Oregon Noise Ordinance Laws (2026): Quiet Hours, Fines, DEQ

Oregon has a full state noise-control chapter on its books, ORS chapter 467, and Environmental Quality Commission noise rules in OAR chapter 340, division 35, but the state has suspended administering it: after the Legislative Assembly withdrew all funding in 1991, "the Commission and the Department have suspended administration of the noise program" (OAR 340-035-0110). The statewide rule that reaches a loud neighbor is disorderly conduct in the second degree, which covers a person who "makes unreasonable noise" with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk of it (ORS 166.025(1)(b)); it is a Class B misdemeanor. Quiet hours and decibel limits for homes come from city and county noise ordinances, which ORS 467.100 expressly allows. 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 Oregon state law: disorderly conduct (ORS 166.025) and the misdemeanor penalty ranges (ORS 161.615, 161.635); the Noise Control chapter (ORS 467.010 to 467.990, including the shooting-range sections printed with it) and the commission's noise rules (OAR 340-035); vehicle noise, horn, exhaust and sound-system offenses (ORS 815.025, 815.225, 815.232, 815.233, 815.250) and traffic-violation fines (ORS 153.018, 153.019, 153.025); city and county powers and county ordinance violations (ORS 221.410, 203.035, 203.040, 203.065); tenant duties and termination for cause (ORS 90.325, 90.392); consumer fireworks (ORS 480.127, 480.160, 480.165, 480.990); boat, snowmobile and ATV mufflers (ORS 830.260, 830.270, 830.990, 821.210, 821.220); state park rules (OAR 736-010-0040); the right-to-farm law (ORS 30.932 to 30.938); and private nuisance suits (ORS 105.505). It does not set out any particular city's or county's noise ordinance, and it does not cover federal property or other states.

Does Oregon have a state noise law?

Yes, on paper. ORS chapter 467 declares that "the State of Oregon has an interest in the control of such pollution" and centralizes in the Environmental Quality Commission "the authority to adopt reasonable statewide standards for noise emissions permitted within this state and to implement and enforce compliance with such standards" (ORS 467.010). The chapter then forbids noise above the commission's levels:

"Except as provided in ORS 467.131 and 467.133, no person may emit, cause the emission of, or permit the emission of noise in excess of the levels fixed therefor by the Environmental Quality Commission pursuant to ORS 467.030." (ORS 467.020)

Chapter 467 sets no decibel numbers or hours of its own; it leaves the levels to the commission's rules. Violating the chapter or its rules is a Class B misdemeanor, and "each day of violation shall be considered a separate offense" (ORS 467.990).

The commission did adopt those rules. For example, a new industrial or commercial noise source on a previously unused site may not raise the ambient statistical noise levels, L10 or L50, "by more than 10 dBA in any one hour," or exceed the levels in the rule's Table 8, measured at an appropriate measurement point (OAR 340-035-0035(1)(b)(B)(i)).

The state noise program was defunded in 1991

The commission's own rule explains what happened next:

"In 1991, the Legislative Assembly withdrew all funding for implementing and administering ORS Chapter 467 and the Department's noise program. Accordingly, the Commission and the Department have suspended administration of the noise program, including but not limited to processing requests for exceptions and variances, reviewing plans, issuing certifications, forming advisory committees, and responding to complaints." (OAR 340-035-0110)

The Department of Environmental Quality's noise page says the same thing in plain terms: DEQ is not able to investigate noise complaints as of July 1, 1991, when legislative action terminated its Noise Control Program. It adds that DEQ's noise rules remain in place for city, county or municipal governments to use, and that the county sheriff and city police departments generally investigate noise complaints and start enforcement (Oregon DEQ noise page). In practice, a noise complaint in Oregon goes to local police, the sheriff, or your city or county code office, not to DEQ.

Disturbing the peace: disorderly conduct for unreasonable noise

The state crime that covers a loud party, a neighbor's shouting or other disruptive noise is disorderly conduct in the second degree:

"A person commits the crime of disorderly conduct in the second degree if, with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, the person: ... (b) Makes unreasonable noise;" (ORS 166.025(1))

Two elements limit the offense. The noise must be unreasonable, and the person must act with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly create a risk of it. The same offense covers a person who, with that intent or recklessness, "disturbs any lawful assembly of persons without lawful authority" (ORS 166.025(1)(c)).

These are statutory maximums; the court sets the sentence in each case.

Quiet hours and local noise ordinances in Oregon

Quiet hours and decibel limits for homes usually come from your city or county. Chapter 467 gives them that power directly:

"Pursuant to this chapter, in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens, a city or county may adopt and enforce noise ordinances or noise standards otherwise permitted by law. A city or county may also adopt such standards for a class of activity exempted by the commission or noise emission sources not regulated by the commission." (ORS 467.100(1))

Cities also have broad home-rule power: "Except as limited by express provision or necessary implication of general law, a city may take all action necessary or convenient for the government of its local affairs" (ORS 221.410(1)). Counties may by ordinance "exercise authority within the county over matters of county concern" (ORS 203.035(1)). Subject to ORS 153.025, violating a county ordinance adopted under that power is a Class A violation, and a county may by ordinance set a specific fine violation with a higher fine (ORS 203.065(1)); any peace officer may enforce it (ORS 203.065(5)). A violation is punished by a fine and may not carry a jail term; the Class A maximum is $2,000 and the presumptive fine is $440 (ORS 153.018, 153.019). But a county's police-power ordinances "shall not apply inside an incorporated city" without the consent of the city's governing body or electors (ORS 203.040). So:

• If you live inside city limits, look up your city code's noise chapter.
• If you live in an unincorporated area, look up your county code.

Local governments can also scale penalties down. Where a state statute covers the same conduct, a city or county may set a fine "less in amount than the maximum fine for the offense specified by the statute," and may make the ordinance violation a Class A, B, C or D violation "as long as the class specified in the ordinance is lower than the statutory classification for the offense" (ORS 153.025(1)).

To find your rules, search your city's or county's municipal code for "noise." For a complaint in progress, call your city police or county sheriff non-emergency line; for a recurring problem, ask your city or county code enforcement office how its noise ordinance is enforced.

Vehicle noise in Oregon: exhaust, horns and car stereos

Oregon's Vehicle Code includes these noise offenses. The vehicle rules are traffic violations and the boat rule is a Class B violation; a repeat sound-system offender can face a misdemeanor.

• Unreasonable noise with a vehicle (ORS 815.025): operating a motor vehicle on a highway "so as to cause any greater noise or sound than is reasonably necessary for the proper operation of the vehicle."
• Loud stereo (ORS 815.232): operating "any sound amplification system which is plainly audible outside of a vehicle from 50 or more feet when the vehicle is on a public highway or on premises open to the public." The rule does not apply to vehicles being operated outside an urban growth boundary (ORS 815.232(2)(a)).
• Horn misuse (ORS 815.225): using a horn "otherwise than as a reasonable warning" or making "any unnecessary or unreasonably loud or harsh sound by means of a horn or other warning device."
• Exhaust (ORS 815.250): the exhaust system must meet noise emission standards determined by DEQ, based on a stationary test conducted at 25 feet. The standards must be substantially equivalent to the statute's table: for 1976 and later models, 91 dBA for vehicles required to establish a registration weight and commercial buses, 88 dBA for other motor vehicles, and 89 dBA for motorcycles and mopeds made after 1976 (ORS 815.250(2)(c)). Qualifying special interest vehicles and street rods, road machinery, road rollers, farm tractors and antique vehicles used for exhibitions are exempt (ORS 815.250(3)). The court "in its discretion may dismiss a citation" if evidence shows the exhaust system complies or "has been repaired or modified to comply" (ORS 815.250(4)).

The presumptive fine is the standard amount; ORS 153.019(3) adds that "any surcharge imposed under ORS 1.188 shall be added to and made a part of the presumptive fine."

Repeat sound-system offenses can become a crime. A person convicted under ORS 815.232 commits a misdemeanor if "the person has been convicted of three or more violations of ORS 815.232 (1) within 12 months immediately preceding the commission of the offense" (ORS 815.233(1)).

Snowmobiles, ATVs and boats. A snowmobile must have "an adequate and operating muffling device" that prevents excessive or unusual noise and, on snowmobiles made after January 4, 1973, keeps the noise at "82 decibels or below on the A scale at 100 feet"; snowmobiles in organized racing events in a designated area may use a bypass or cutout (ORS 821.210). An ATV must have a muffling device in good working order and constant operation that complies with the noise emission standards of the State Parks and Recreation Department (ORS 821.220). A motorboat's exhaust must be "effectively muffled," and cutouts or open exhaust stacks are prohibited except in authorized regattas, races, trials and tests (ORS 830.260). If the operator is convicted and the court has no evidence that the boat has been brought into compliance with the board's sound standards, the boat's certificate of number can be suspended (ORS 830.270).

Shooting ranges and farms

Shooting ranges. The owner, operator or lessee of a rifle, pistol, silhouette, skeet, trap, blackpowder or other shooting range "shall be immune from civil or criminal liability based upon an allegation of noise or noise pollution" so long as all three conditions in ORS 467.131 are met:

1. The allegation results from the normal and accepted activity on the range.
2. The owner, operator or lessee complied with any noise law or ordinance in force when construction of the range began, or none existed then.
3. The activity occurred "between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. or conducted for law enforcement training purposes."

A local ordinance that makes a protected range a nuisance or trespass, or provides for its abatement, "is invalid with respect to a shooting range for which no action or claim is allowed" under ORS 467.131 and 467.133 (ORS 467.136). Night law-enforcement training is limited: it is allowed only "for up to four nights a month," and only after the operator publishes notice at least one week ahead in a newspaper of general circulation in the county (ORS 467.138). These sections are printed with chapter 467 but, as the statute text notes, were not made part of it by legislative action.

Farms and forestry. Agricultural and forestry operations are exempt from chapter 467, subject to an exception in subsection (3) (ORS 467.120(1)). Oregon's right-to-farm law goes further. Its definition of "nuisance or trespass" expressly "includes but is not limited to actions or claims based on noise, vibration, odors, smoke, dust" and similar effects (ORS 30.932), and "no farming or forest practice on lands zoned for farm or forest use shall give rise to any private right of action or claim for relief based on nuisance or trespass" (ORS 30.936(1)). In a nuisance or trespass case over an alleged farming or forest practice, "the prevailing party shall be entitled to judgment for reasonable attorney fees and costs" (ORS 30.938), whichever side that is. The bar does not apply to claims for damage to commercial agricultural products or for death or serious physical injury (ORS 30.936(2)). A farming or forest practice allowed as a preexisting nonconforming use is protected only if it existed before the conflicting use and has not significantly increased in size or intensity since November 4, 1993, or the date the urban growth boundary was changed to include it, whichever is later (ORS 30.937).

Fireworks and state parks

Fireworks. A state retail permit authorizes the sale of consumer fireworks only from June 23 to July 6 (ORS 480.127(2)). Nothing in the state fireworks law, or a permit issued under it, authorizes the use or discharge of fireworks in a city, county or fire protection district where that is otherwise prohibited by law or municipal ordinance (ORS 480.160(1)). Violating the fireworks statutes is a Class B misdemeanor (ORS 480.990(5)), and the State Fire Marshal may impose a civil penalty of up to $500 per violation, though an individual member of the public who possesses fireworks with a retail value under $50 is not subject to it (ORS 480.165(1)).

State parks. In state parks, a person may not use or operate "any noise producing machine, vehicle, device or instrument in a manner that disturbs or may disturb other park visitors or wildlife," or use a public address system or similar device without the park manager's written permission (OAR 736-010-0040(11)(a), (b)).

Dealing with a loud neighbor in Oregon

1. Check the local ordinance. Your city or county code sets the quiet hours and limits that most residential complaints turn on.
2. Call local law enforcement, not DEQ. City police and county sheriffs generally investigate noise complaints (Oregon DEQ). Officers can enforce the local ordinance or, where the elements are met, disorderly conduct under ORS 166.025.
3. Consider a civil claim for a lasting problem. "Any person whose property or personal enjoyment thereof is affected by a private nuisance, may maintain an action for damages therefor" (ORS 105.505). A plaintiff who wins may also move for a warrant directing the sheriff to abate the nuisance, or, if that remedy is inadequate, seek to have the defendant enjoined (ORS 105.505). The right-to-farm and shooting-range sections above bar many such claims against farms and ranges.

Renters. A tenant must "behave and require other persons on the premises with the consent of the tenant to behave in a manner that will not disturb the peaceful enjoyment of the premises by neighbors" (ORS 90.325(1)(g)). A material violation is a cause for termination on written notice with a termination date at least 30 days after delivery. If the violation can be cured, the tenancy does not end if the tenant cures it by the date in the notice, which must be at least 14 days after delivery, or for a separate act that is not ongoing, no earlier than delivery; shorter periods apply to week-to-week tenancies and to a repeat violation within six months, which has no right to cure (ORS 90.392). See our guide to Oregon landlord-tenant laws. For more on fireworks, see Oregon fireworks laws.

Related

• Noise ordinance laws by state
• Oregon landlord-tenant laws
• Oregon fireworks laws
• Washington noise ordinance laws
• California noise ordinance laws

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

Last updated: 2026-10-10.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the noise laws in Oregon?

Making unreasonable noise with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating that risk, is disorderly conduct in the second degree, a Class B misdemeanor (ORS 166.025). Vehicle noise, horns, exhaust and car stereos are traffic violations under ORS chapter 815, and cities and counties set quiet hours and decibel limits by ordinance (ORS 467.100).

What are the quiet hours in Oregon?

Quiet hours for homes come from your city or county noise ordinance, which ORS 467.100(1) authorizes. The state Noise Control chapter itself sets no hours and leaves numeric levels to commission rules that the state no longer administers.

Can I call DEQ about a noise complaint in Oregon?

DEQ says it is not able to investigate noise complaints as of July 1, 1991, when its noise program was terminated, and OAR 340-035-0110 says the Commission and DEQ suspended the program, including responding to complaints. City police and county sheriffs generally investigate noise complaints instead.

What is the penalty for disturbing the peace with noise in Oregon?

Disorderly conduct in the second degree for unreasonable noise is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 (ORS 166.025, 161.615, 161.635). Within 200 feet of a known funeral service it is a Class A misdemeanor.

How loud can a car stereo be in Oregon?

A sound system may not be plainly audible outside the vehicle from 50 or more feet on a public highway or premises open to the public (ORS 815.232). The rule does not apply outside an urban growth boundary; a violation is a Class D traffic violation with a $115 presumptive fine plus any surcharge.

What is the fine for a loud exhaust in Oregon?

Operating without a proper exhaust system is a Class C traffic violation (ORS 815.250), with a presumptive fine of $165 plus any ORS 1.188 surcharge and a maximum of $500 (ORS 153.019, 153.018). The court may dismiss the citation if the exhaust is shown to comply or has been repaired.

Can I sue my neighbor for noise in Oregon?

ORS 105.505 lets any person whose property or personal enjoyment is affected by a private nuisance sue for damages. Farming or forest practices on land zoned for that use, and qualifying shooting ranges, are protected from noise nuisance claims, with exceptions for farm claims over damage to commercial agricultural products or death or serious physical injury (ORS 30.936, 467.131).