North Dakota Noise Laws (2026): Disorderly Conduct, Quiet Hours

North Dakota's main state noise offense is disorderly conduct, and most neighborhood limits, such as quiet hours for homes, come from city ordinances. Under N.D.C.C. 12.1-31-01(1)(b), an individual who "makes unreasonable noise" with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm another person, or in reckless disregard of the fact that another person is harassed, annoyed, or alarmed, is guilty of a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a $1,500 fine, or both (12.1-32-01(6)). 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 North Dakota state law: disorderly conduct, disorderly conduct at a funeral and their penalties (N.D.C.C. 12.1-31-01, 12.1-31-01.1, 12.1-32-01); the residential tenant duty not to disturb neighbors (47-16-13.2, 47-16-13.5, 47-16-13.6, 47-16-16); consumer fireworks (23-15-02, 23-15-06); snowmobile and off-highway vehicle mufflers (39-24-09, 39-29-09); home rule county ordinance powers (11-09.1-05, 11-09.1-13); the nuisance chapter, including disorderly houses and sport shooting ranges (chapter 42-01); right to farm (chapter 42-04); city ordinance powers and the city penalty cap (40-05-01, 40-05-06); county zoning penalties (11-33-21); vehicle muffler, horn, motorcycle exhaust and engine-brake rules with their fees (39-21-33.1, 39-21-36, 39-21-37, 39-27-08, chapter 39-06.1); boat noise and its fee (20.1-13-07.1, 20.1-01-30); state park quiet hours and fees (N.D.A.C. 58-02-08-03, 58-02-08-04); and the repealed state health department noise power (23-01-17). It does not cover the text of any city or county noise ordinance, the text of any home rule charter, lease terms, aircraft or workplace noise, or the law of other states. Statute text is the version the North Dakota Legislative Branch publishes on its official site.

North Dakota noise laws at a glance

Is loud noise a crime in North Dakota?

It can be. The disorderly conduct statute lists making unreasonable noise as one of the prohibited behaviors, but only when the person acts with a particular state of mind. Section 12.1-31-01(1) reads:

"An individual is guilty of a class B misdemeanor if, with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm another person or in reckless disregard of the fact that another person is harassed, annoyed, or alarmed by the individual's behavior, the individual: ... b. Makes unreasonable noise"

The offense has two parts. The noise has to be unreasonable, and the person has to intend to harass, annoy, or alarm someone, or act in reckless disregard of the fact that someone is harassed, annoyed, or alarmed. Subsection 2 adds that the section "does not apply to constitutionally protected activity."

A class B misdemeanor carries "a maximum penalty of thirty days' imprisonment, a fine of one thousand five hundred dollars, or both" (12.1-32-01(6)). Those are maximums; the court sets the actual sentence.

Noise near a funeral. An individual is guilty of disorderly conduct at a funeral if the individual "Engages, with knowledge of the existence of a funeral site, in any loud singing, playing of music, chanting, whistling, yelling, or noisemaking within one thousand feet [300.48 meters] of any ingress or egress of that funeral site if the volume of the singing, music, chanting, whistling, yelling, or noisemaking is likely to be audible at and disturbing to the funeral site" (12.1-31-01.1(2)(a)). A funeral site includes a place where a funeral "is scheduled to be conducted within the next hour or has been conducted within the last hour" (12.1-31-01.1(1)(b)). It is a class B misdemeanor, and a second or later violation is a class A misdemeanor (12.1-31-01.1(3)), punishable by up to 360 days, a $3,000 fine, or both (12.1-32-01(5)).

Quiet hours and decibel limits in North Dakota

The state sets hours in two places, neither of which covers homes:

• Boats. "A boat operated on the waters of this state between the hours of twelve midnight and five a.m. may not produce a noise in excess of eighty-eight decibels for more than ten minutes" (20.1-13-07.1(1)). The sound is measured from the shoreline closest to where the complainant or another individual noticed the noise (20.1-13-07.1(2)). A violation is a class 1 noncriminal offense (20.1-13-07.1(3)), with a statutory fee of $50 (20.1-01-30), and an operator cited "may not operate the boat that produced the noise in violation of this section until a muffler is installed" (20.1-13-07.1(4)).
• State parks. "The hours between ten p.m. and seven a.m. are designated as quiet hours. Activity or noise levels that interfere with the peace and quiet of the park or result in complaints constitute a class 1 violation" (N.D.A.C. 58-02-08-04(1)). The fee for a class 1 violation of the park rules is $100 (N.D.A.C. 58-02-08-03), and a violation of any state law or department rule by a member of a camping party or a member's guest "is cause for revocation of the camping permit and eviction from the property" (58-02-08-04(2)).

Motorcycles operating on streets and highways must also "meet the noise decibel limitations as established by the environmental protection agency" (39-27-08).

Beyond those rules, the Century Code chapters on disorderly conduct (12.1-31), the state health department (23-01), motor vehicles (39-21), city powers (40-05) and nuisances (42-01) contain no statewide quiet hours, construction hours or decibel limit for homes and neighborhoods. Those limits, where they exist, are in your city's ordinances.

North Dakota once gave its state health department power over noise harmful to health and safety. That section, 23-01-17, was "Repealed by S.L. 1991, ch. 264, sec. 1," so there is no state noise-control program to complain to. Complaints about a neighbor go to local police or the city.

City noise ordinances and their penalties

North Dakota cities have express authority over neighborhood peace. Section 40-05-01 lets a city:

"33. ... provide for keeping and preserving the peace and quietude of the municipality, prevent disorderly conduct, prohibit public intoxication, and prevent and suppress riots, affrays, disturbances, and disorderly assemblies in any place. ... 44. ... declare what shall constitute a nuisance and to prevent, abate, and remove the same."

A city noise ordinance, such as one setting quiet hours, rests on these powers. The city sets its own penalty, within the cap in 40-05-06(1): "Except as provided in subsections 2 and 3, the fine or penalty for the violation of any ordinance, resolution, or regulation of a city may not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars, and the imprisonment may not exceed thirty days for one offense." The actual amount for a noise ticket is in your city's code or its fee schedule.

Outside home rule charters, county noise powers appear in two places. A violation of a county zoning regulation adopted under chapter 11-33 "shall constitute the maintenance of a public nuisance and shall be a class B misdemeanor" (11-33-21). And under the 2025 engine-brake law, "A city or county may adopt an ordinance prohibiting the use of an engine compression brake device in a designated zone and may post the prohibition in the designated zone" (39-21-33.1(3)). A county with a home rule charter may, if its charter includes the power and it is implemented through ordinances, provide penalties for ordinances "to provide for public health, safety, morals, and welfare," but that subsection "does not confer any authority to regulate any industry or activity regulated by state law or by rules adopted by a state agency" (11-09.1-05(7)). A home rule county ordinance violation may be "an infraction or a class B misdemeanor" (11-09.1-13).

Loud neighbors: nuisance law and who to call

For a noise problem happening now, call the local police non-emergency line; officers can address disorderly conduct under 12.1-31-01 and any city ordinance. For an ongoing problem, North Dakota's nuisance chapter gives neighbors civil tools.

A nuisance includes "unlawfully doing an act or omitting to perform a duty, which act or omission: 1. Annoys, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose, health, or safety of others" (42-01-01(1)).

• Private nuisance. One that "affects a single individual or a determinate number of persons in the enjoyment of some private right not common to the public" (42-01-02). The remedies are "1. A civil action; or 2. Abatement" (42-01-03).
• Public nuisance. "A private person may maintain an action for a public nuisance if it is specially injurious to that person or that person's property, but not otherwise" (42-01-08). A person who maintains a public nuisance whose punishment is not otherwise set is guilty of a class A misdemeanor (42-01-15), punishable by up to 360 days, a $3,000 fine, or both (12.1-32-01(5)).
• Disorderly house. "An owner or lessee, or both, of a house or building that is used in a manner that habitually disturbs the peace, comfort, or decency of the immediate neighborhood is guilty of maintaining a public nuisance. A lessee is not guilty of an offense under this section unless the lessee is the cause of the nuisance" (42-01-01.2).

If the noisy neighbor rents, North Dakota law requires a residential tenant to "Conduct oneself and require other persons on the premises with the tenant's consent to conduct themselves in a manner that will not disturb the tenant's neighbors' peaceful enjoyment of the premises" (47-16-13.2(7)). A party aggrieved under those sections may recover appropriate damages but has a duty to mitigate them (47-16-13.5), and the rights are enforceable by action, with reasonable attorney's fees available to the prevailing party (47-16-13.6). A landlord may terminate a lease when the tenant "Uses or permits a use of the property leased in a manner contrary to the agreement of the parties" (47-16-16(1)). See our North Dakota landlord-tenant laws guide for more.

Vehicle noise: mufflers, horns, motorcycles and jake brakes

Mufflers. "Every motor vehicle must at all times be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise and annoying smoke, and no person may use a muffler cutout, bypass, or similar device upon a motor vehicle on a highway" (39-21-37(1)).

Motorcycles. Motorcycles need an exhaust system with a muffler, "Cutouts and bypasses in the exhaust system are prohibited," and "all motorcycles operating on streets and highways must meet the noise decibel limitations as established by the environmental protection agency" (39-27-08).

Horns. A horn may not "emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle," and a driver "may not otherwise use the vehicle's horn while upon a highway" except when reasonably necessary for safe operation (39-21-36(1)).

Snowmobiles and off-highway vehicles. No one may operate a snowmobile "Without a manufacturer-installed or equivalent muffler in good working order and connected to the snowmobile exhaust system" (39-24-09(5)(f)); the fee is $20 (39-24-11(1)(e)). The same muffler rule applies to off-highway vehicles (39-29-09(5)(f)), where a violation is an infraction with a $50 fee (39-29-12).

Engine compression brakes. Senate Bill 2253, signed on April 3, 2025, added section 39-21-33.1: "An operator of a commercial motor vehicle may not use an engine compression brake device that creates a noise disturbance in a zone posted as prohibiting the use of an engine compression brake device." The rule does not apply during an emergency situation (39-21-33.1(2)). It applies only in posted zones, not statewide.

Penalties. Violations of chapters 39-21 and 39-27, with listed exceptions, are moving violations (39-06.1-09). The statutory fee for a moving violation is "twenty dollars, except for" the higher fees the statute lists (39-06.1-06(2)), and the listed fee for an engine-brake violation is "fifty dollars" (39-06.1-06(2)(q)). A muffler violation "discovered at a time when the vehicle is not actually being operated" is a nonmoving violation (39-06.1-08(2)), also with a $20 fee (39-06.1-06(1)). For a city ordinance that regulates vehicle operation or equipment, the city may set a fee "which may exceed, by up to one hundred percent, the limit, for an equivalent category of violation, set forth in section 39-06.1-06," except for a speed violation (40-05-06(2)).

Shooting ranges and farms

North Dakota limits noise claims against two kinds of operations.

Sport shooting ranges. Under 42-01-01.1, "If a sport shooting range has been in operation for one year since the date on which it began operation as a sport shooting range, it does not become a public or private nuisance as a result of changed conditions in or around the locality of the sport shooting range." The section also provides: "If a sport shooting range remains in compliance with noise control or nuisance abatement rules or ordinances in effect on the date on which it commenced operation, it is not subject to a civil or criminal action resulting from or relating to noise generated by the operation of the sport shooting range." A person who acquires title to property adversely affected by "a permanently located and improved sport shooting range constructed and initially operated before that person acquired title" may not maintain a civil action "on the basis of noise or noise pollution" against the range's owner or operator. A later noise rule "may not be applied to prohibit the operation of a sport shooting range, provided the conduct was lawful and being conducted before the adoption of the rule, resolution, or ordinance." A political subdivision may regulate the location and construction of a range after August 1, 1999, but a county or city with a home rule charter "may not regulate a sport shooting range except as otherwise provided in this section."

Farms. "An agricultural operation is not, nor shall it become, a private or public nuisance by any changed conditions in or about the locality of such operation after it has been in operation for more than one year, if such operation was not a nuisance at the time the operation began," except where a nuisance "results from the negligent or improper operation" of the operation (42-04-02). A local ordinance or resolution that makes the operation of an agricultural operation a nuisance "under the circumstances set forth in this chapter is void," except when a nuisance "results from the negligent or improper operation" of the operation or from an agricultural operation "located within the corporate limits of any city as of July 1, 1981" (42-04-04).

Fireworks noise

A licensed retailer may sell the permitted consumer fireworks to an individual at least twelve years of age "only during the periods of June twenty-seventh through July fifth and December twenty-sixth through January first" (23-15-02(2)). A person who violates the fireworks chapter is guilty of a class B misdemeanor (23-15-06). Cities may regulate and prohibit "the use or sale of firecrackers and fireworks" (40-05-01(38)), so the days and hours when fireworks may be set off are in your city's ordinance. See our North Dakota fireworks laws guide for more.

Related pages

• Noise ordinance laws by state
• North Dakota landlord-tenant laws
• North Dakota fireworks laws
• Minnesota noise ordinance laws
• Montana noise ordinance laws

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

Last updated: 2026-10-10.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the noise laws in North Dakota?

Making unreasonable noise with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm another person, or in reckless disregard that someone is harassed, annoyed, or alarmed, is disorderly conduct under N.D.C.C. 12.1-31-01. Vehicles need working mufflers (39-21-37), and quiet hours for homes come from city ordinances.

What are the quiet hours in North Dakota?

State parks have quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. (N.D.A.C. 58-02-08-04), and boats may not exceed 88 decibels for more than 10 minutes between midnight and 5 a.m. (20.1-13-07.1). Quiet hours for homes are set by your city.

Is a loud neighbor disorderly conduct in North Dakota?

It can be if the neighbor makes unreasonable noise with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm, or in reckless disregard that others are harassed, annoyed, or alarmed (12.1-31-01(1)(b)). It is a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days, a $1,500 fine, or both (12.1-32-01).

How much is a noise ticket in a North Dakota city?

Each city sets its own amount by ordinance. State law caps a city ordinance penalty at a $1,500 fine and 30 days in jail per offense, except as 40-05-06 subsections 2 and 3 provide.

What is the fine for a loud muffler in North Dakota?

A muffler violation under 39-21-37 is a moving violation (39-06.1-09) with a statutory fee of $20 (39-06.1-06(2)). A city ordinance on vehicle equipment may set a fee up to 100 percent above the state limit for the same category of violation (40-05-06(2)).

Are jake brakes illegal in North Dakota?

A commercial vehicle may not use an engine compression brake that creates a noise disturbance in a zone posted as prohibiting it (39-21-33.1). Cities and counties set the zones, emergencies are exempt, and the statutory fee is $50 (39-06.1-06(2)(q)).

Can I sue a neighbor for noise in North Dakota?

A private nuisance, an act that annoys or endangers the comfort or repose of others, can be met with a civil action or abatement (N.D.C.C. 42-01-01, 42-01-03). A lawyer licensed in North Dakota can advise on a specific case.