Massachusetts Noise Laws (2026): Quiet Hours, By-Laws, Fines

Massachusetts sets a handful of noise rules statewide: quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. at state park campgrounds (302 CMR 12.08(15)), a 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. operating bar for shooting ranges that are exempt from noise liability, unless the local governing body allows otherwise (G.L. c. 214, s. 7B), MassDEP's air pollution rule against "unnecessary emissions" from a source of sound that may cause noise (310 CMR 7.10), which its Noise Policy applies as a test of more than 10 dB(A) over ambient or a pure tone, decibel limits for motorcycles (G.L. c. 90, s. 7U), and a $20 to $100 fine for muffler, horn and other vehicle noise under G.L. c. 90, s. 16 and s. 20. Beyond those, quiet hours and decibel limits for homes come from your city or town's ordinances and by-laws, which a town may enforce with penalties of up to $300 for each offense (c. 40, s. 21). The old disturbing-the-peace and noisy-house offenses in c. 272, s. 53 sit underneath. 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 Massachusetts state law: the disorderly persons, disturbers of the peace and noisy house offenses (G.L. c. 272, s. 53), disturbance of assemblies and of funeral services (c. 272, ss. 40 and 42A); the motor vehicle muffler and horn rule, its fine and the civil motor vehicle infraction definition (c. 90, ss. 16 and 20; c. 90C, s. 1) and the in-use vehicle sound-level testing duty and motorcycle sound limits (c. 90, ss. 7T and 7U); MassDEP's noise regulation (310 CMR 7.10), the penalties for violating it (c. 111, s. 142A) and its Noise Policy criteria; quiet hours in state park campgrounds (302 CMR 12.08); shooting range hours (c. 214, s. 7B); town by-law powers and non-criminal tickets (c. 40, ss. 21 and 21D); and board of health nuisance powers and the farm noise carve-out (c. 111, ss. 122 and 125A); and the farm nuisance bar (c. 243, s. 6). It does not cover the text of any city or town noise ordinance or by-law, lease terms, aircraft or workplace noise, or the law of other states.

Massachusetts noise laws at a glance

State rules that set hours or sound levels

A few Massachusetts rules set hours or a sound test that applies across the state, each in a specific setting.

State park campgrounds. The Department of Conservation and Recreation's park rules provide: "Quiet hours at DCR camping facilities shall be between 10:00 P.M. and 7:00 A.M." (302 CMR 12.08(15)). "The use of generators is not permitted during quiet hours, except for the purpose of operating a medical device" (12.08(16)). At any time, "All unnecessary noise shall be avoided in any designated campsite or camping structure of the DCR" (12.08(13)), and no one may operate an audio device, musical instrument, generator or other motorized equipment "in such a manner or at such times so as to disturb other persons" (12.08(14)).

Shooting ranges. A range owner is not liable in a civil action, criminal prosecution or nuisance action over noise, and no court may enjoin the range on noise grounds, if the owner was in compliance with the noise control laws, ordinances or by-laws in existence when the range was built (G.L. c. 214, s. 7B). For ranges that s. 7B exempts from noise liability, "No standards in rules adopted by any state, city, or town agency for limiting levels of noise in terms of decibel level which may occur in the outdoor atmosphere shall apply." The same section provides that "Such ranges shall be prohibited from operating between the hours of ten o'clock post meridian and eight o'clock ante meridian unless otherwise allowed by the local governing body."

MassDEP's 10 dBA test. MassDEP's noise regulation is described in the next section. Its Noise Policy treats a source of sound as violating the regulation if it raises the broadband sound level by more than 10 dB(A) above ambient or produces a "pure tone" condition.

Lawn mowers and power saws. 310 CMR 7.10(3)(d) exempts "domestic equipment such as lawn mowers and power saws between the hours of 7:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M." from the MassDEP noise rule. That window is an exemption from the regulation, not a set of statewide quiet hours.

Does Massachusetts have statewide quiet hours?

Outside state park campgrounds and the shooting range hours above, none of the statutes and regulations on this page sets quiet hours for homes, a construction-hours rule or a decibel limit for a neighbor's music. Those rules, where they exist, are in your city or town's ordinances or by-laws.

Towns "may, for the purposes hereinafter named, make such ordinances and by-laws, not repugnant to law, as they may judge most conducive to their welfare," and "may, except as herein provided, affix penalties for breaches thereof not exceeding three hundred dollars for each offense" (G.L. c. 40, s. 21). The listed purposes include "preserving peace and good order." Any city or town may also provide by ordinance or by-law for "non-criminal disposition" of violations of an ordinance, by-law or municipal rule "the violation of which is subject to a specific penalty" (c. 40, s. 21D).

To find and use your local rules:

• Read the code. Look up your city or town's ordinances or general by-laws, usually linked from the municipal website or available from the city or town clerk, and check the noise, nuisance or public order sections.
• Who to call. The local police non-emergency line takes complaints about ongoing disturbances. The board of health or a code enforcement office may handle by-law complaints about recurring sources such as equipment.

A pending bill, H.4603, "An Act permitting the city of Revere to establish penalties and liens for noise ordinance violations," was referred to the Senate Committee on Bills in the Third Reading after local approval was received. It has not been enacted.

MassDEP's noise regulation, 310 CMR 7.10

Massachusetts regulates noise as a form of air pollution. 310 CMR 7.10(1) provides: "No person owning, leasing, or controlling a source of sound shall willfully, negligently, or through failure to provide necessary equipment, service, or maintenance or to take necessary precautions cause, suffer, allow, or permit unnecessary emissions from said source of sound that may cause noise."

The rule does not apply to sounds "emitted during and associated with" (310 CMR 7.10(3)):

• parades, public gatherings or sporting events for which permits have been issued;
• emergency police, fire and ambulance vehicles;
• police, fire, and civil and national defense activities; and
• domestic equipment such as lawn mowers and power saws between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.

310 CMR 7.00 is adopted under G.L. c. 111, ss. 142A through 142J, among other laws. A person who violates a MassDEP air pollution regulation "shall be punished for each violation by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both," or "shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars for each violation," and "Each day or part thereof that such violation occurs or continues shall be a separate violation" (c. 111, s. 142A). 310 CMR 7.10(1) "is subject to the enforcement provisions specified in 310 CMR 7.52" (7.10(4)), which authorize "Any police department, fire department, or board of health official, acting within his or her jurisdictional area" to enforce it (310 CMR 7.52).

The regulation itself states no decibel number. MassDEP applies a test from its Noise Policy, which its own presentation on nuisance complaints lists as "DEP Noise Policy #90-001": a source "will be considered to be violating the DEP noise regulation if the source: 1. Increases the broadband level by more than 10 dB(A) above ambient, or 2. Produces a 'pure tone' condition - when any octave band center frequency sound pressure level exceeds the two adjacent center frequency sound pressure levels by 3 decibels or more."

MassDEP's sound form for equipment approvals defines ambient as "the lowest one-hour background A-weighted sound pressure level that is exceeded 90 percent of the time measured during equipment operating hours." The form applies the same two criteria in MassDEP's review of equipment, measured off-site. The test is a policy, not a regulation.

The policy is under review. In a March 2026 notice, MassDEP said it intends to revise its 1990 Noise Policy to make it clearer and to explain how it will assess compliance with 310 CMR 7.10. It published a Noise Policy Discussion Document and accepted comments until April 30, 2026. The 10 dB(A) and pure tone criteria above are those of the 1990 policy.

Disturbing the peace and noisy houses

G.L. c. 272, s. 53 is the old Massachusetts public order statute. Subsection (b) provides that "Disorderly persons and disturbers of the peace shall, for a first offense, be punished by a fine of not more than $150. For a second or subsequent offense, disorderly persons and disturbers of the peace shall be punished by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than 6 months or by a fine of not more than $200 or by both such fine and imprisonment." An elementary or secondary school student may not be adjudged a delinquent child under subsection (b) for such conduct within school buildings, on school grounds or at school-related events.

Section 53 does not define what makes someone a disturber of the peace, and subsection (b) does not mention noise. Whether loud conduct fits that charge depends on how courts read the offense, so it should not be treated as a ready-made neighbor noise law.

Subsection (a) names "keepers of noisy and disorderly houses," along with persons who "with offensive and disorderly acts or language accost or annoy another person," among others. They "shall be punished by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than 6 months, or by a fine of not more than $200, or by both such fine and imprisonment."

"Whoever willfully interrupts or disturbs an assembly of people meeting for a lawful purpose shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 1 month or by a fine of not more than $50," with the same proviso for elementary and secondary students at school (G.L. c. 272, s. 40). "Whoever pickets, loiters or otherwise creates a disturbance within five hundred feet of a funeral home, church or temple or other building where funeral services are being held, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year in a house of correction, or both" (c. 272, s. 42A).

Loud cars, mufflers and horns

G.L. c. 90, s. 16 requires every motor vehicle operated on a way, other than fire department and fire patrol apparatus, to be "equipped with a muffler to prevent excessive or unnecessary noise, which muffler is in good working order and in constant operation, and complies with such minimum standards for construction and performance as the registrar may prescribe." The section adds: "No person shall use a muffler cut-out or by-pass. No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any way which motor vehicle is equipped (1) with a muffler from which the baffle plates, screens or other original internal parts have been removed and not replaced; or (2) with an exhaust system which has been modified in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted by the exhaust." It also provides that "No person operating a motor vehicle shall sound a bell, horn or other device, nor in any manner operate such motor vehicle so as to make a harsh, objectionable or unreasonable noise."

A person convicted of violating section 16 "shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty nor more than one hundred dollars" (c. 90, s. 20). Chapter 90C defines a "civil motor vehicle infraction" as "an automobile law violation for which the maximum penalty does not provide for imprisonment," excepting certain offenses under sections 10, 23, 25 and 34J of chapter 90 and violations by unlicensed juveniles (c. 90C, s. 1). Section 16 is not among those exceptions.

The Registrar of Motor Vehicles "shall adopt regulations establishing test procedures and instrumentation to be utilized for measuring sound levels of in-use vehicles" (c. 90, s. 7T). For motorcycles, the statute sets the limits: a road motorcycle may not exceed "eighty-two decibels when operated within a speed zone of forty-five miles per hour or less," or "eighty-six decibels when operated within a speed zone of over forty-five miles per hour measured at fifty feet," and an off-highway motorcycle registered under c. 90B, s. 22 may not exceed "one hundred and three decibels measured at twenty inches"; "For enforcement purposes a tolerance of plus two decibels shall be applied to all measured sound levels of in-use vehicles" (c. 90, s. 7U). Section 7U states no penalty of its own.

Boards of health, nuisances and farms

A local board of health "shall examine into all nuisances, sources of filth and causes of sickness within its town" that may, in its opinion, be injurious to the public health, "shall destroy, remove or prevent the same as the case may require," and makes regulations on the subject. "Whoever violates any such regulation shall forfeit not more than one thousand dollars" (G.L. c. 111, s. 122). Section 122 does not name noise.

Farms have a specific carve-out in board of health nuisance proceedings: "noise from livestock or farm equipment used in normal, generally acceptable farming procedures or from plowing or cultivation operations upon agricultural and horticultural or farming lands shall not be deemed to constitute a nuisance" (c. 111, s. 125A).

More broadly, "No action in nuisance may be maintained against any person or entity resulting from the operation of a farm or any ancillary or related activities thereof, if said operation is an ordinary aspect of said farming operation or ancillary or related activity; provided, however, that said farm shall have been in operation for more than one year." The bar does not apply "if the nuisance is determined to exist as the result of negligent conduct or actions inconsistent with generally accepted agricultural practices" (G.L. c. 243, s. 6).

For fireworks, which Massachusetts handles separately from noise, see Massachusetts fireworks laws. If the noisy neighbor is a tenant, the lease and the landlord's rules may also matter; see Massachusetts landlord-tenant laws for the rental basics.

Related pages

• Noise ordinance laws by state
• Massachusetts fireworks laws
• Massachusetts landlord-tenant laws
• Connecticut noise ordinance laws
• Rhode Island noise ordinance laws

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

Last updated: 2026-10-10.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the noise laws in Massachusetts?

State law covers quiet hours at state park campgrounds (302 CMR 12.08), shooting range hours (G.L. c. 214, s. 7B), MassDEP's noise regulation (310 CMR 7.10), the vehicle muffler and horn rule (c. 90, s. 16), motorcycle decibel limits (c. 90, s. 7U) and the disturbing-the-peace and noisy-house offenses (c. 272, s. 53). Neighborhood quiet hours and decibel limits are in city and town ordinances and by-laws, with town penalties of up to $300 per offense (c. 40, s. 21).

What are the quiet hours in Massachusetts?

DCR state park campgrounds have quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. (302 CMR 12.08(15)). The statutes and regulations on this page set no quiet hours for homes, so check your city or town's ordinances or by-laws.

Is it legal to mow the lawn early in the morning in Massachusetts?

MassDEP's noise rule exempts domestic equipment such as lawn mowers and power saws only between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. (310 CMR 7.10(3)(d)). Your town's by-laws may set their own hours.

What decibel level is too loud in Massachusetts?

MassDEP's Noise Policy treats a source as violating 310 CMR 7.10 if it raises the broadband level more than 10 dB(A) above ambient or produces a pure tone. MassDEP is revising that 1990 policy. For motorcycles, the statute sets 82 decibels in a speed zone of 45 mph or less and 86 decibels in a faster zone, measured at 50 feet (G.L. c. 90, s. 7U). Local by-laws may set their own limits.

What is the fine for a loud muffler in Massachusetts?

A violation of the muffler and vehicle noise rule in G.L. c. 90, s. 16, which also bars cut-outs, by-passes, mufflers with the baffles removed and exhausts modified to amplify noise, carries a fine of $20 to $100 (c. 90, s. 20).

What is the penalty for disturbing the peace in Massachusetts?

A first offense carries a fine of up to $150. A second or later offense carries up to 6 months in jail or a house of correction, a fine up to $200, or both (G.L. c. 272, s. 53(b)).

Can a farm be a noise nuisance in Massachusetts?

In board of health nuisance proceedings, noise from livestock or farm equipment used in normal, generally acceptable farming procedures, or from plowing or cultivation, is not deemed a nuisance (G.L. c. 111, s. 125A). A private nuisance action cannot be brought over an ordinary aspect of a farm that has operated for more than one year, unless the nuisance results from negligent conduct or actions inconsistent with generally accepted agricultural practices (c. 243, s. 6).