if he or she intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly: ... (c) Makes unreasonable noise in a public place or near a private residence that he has no right to occupy; ... (3) (a) An offense pursuant to subsection (1)(a) or (1)(c) of this section is a petty offense; except that, if the offense is committed with intent to disrupt, impair, or interfere with a funeral, or with intent to cause severe emotional distress to a person attending a funeral, it is a class 2 misdemeanor."

The noise must be unreasonable, made intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly, and made in a public place or near a private residence the person has no right to occupy.

Penalty. Under 18-1.3-503(1.5), for offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022, "The penalty for commission of a petty offense, upon conviction, is a fine of not more than three hundred dollars, imprisonment for not more than ten days in a county jail, or both." These are maximums, not set amounts.

Loud neighbors: your options under Colorado law

For a neighbor's noise, the routes Colorado law supports are:

• The local noise ordinance, enforced by the city or county.
• Disorderly conduct under 18-9-106(1)(c), where its elements are met. Complaints go to local police.
• A civil action under the Noise Abatement Act. Any resident of the state may sue in district court to abate a nuisance defined in 25-12-103 (25-12-104).
• The lease. Under C.R.S. 38-12-504, a residential tenant must "Conduct himself or herself and require other persons in the residential premises within the tenant's control to conduct themselves in a manner that does not disturb their neighbors' peaceful enjoyment of the neighbors' dwelling unit." For how Colorado leases and landlord remedies work, see Colorado landlord-tenant laws.

Loud cars, mufflers and off-highway vehicles

C.R.S. 42-4-225(1) requires that "Every motor vehicle subject to registration and operated on a highway shall at all times be equipped with an adequate muffler in constant operation and properly maintained to prevent any excessive or unusual noise, and no such muffler or exhaust system shall be equipped with a cut-off, bypass, or similar device." The same subsection bars modifying a vehicle's exhaust system so that it amplifies or increases engine noise above that of the muffler originally installed on the vehicle. Under 42-4-225(3), "Any person who violates subsection (1) of this section commits a class B traffic infraction."

A class B traffic infraction carries a penalty of $15 to $100 (42-4-1701(3)(a)(I)), and no license points are assessed for it (42-4-1701(3)(c)). The equipment-violation schedule in 42-4-1701(4)(a)(I)(D) lists a penalty of $15.00 and a surcharge of $6.00 for a violation of 42-4-225(1).

Commercial vehicles. Under 42-4-225(1.5), a commercial vehicle subject to registration and operated on a highway "that is equipped with an engine compression brake device is required to have a muffler," and a violation is punished "by a fine of five hundred dollars" (42-4-225(3)). HB 25-1039 rewrites both subsections for offenses committed on or after July 1, 2027: no commercial vehicle with an internal combustion engine (farm vehicles excepted) may be operated without a muffler, the muffler must be visible for inspection unless specified purchase and installation documents are in the vehicle, and the fine becomes $1,000. A court may not impose the fine if those documents show a muffler was in place before the citation, and must reduce it by 50 percent if a muffler is installed within 30 days after the citation.

Title 42 contains no plainly-audible or car-stereo sound rule. Loud car audio is addressed by local ordinances or, where its elements are met, by the disorderly conduct statute.

Horns. Under 42-4-224(1), "no horn or other warning device shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound," and a driver "shall give audible warning with the horn but shall not otherwise use such horn when upon a highway" except when "reasonably necessary to ensure safe operation." The schedule lists a $15.00 penalty and a $6.00 surcharge for a violation of 42-4-224 (42-4-1701(4)(a)(I)(D)).

Local vehicle noise limits. Counties and municipalities may ban the operation of vehicles louder than set levels measured 50 feet from the center of the lane (25-12-107(1)). For vehicles of 6,000 pounds GVWR or more and motorcycles other than low-power scooters made on or after January 1, 1973, the levels are 86 dB(A) where the speed limit is 35 mph or less and 90 dB(A) where it is more than 35 mph but less than 55 mph.

Off-highway vehicles. Under 25-12-110(1), an off-highway vehicle "shall not emit more than the following level of sound when measured using SAE J1287: (a) If manufactured before January 1, 1998 99 db(A); (b) If manufactured on or after January 1, 1998 96 db(A)." A violation is a civil infraction (25-12-110(5)), with a fine of not more than $100 "unless otherwise provided by statute" (18-1.3-503(1.6)(a)). The limits do not apply to vehicles used in closed-circuit competition facilities, to search and rescue, or to agricultural use (25-12-110(4)), and 25-12-110(8) gives an affirmative defense for an unmodified vehicle made before January 1, 2005 that complied with the law when bought and has no malfunctioning exhaust. Also, "No municipality or county may adopt an ordinance or resolution setting noise standards for off-highway vehicles or snowmobiles that are more restrictive than this section" (25-12-110(6)).

Fireworks noise has its own state and local rules; see Colorado fireworks laws.

Shooting ranges and farms

Sport shooting ranges. C.R.S. 25-12-109 declares its provisions "a matter of statewide concern" that "preempt any provisions of any law, ordinance, rule, or order to the contrary." Under subsection (3)(a), a local governmental official may not bring a civil action or seek a criminal penalty against a qualifying sport shooting range over noise from its normal operation or use, except upon a written complaint from a resident of the jurisdiction where the range is located. The complaint must state the resident's name and address, how long the resident has lived there, and the dates and times of the noise, and the local government may not act on it "if the complainant established residence within the jurisdiction after January 1, 1985." A neighbor also may not sue a qualifying range over its noise if the range was established before the neighbor acquired the property and it complies with the noise rules that applied when it was built or began operating, or none applied then (25-12-109(3)(b)).

Farms. Under C.R.S. 35-3.5-102(1)(a), "Except as provided in this section, an agricultural operation shall not be found to be a public or private nuisance if the agricultural operation alleged to be a nuisance employs methods or practices that are commonly or reasonably associated with agricultural production." A farm that was there before the surrounding nonfarm use, uses those methods and is not operating negligently is also protected (35-3.5-102(2)). A court may award expert fees, court costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party in a suit claiming a farm is a nuisance (35-3.5-102(3)), and a local ordinance that makes such an operation a nuisance is void, except for farms inside city or town limits on July 1, 1981 or on land voluntarily annexed to a municipality since then (35-3.5-102(5)).

Related pages

• Noise ordinance laws by state
• Colorado landlord-tenant laws
• Colorado fireworks laws
• Utah noise ordinance laws
• New Mexico noise ordinance laws

This article provides general legal information about Colorado law, not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Colorado or your city or county government.

Last updated: 2026-10-10.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the noise limit in Colorado?

In a residential zone, C.R.S. 25-12-103(1) treats noise above 55 dB(A) from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., or 50 dB(A) from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., measured 25 feet or more from the property line, as prima facie evidence of a public nuisance. Commercial and industrial zones have higher limits.

What are the quiet hours in Colorado?

Colorado's statute uses 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. as the points where its decibel limits change (C.R.S. 25-12-103(1)); it does not ban noise during set hours. Quiet-hours rules come from your city or county ordinance.

Can I call the police on a loud neighbor in Colorado?

Police handle disorderly conduct, which includes unreasonable noise in a public place or near a private residence the person has no right to occupy (C.R.S. 18-9-106(1)(c)), and local noise ordinances are enforced by the city or county.

What is the penalty for a noise disorderly conduct charge in Colorado?

It is a petty offense (C.R.S. 18-9-106(3)(a)), punishable by a fine of up to $300, up to 10 days in county jail, or both (18-1.3-503(1.5)). If committed with intent to disrupt a funeral, it is a class 2 misdemeanor.

Can I sue my neighbor for noise in Colorado?

Any county or resident of the state may bring an action in district court to abate and enjoin a noise nuisance defined in C.R.S. 25-12-103 (25-12-104); a county may not bring one against a commercial activity, farming or ranching, a utility, or mining or oil and gas operations. Disobeying the injunction is contempt, with a fine of $100 to $2,000, each day a separate offense (25-12-105).

Is a loud exhaust illegal in Colorado?

A vehicle must have an adequate muffler with no cut-off or bypass, and an exhaust may not be modified to be louder than the original muffler (C.R.S. 42-4-225(1)). A violation of that subsection is a class B traffic infraction, scheduled at a $15.00 penalty and a $6.00 surcharge. Commercial vehicles have a separate muffler rule with a $500 fine (42-4-225(1.5), (3)).

What did the Colorado Supreme Court decide in Hobbs v. City of Salida?

In 2025 CO 50, the court held that 25-12-103(11) exempts permittees from the state noise limits only when they are associated with a qualifying entity's use of property to hold a qualifying event, so Salida could not issue amplified sound permits to excuse High Side's violations.