New Mexico Noise Laws (2026): Quiet Hours, Fines, Ordinances

In New Mexico, quiet hours, decibel limits, construction hours and barking-dog rules for neighborhoods come from city and county ordinances. The main statewide noise rule is the disorderly conduct statute, which makes "unreasonably loud" conduct "which tends to disturb the peace" a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in the county jail, a fine of up to $500, or both (NMSA 1978, 30-20-1 and 31-19-1(B)). The Motor Vehicle Code requires a working muffler and limits horn use (66-3-844, 66-3-843), and state parks keep quiet hours from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (19.5.2.26 NMAC). State law authorizes those local ordinances and caps their penalties. 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 Mexico state law on noise: the disorderly conduct, public nuisance, lawful assembly and funeral noise statutes and their penalties (NMSA 1978, 30-1-6, 30-8-1, 30-8-8, 30-13-1, 30-20-1, 30-20B-2 to 30-20B-4, 31-19-1); city and county ordinance powers and penalty caps (3-17-1, 3-18-17, 4-37-1, 4-37-3); the Motor Vehicle Code's muffler, horn and equipment-penalty provisions (66-3-801, 66-3-843, 66-3-844, 66-8-116); off-highway vehicle and motorboat noise rules (66-3-1010.3, 66-3-1020, 66-12-10, 66-12-23); the tenant's duty not to disturb neighbors and the landlord's notice step (47-8-22, 47-8-33); the Sport Shooting Range Act (17-8-4 to 17-8-6); the Right to Farm Act (47-9-3, 47-9-7); the Environment Department's statutory areas (74-1-7); and the state parks quiet-hours rule (19.5.2.26 NMAC). It does not cover the text of any city or county ordinance, lease terms, aircraft or workplace noise, federal law, or the law of other states.

New Mexico noise laws at a glance

Is loud noise a crime in New Mexico?

It can be. The disorderly conduct statute covers noise that is unreasonably loud and tends to disturb the peace. Section 30-20-1 reads:

"Disorderly conduct consists of: A. engaging in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct which tends to disturb the peace; or B. maliciously disturbing, threatening or, in an insolent manner, intentionally touching any house occupied by any person. Whoever commits disorderly conduct is guilty of a petty misdemeanor." (NMSA 1978, 30-20-1)

Both parts of subsection A matter. The conduct must be unreasonably loud (or otherwise disorderly), and it must tend to disturb the peace.

A petty misdemeanor is a crime for which a sentence of six months or less is authorized (30-1-6(C)). On conviction, the judge may sentence the person to the county jail for a definite term of up to six months, a fine of not more than $500, or both, at the judge's discretion (31-19-1(B)). The statute gives the maximum; the actual sentence is for the court.

Funerals and religious services

The Demonstrations at Funerals and Memorial Services Act adds a noise rule near funerals. A person with knowledge of a funeral or funeral site may not "engage in any loud singing, playing of music, chanting, whistling, yelling or noisemaking with or without noise amplification, including bullhorns, auto horns and microphones within five hundred feet of any ingress or egress of that funeral site, when the volume of such singing, music, chanting, whistling, yelling or noisemaking is audible at and disturbing to the peace and good order of a funeral at that funeral site" (30-20B-3(A)). A funeral site is a place where a funeral is being held, is scheduled to be held within the next 60 minutes, or was held within the last 60 minutes (30-20B-2(B)).

A first offense is a petty misdemeanor, a second is a misdemeanor, and a third or later is a fourth degree felony (30-20B-4). A misdemeanor carries a county jail term of less than one year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both (31-19-1(A)).

Separately, disturbing a religious society or any member of it "when assembled or collected together in public worship," or "disturbing any meeting of the people assembled for any legal object," is disturbing lawful assembly, a petty misdemeanor (30-13-1).

Statewide quiet hours and decibel limits

New Mexico's municipal code (chapter 3), county ordinance article (chapter 4, article 37), Criminal Code articles on public nuisance and disorderly conduct (chapter 30), and the Motor Vehicle Code (chapter 66) contain no statewide quiet hours, construction-hour limits or decibel limits for homes. Those rules, where they exist, are in your city or county code.

The Environmental Improvement Act lists "noise control" and "nuisance abatement" among the areas in which the Environment Department "shall maintain, develop and enforce rules and standards" (74-1-7(A)(6), (7)). The section names the subject area; it does not itself set hours or decibel figures. For a noise problem at home, the practical starting point is the city or county, not the state department.

State parks: 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

State park rules do set quiet hours. Under 19.5.2.26 NMAC:

"Park "quiet hours" begin at 10:00 p.m. and end at 7:00 a.m. Visitors shall not operate generators, radios or unmuffled vehicles or engage in other loud activity during this time period. B. Except in case of an emergency, creation of loud noise through the use of a loudspeaker requires the superintendent's advance written approval. Visitors shall operate radios, tape players or other sound producing devices at a reasonable level during non-quiet hours so as not to disturb other visitors."

The loudspeaker rule in subsection B applies at any hour, not just during quiet hours. Fireworks in parks also need the superintendent's advance written approval (19.5.2.26(C) NMAC). The rule itself does not state a fine.

City and county noise ordinances

Most neighborhood noise rules in New Mexico are local. State law gives cities a specific noise power. Under 3-18-17, a municipality may by ordinance "regulate or prohibit any amusement or practice that tends to annoy persons on a street or public ground" and "prohibit and suppress: ... (4) disorderly conduct; and (5) riots, noises, disturbances or disorderly assemblies in any public or private place" (3-18-17(B), (C)(4), (5)). The power extends to noises in "any public or private place," not only on streets.

Counties get the same powers. Section 4-37-1 grants all counties "the same powers that are granted municipalities except for those powers that are inconsistent with statutory or constitutional limitations placed on counties," including powers to improve the "order, comfort and convenience" of the county and its inhabitants. The board of county commissioners may adopt ordinances to carry out those powers.

What a noise ordinance violation can cost

The caps differ for cities and counties, so check which government's ordinance applies to your address.

• City ordinances: violations are prosecuted in municipal court or metropolitan court, and on conviction the penalty may be "a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) or imprisonment for not more than ninety days or both" (3-17-1(C)(1)). Two other paragraphs of that subsection set different caps for other listed violations.
• County ordinances: "Penalties for violations of any county ordinances shall not exceed a fine of three hundred dollars ($300) or imprisonment for ninety days or both," except that a county may impose higher penalties for the categories the statute lists, such as up to $1,000 for discarding refuse, litter or garbage (4-37-3(A)).

These are ceilings. The fine for a particular noise violation is whatever the city or county ordinance sets within them.

Finding your local rules and whom to call

To find your local quiet hours or decibel limit, look up your city's municipal code or, outside city limits, your county's code, and search it for "noise." For a party or other noise happening right now, the usual contact is the police or sheriff's non-emergency line. For a recurring problem, such as a business or construction site, the city or county code enforcement office is the usual contact. For fireworks, see our guide to New Mexico fireworks laws.

Car stereos, mufflers and horns

The Motor Vehicle Code's noise rules are about equipment. Under 66-3-844(A):

"Every motor vehicle shall at all times be equipped with a muffler 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 highway."

The section sets no decibel figure or audible-distance test. The horn rule is in 66-3-843(A): a driver shall give audible warning with the horn "when reasonably necessary to ensure safe operation ... but shall not otherwise use such horn when upon a highway."

Driving or moving a vehicle that is not equipped as sections 66-3-801 through 66-3-887 require, or that is equipped in violation of them, is a penalty assessment misdemeanor (66-3-801(A)). Both the muffler and horn sections fall in that range. The fixed penalty is on the "improper equipment" row of the penalty assessment schedule in 66-8-116, which covers 66-3-801 through 66-3-840 and 66-3-842 through 66-3-851: $50 (66-8-116(A)). If the driver accepts a notice to appear in court instead, a fine imposed on a later conviction may not exceed the penalty assessment, and probation on a suspended or deferred sentence may not exceed 90 days (66-8-116(C)).

None of the sections above addresses car stereo volume as such. A loud sound system can still fall under a local ordinance, or under the disorderly conduct statute if it is unreasonably loud and tends to disturb the peace.

Off-highway vehicles and boats

A person may not operate an off-highway motor vehicle "that produces noise that exceeds ninety-six decibels when measured using test procedures established by the society of automotive engineers pursuant to standard J-1287" (66-3-1010.3(A)(11)), and such a vehicle may not be sold or offered for sale unless it is sold or offered only for organized competition (66-3-1010.3(E)). Each is a penalty assessment misdemeanor: $50 for operating a vehicle over 96 decibels and $10 for selling one, and a second or later violation in the $50 category within three years moves to the next-highest penalty category (66-3-1020(B), (C)(2)).

For boats, "the exhaust of every internal combustion engine used on any motorboat shall be effectively muffled by equipment so constructed and used as to muffle the noise of the exhaust in a reasonable manner," and cut-outs or non-muffled headers are prohibited except for motorboats in an approved regatta or race and in the trial runs and speed-record trials around it (66-12-10). A violation is a penalty assessment misdemeanor of $30 for a first, $50 for a second and $150 for a third or later, in addition to court costs (66-12-23(B), (M)).

Suing over noise: public nuisance and abatement

New Mexico's public nuisance statute reaches conduct that affects more than one household. A public nuisance consists of "knowingly creating, performing or maintaining anything affecting any number of citizens without lawful authority which is either: A. injurious to public health, safety, morals or welfare; or B. interferes with the exercise and enjoyment of public rights, including the right to use public property" (30-8-1). Where no other penalty is prescribed by law, it is a petty misdemeanor, with the same up-to-six-months and $500 range (31-19-1(B)).

The civil remedy is an abatement action. Under 30-8-8(B), "a civil action to abate a public nuisance may be brought, ... in the name of the state without cost, by any public officer or private citizen, in the district court of the county where the public nuisance exists." If the judgment goes against the defendant, the defendant "shall be adjudged to pay all court costs and a reasonable fee for the complainant's attorney, when the suit is not prosecuted exclusively by the attorney general or a district attorney" (30-8-8(C)).

The statute is written for conduct "affecting any number of citizens"; a dispute between two households may also be handled under the local noise ordinance. A lawyer licensed in New Mexico can advise on a private claim.

If you rent, a tenant must "conduct himself and require other persons on the premises with his consent to conduct themselves in a manner that will not disturb his neighbors' peaceful enjoyment of the premises" (47-8-22(G)). For a breach of the tenant's duties that materially affects health and safety, or an initial material breach of the rental agreement, the landlord must give written notice describing the breach and stating that the rental agreement will end on a date at least seven days after the tenant receives the notice if the breach is not remedied within seven days. A second material breach of the rental agreement within six months of the first allows a written notice ending the agreement at least seven days after receipt (47-8-33(A), (B)). Your lease and the rest of the state landlord-tenant law also matter; see our guide to New Mexico landlord-tenant laws.

Shooting ranges and farms

Sport shooting ranges

The Sport Shooting Range Act limits noise nuisance suits against ranges. Under 17-8-4(A), the use or operation of a sport shooting range "shall not be enjoined as a nuisance on the basis of noise or noise pollution: (1) if the sport shooting range is in compliance with noise control statutes, rules or ordinances that apply to the range and its operation at the time that the initial operation of the range commenced; (2) due to changes made to noise control statutes, rules or ordinances that apply to the sport shooting range and its operation, if the changes take effect after the initial operation of the range commenced; or (3) if noise control statutes, rules or ordinances were not in effect at the time that the original operation of the sport shooting range commenced."

Subsection B adds that a range that began operating before a person acquired an interest in nearby real property may not be enjoined as a noise nuisance by that person (17-8-4(B)).

The protection has limits. The act does not apply to recovery for recklessness, negligence, wanton misconduct or willful misconduct in the operation or use of a range, or to a nuisance action on the basis of trespass (17-8-6(A), (B)). Nor does it apply "to the operation or use of a sport shooting range that substantially and adversely affects public health or public safety" or "if there has been a substantial change in the primary use of a sport shooting range" (17-8-6(C), (D)). And the act "shall not prohibit a local government from regulating the location and construction of sport shooting ranges after July 1, 2002" (17-8-5).

Farms and the Right to Farm Act

Under 47-9-3(A), an agricultural operation or facility "is not, nor shall it become, a private or public nuisance by any changed condition in or about the locality" if it "was not a nuisance at the time the operation began and has been in existence for more than one year." The protection does not apply when the operation or facility "is operated negligently or illegally such that the operation or facility is a nuisance." If a court finds a nuisance action against an agricultural operation frivolous, it "may award reasonable costs and attorneys' fees to the defendant" (47-9-7).

A person whose claim arose after buying, leasing, renting or occupying property near a previously established farm or agricultural facility may not bring a nuisance action unless the operation "has substantially changed in the nature and scope of its operations" (47-9-3(D)). Expanding the operation or adopting new technology does not change its established date of operation (47-9-3(C)). On local rules, subsection B reads: "Any ordinance or resolution of any unit of local government that makes the operation of any agricultural operation or agricultural facility a nuisance or provides for abatement of it as a nuisance under the circumstances set forth in this section shall not apply when an agricultural operation is located within the corporate limits of any municipality as of April 8, 1981" (47-9-3(B)).

The section does not mention noise by name; its protection runs against private and public nuisance claims generally.

Related pages

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

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

Last updated: 2026-10-10.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the noise laws in New Mexico?

Statewide, unreasonably loud conduct that tends to disturb the peace is disorderly conduct, a petty misdemeanor (NMSA 30-20-1), vehicles need a working muffler (66-3-844), and state parks keep quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. (19.5.2.26 NMAC). Loud noise near a funeral is a separate offense (30-20B-3). Quiet hours and decibel limits for neighborhoods come from city and county ordinances.

What are the quiet hours in New Mexico?

State parks set quiet hours from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (19.5.2.26 NMAC). The statutes on this page set no quiet hours for homes, so check your city or county code.

What is the penalty for disorderly conduct for loud noise in New Mexico?

Disorderly conduct is a petty misdemeanor (NMSA 30-20-1), punishable by up to six months in the county jail, a fine of up to $500, or both, at the judge's discretion (31-19-1(B)).

How much is a noise ordinance ticket in New Mexico?

The ordinance sets the amount. A city ordinance penalty may not exceed $500, 90 days, or both (NMSA 3-17-1(C)(1)), and a county ordinance penalty may not exceed $300, 90 days, or both, outside the categories the statute lists (4-37-3(A)).

Is a loud muffler illegal in New Mexico?

Every motor vehicle must have a muffler in good working order to prevent excessive or unusual noise, and cutouts and bypasses are banned on highways (NMSA 66-3-844(A)). A violation is a penalty assessment misdemeanor (66-3-801(A)) with a $50 penalty assessment on the improper equipment row of the schedule in 66-8-116(A).

Can I sue my neighbor for noise in New Mexico?

Any public officer or private citizen may bring a civil action in district court to abate a public nuisance, which must affect any number of citizens (NMSA 30-8-1, 30-8-8). A losing defendant pays court costs and a reasonable attorney fee unless the attorney general or district attorney prosecutes the suit exclusively.

Can neighbors stop a shooting range over noise in New Mexico?

Generally not if the range met the noise rules in effect when it opened, or if the neighbor acquired the property after the range began operating (NMSA 17-8-4). The protection does not apply to claims for recklessness, negligence, wanton or willful misconduct, to a nuisance action based on trespass, to a range that substantially and adversely affects public health or safety, or to a range whose primary use substantially changed (17-8-6).