New Hampshire Noise Laws (2026): Disorderly Conduct, Quiet Hours

New Hampshire's disorderly conduct statute names noise directly. Under RSA 644:2, III(a), a person commits disorderly conduct by "making loud or unreasonable noises" in a public place, or in a private place where they can be heard in a public place or other private places, "which noises would disturb a person of average sensibilities," when done purposely to cause, or recklessly creating a risk of, a breach of the peace, public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm. It is a violation, with a fine of up to $1,000, and becomes a misdemeanor if it continues after someone asks the person to stop (644:2, VI; 651:2). State law also sets decibel limits for motorcycles and marine engines and quiet hours in state park campgrounds. Quiet hours and decibel limits for homes come from town bylaws and city ordinances. 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 New Hampshire state law: disorderly conduct by noise (RSA 644:2) and the fines for violations and misdemeanors (RSA 651:2, 625:9); vehicle muffler, straight pipe and motorcycle noise rules (RSA 266:59, 259:66, 266:59-a); marine engine noise (RSA 270:37); state park campground rules and their penalties (N.H. Admin. R. Ncr 731.04, 732.04, 732.05); town and city noise powers (RSA 31:39, 47:17); tenant quiet enjoyment (RSA 540-A:2, 540-A:4, 540:2); boat mufflers (RSA 270:25, 270:41-a); the general motor vehicle penalty (RSA 262:41); health officer nuisance regulations (RSA 147:1); and shooting range and farm protections (RSA 159-B:1 to 159-B:6, 432:33, 432:34). It does not cover the text of any town or city ordinance, lease terms, aircraft or workplace noise, or the law of other states.

New Hampshire noise laws at a glance

State rules that set hours or decibel limits

These New Hampshire rules set numbers or times. Each covers a specific machine or place, not noise from homes.

Motorcycles. Under RSA 266:59-a, I, no person may operate a motorcycle "which produces a sound level in excess of the following decibels," measured under SAE J2825, the stationary test for on-highway motorcycles:

A person who violates the section "shall be guilty of a violation and shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $300" (266:59-a, II).

Marine engines. "No person may operate, sell, or offer for sale any marine engine which is capable of being operated in a manner which exceeds the following noise levels" (RSA 270:37, I): 90 decibels in stationary testing for an engine made in or before 1990 and 88 decibels for one made after December 31, 1990; and 84 decibels on the A scale at 50 feet for an engine made in or before 1990 and 82 decibels for one made after December 31, 1990. The director or the director's agent may order a boat tested on articulable suspicion that it can exceed those limits, and may bar a boat that fails from operating until it passes (270:37, II-IV). A boat propelled in whole or in part by gas, gasoline, diesel or naphtha must have "an underwater exhaust or other muffling device" (RSA 270:25, I). Violating either section, or letting your boat be operated in violation, is a violation for a first offense and a misdemeanor for a subsequent offense within a calendar year (RSA 270:41-a), and a conviction under 270:37 carries a fine of not less than $250 that the court may not suspend or reduce (270:37, V).

State park campgrounds. The Department's campground rule, Ncr 732.04, provides that "campers shall not make noise loud enough to disturb other campers between the hours of 10:00 P.M. and 7:00 A.M." Campers and day-use visitors also "shall not conduct activities that will disturb other campers' quiet enjoyment of the campground at any time, including but not limited to use of foul language and use of generators," and campers may not have day-use visitors at their site between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Generators may be used "during the hours of 9 a.m. to noon and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. only, unless otherwise posted," and "shall not exceed the established allowable decibel level" (Ncr 732.04(c)). A person violating a parks rule is guilty of a violation, is evicted and is subject to an administrative fine, and a serious offense, including a third offense, is charged as a misdemeanor (Ncr 731.04). When park staff find a camper or anyone in the party violating Ncr 732.04, the camping permit is suspended, the camper is evicted and the camper may not apply for a permit at any department campground for one year (Ncr 732.05). The state parks' 2026 information sheet for the Greenfield State Park campground also lists quiet hours "from 10 pm to 7 am."

Does New Hampshire have statewide quiet hours for homes?

Apart from the campground rule above, the state statutes on this page set no quiet hours, construction hours or decibel limits for homes. Those limits, where they exist, come from your town or city.

• Towns may make bylaws for "regulating noise" (RSA 31:39, I(n)) and may enforce them "by suitable penalties not exceeding $1,000 for each offense" (31:39, III). Towns may also regulate "the use of mufflers upon boats and vessels propelled by gasoline, oil or naphtha and operating upon the waters within the town limits" (31:39, I(d)).
• Cities have the power "to regulate the police of the city; to prevent any riot, noise, disturbance, or disorderly assemblages; to regulate the ringing of bells, blowing of horns or bugles, and crying goods and other things" (RSA 47:17, II), and may annex "penalties, not exceeding $1,000," for breach of their bylaws (47:17).
• Farm noise is carved out. For towns, the noise power applies "except that no ordinance or bylaw that attempts to regulate noise from activities related to farms, agriculture, and farming as defined in RSA 21:34-a shall be enforceable within a town" (31:39, I(n)). Cities have the same limit (47:17, XX). In both, "this exception shall not apply to agritourism." Both sections were most recently amended by Laws 2025, chapter 61, effective August 1, 2025.

To find your local rule, look up your town or city code on the municipality's website or ask the town or city clerk. The local police department takes disorderly conduct complaints, and the town or city enforces its own bylaw or ordinance.

Town health officers may also "make regulations for the prevention and removal of nuisances, as in their judgment the health and safety of the people require," effective once approved by the selectmen, recorded and published or posted, and a person who wilfully violates such regulations "shall be guilty of a violation" (RSA 147:1, I, III). The section does not name noise.

When loud noise is disorderly conduct in New Hampshire

RSA 644:2, III(a) covers a person who "purposely causes a breach of the peace, public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creates a risk thereof, by: (a) Making loud or unreasonable noises in a public place, or making loud or unreasonable noises in a private place which can be heard in a public place or other private places, which noises would disturb a person of average sensibilities."

Three points shape how the statute works for neighbors:

• Private places count. Noise inside a home or yard is covered when it can be heard in a public place "or other private places," such as a neighbor's home.
• The test is objective. The question is whether the noise "would disturb a person of average sensibilities," not whether a particular neighbor is unusually sensitive.
• A mental state is required. The person must act purposely to cause, or recklessly create a risk of, a breach of the peace, public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm.

Car stereos. When the noise comes "from a vehicle's sound system or any portable sound system located within a vehicle, a law enforcement officer shall be considered a person of average sensibilities for purposes of determining whether the volume of such noise constitutes a breach of the peace, public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm" (RSA 644:2, III-a). The officer may take enforcement action to abate the noise on detecting it or on receiving a complaint from another person.

Penalty. "Disorderly conduct is a misdemeanor if the offense continues after a request by any person to desist; otherwise, it is a violation" (RSA 644:2, VI). The fine for an individual may not exceed $1,000 for a violation, $1,200 for a class B misdemeanor and $2,000 for a class A misdemeanor (RSA 651:2, IV(a)). A misdemeanor designated without a class "shall be presumed to be a class B misdemeanor" unless one of the statute's exceptions applies, including when the state files a notice of intent to seek class A misdemeanor penalties on or before the date of arraignment or files the charge directly in superior court (RSA 625:9, IV(c)). A class B misdemeanor may not be punished by incarceration or probation (RSA 651:2, III), while a class A misdemeanor carries up to one year in jail (651:2, II(c)).

Loud cars and exhaust

Every motor vehicle must "at all times be equipped with a muffler as defined in RSA 259:66, in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise, and no person shall use a muffler cutout, bypass or similar device upon a motor vehicle on a way" (RSA 266:59, I). A muffler is "a device consisting of a series of chambers or baffleplates or other mechanical design for the purpose of receiving exhaust gases and effectively reducing noise" (RSA 259:66). Unless a statute provides otherwise, a Title XXI motor vehicle violation is fined "$50 plus penalty assessment for a first offense" and "$100 plus penalty assessment" for a later offense in the same calendar year (RSA 262:41).

Straight pipes have their own fine. "No person shall operate a motor vehicle with a straight pipe exhaust system," meaning "any straight- through exhaust system that does not contain baffles or otherwise does not meet the definition of muffler in RSA 259:66." A person who violates that paragraph is guilty of a violation and "shall be fined not less than $100 for a first offense, not less than $250 for a second offense in a calendar year, and not less than $500 for a third or subsequent offense in a calendar year" (RSA 266:59, IV). Those figures are minimums, not caps.

Remedies for a noisy neighbor in New Hampshire

1. Call the local police when the noise may be disorderly conduct under RSA 644:2, III(a), or breaks a town bylaw or city ordinance. Use the non-emergency number unless there is an emergency. Because the offense becomes a misdemeanor if it continues after "a request by any person to desist," a clear request to stop has legal weight (644:2, VI).
2. Report the bylaw or ordinance violation to the town or city, which sets and enforces its own noise rules (RSA 31:39, 47:17).
3. If the neighbor rents, no tenant, member of the tenant's household, guest or other occupant may "willfully deny tenants their right to quiet enjoyment of their tenancies" (RSA 540-A:2, II, as amended effective October 8, 2026), and a tenant or landlord may seek relief by filing a petition in the district or county where the rental premises are located (RSA 540-A:4, II). A landlord evicting for other good cause based on a tenant's conduct must first give the tenant written notice that such conduct would be grounds for eviction (RSA 540:2, III). See our page on New Hampshire landlord-tenant laws.
4. Consider a civil claim. Whether a private nuisance lawsuit fits your facts is a question for a lawyer licensed in New Hampshire.

For fireworks rules, including local options, see our page on New Hampshire fireworks laws.

Shooting ranges and farms

Shooting ranges. "Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 644:2, III(a) or any other law to the contrary, no person who owns, operates, or uses a shooting range in this state shall be subject to civil liability or criminal prosecution in any matter relating to noise or noise pollution, provided that the owners of the range are in compliance with any applicable noise control ordinances in existence at the time the range was established, was constructed, or began operations" (RSA 159-B:1). A person also "may not maintain a nuisance action for noise or noise pollution against a shooting range" if the range "was established, constructed, or being used on a regular basis as of the date the person acquired the property" (RSA 159-B:5). No court may enjoin a compliant range "on the basis of noise or noise pollution" (RSA 159-B:2), a later expansion does not set a new commencement date for the parts that already existed (159-B:3), and no state agency decibel standard for outdoor noise applies to an exempt range (159-B:6).

Farms. "No agricultural operation shall be found a public or private nuisance as a result of changed conditions in or around the locality of the agricultural operation, if such agricultural operation has been in operation for one year or more and if it was not a nuisance at the time it began operation." That protection does not apply "when any aspect of the agricultural operation is determined to be injurious to public health or safety under RSA 147:1 or RSA 147:2" (RSA 432:33). It also does not apply "if a nuisance results from the negligent or improper operation of an agricultural operation," though an operation that conforms to federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations is not negligent or improper (RSA 432:34). Separately, town bylaws and city ordinances on farm noise are not enforceable, as described above.

Related pages

• Noise ordinance laws by state
• New Hampshire landlord-tenant laws
• New Hampshire fireworks laws
• Maine noise ordinance laws
• Massachusetts noise ordinance laws

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

Last updated: 2026-10-10.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the noise laws in New Hampshire?

Loud or unreasonable noises that would disturb a person of average sensibilities can be disorderly conduct (RSA 644:2, III(a)), and state law limits motorcycle, exhaust and marine engine noise (RSA 266:59, 266:59-a, 270:37). Quiet hours for homes come from your town bylaw or city ordinance (RSA 31:39, I(n); 47:17).

What are the quiet hours in New Hampshire?

The state statutes on this page set no quiet hours for homes, so check your town or city code. In state park campgrounds, campers may not make noise loud enough to disturb other campers between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and generators may run only from 9 a.m. to noon and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. unless otherwise posted (Ncr 732.04).

Is a noise complaint a crime in New Hampshire?

Noise disorderly conduct under RSA 644:2, III(a) is a violation with a fine of up to $1,000 (651:2, IV(a)). It becomes a misdemeanor if the conduct continues after a request by any person to desist (644:2, VI).

Can police ticket a loud car stereo in New Hampshire?

Yes. For noise from a vehicle's sound system, the officer is treated as the person of average sensibilities and may take enforcement action on detecting the noise or on a complaint (RSA 644:2, III-a).

How loud can a motorcycle be in New Hampshire?

Under RSA 266:59-a, 92 decibels at idle for all motorcycles; 96 decibels at 2,000 rpm or 75 percent of maximum engine speed for motorcycles with fewer than 3 or more than 4 cylinders; and 100 decibels at 5,000 rpm or 75 percent for 3- and 4-cylinder motorcycles. The fine is $100 to $300.

What is the fine for a straight pipe exhaust in New Hampshire?

Operating with a straight pipe exhaust is a violation with a fine of not less than $100 for a first offense, $250 for a second and $500 for a third or later offense in a calendar year (RSA 266:59, IV).

Can a town regulate farm noise in New Hampshire?

No. A town bylaw or city ordinance that attempts to regulate noise from activities related to farms, agriculture and farming is not enforceable, though the exception does not apply to agritourism (RSA 31:39, I(n); 47:17, XX).