Wyoming Noise Laws (2026): Breach of the Peace, Mufflers, Fines

In Wyoming, quiet hours and decibel limits for homes come from your city or town ordinance; the state's own rule for loud neighbors is breach of the peace. Under W.S. 6-6-102, a person who "disturbs the peace of a community or its inhabitants by unreasonably loud noise or music" commits breach of the peace if he acts "with knowledge or probable cause to believe he will disturb the peace," a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in jail, a $750 fine, or both. Traffic law adds muffler and horn rules (W.S. 31-5-952, 31-5-953). 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 Wyoming state law: breach of the peace (W.S. 6-6-102); city and town ordinance powers and penalty caps (W.S. 15-1-103); county nuisance abatement (W.S. 18-2-101, 18-2-115); vehicle horn and muffler rules, the traffic-act penalty and uniformity rule (W.S. 31-5-108, 31-5-952, 31-5-953, 31-5-1201); the off-road recreational vehicle muffler rules (W.S. 31-5-1601); motorboat mufflers and the boating penalty (W.S. 41-13-209, 41-13-216); funeral disruption (W.S. 6-6-105); the renter's duty not to interfere with peaceful enjoyment (W.S. 1-21-1205) and the eviction route (W.S. 1-21-1002, 1-21-1003); state park camping quiet hours; sport shooting ranges (W.S. 16-11-101 to 16-11-103); the Right to Farm and Ranch Act (W.S. 11-44-103) and feedlot nuisance defense (W.S. 11-39-101, 11-39-102); and the 2026 Uniform Bail and Forfeiture Schedules. It does not set out any particular city's, town's or county's noise ordinance, and it does not cover federal property or other states.

The Wyoming statutes quoted here are the text the Legislature's official title files show; those files do not print amendment history lines.

Is it illegal to be loud in Wyoming?

It can be. The statewide offense is breach of the peace:

"(a) A person commits breach of the peace if he disturbs the peace of a community or its inhabitants by unreasonably loud noise or music or by using threatening, abusive or obscene language or violent actions with knowledge or probable cause to believe he will disturb the peace." (W.S. 6-6-102(a))

Three elements matter for noise. The noise or music must be unreasonably loud, it must disturb the peace of a community or its inhabitants, and the person must act with knowledge or probable cause to believe it will disturb the peace.

Penalty for breach of the peace

"Breach of the peace is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both" (W.S. 6-6-102(b)). Those are maximums.

A separate statute covers funerals. Protesting, picketing or otherwise causing a breach of the peace within 900 feet of a cemetery, church, building or other facility where a funeral or memorial service is being conducted, within one hour before, during or within one hour after the service, and directed at the service, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in jail, a fine of up to $750, or both (W.S. 6-6-105).

Breach of the peace has no row in the Wyoming Supreme Court's 2026 Uniform Bail and Forfeiture Schedules, which state: "ANYTHING NOT LISTED ON THIS SCHEDULE IS A 'MUST APPEAR.'" A citation under 6-6-102 is therefore a must appear, with no scheduled amount.

Does Wyoming have statewide quiet hours or decibel limits?

Not for homes and neighborhoods. Breach of the peace is the only Title 6 offense that names noise (W.S. 6-6-105 adds a funeral-disruption offense built on breach of the peace); Title 15 (cities and towns) and Title 18 (counties) contain no noise standard; and Title 35, which holds the environmental quality laws, sets no noise limit. Quiet hours and decibel limits for residential noise come from local ordinances.

State law does set noise rules in a few specific settings, each covered below: vehicle mufflers and horns, off-road recreational vehicle mufflers on state or federal lands (102 decibels at 20 inches in a stationary test), motorboat mufflers, state park camping quiet hours (10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.), shooting ranges, farms and ranches, and feedlots.

Local noise ordinances: who makes the rules

Cities and towns. Wyoming cities and towns may:

"(xviii) Regulate, prevent or suppress riots, disturbances, disorderly assemblies or parades, or any other conduct which disturbs or jeopardizes the public health, safety, peace or morality, in any public or private place; (xix) Declare and abate nuisances and impose fines upon parties who create, continue or permit nuisances to exist" (W.S. 15-1-103(a))

They may enforce their ordinances "by imposing fines not exceeding seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or imprisonment not exceeding six (6) months, or both" (W.S. 15-1-103(a)(xli)). A city noise ordinance can therefore carry the same maximum as the state breach of the peace statute.

Counties. A board of county commissioners may "declare and abate nuisances which the commission determines to be a threat to health or safety as provided in W.S. 18-2-115" (W.S. 18-2-101(a)(viii)). "Whoever fails to comply with a final order shall be assessed a civil penalty of up to one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day for each day the violation continues." That power has stated limits: no resolution under it "shall regulate any permitted industrial facility or oil and gas or mining operations necessary to the extraction, production or exploration of the mineral resources," and nothing in it impairs rights under the Wyoming Right to Farm and Ranch Act.

To find your rule, look up your city or town code on its official website or ask the city clerk, and use the police non-emergency line for noise happening now. Outside city limits, ask the county sheriff or the county commissioners' office which rules apply.

Mufflers, horns and vehicle noise

The vehicle noise rule is short:

"(a) Every vehicle shall be equipped, maintained and operated so as to prevent excessive or unusual noise. Every motor vehicle shall at all times be equipped with a muffler or other effective noise suppressing system in good working order and in constant operation. No person shall use a muffler cut-out, bypass or similar device." (W.S. 31-5-953(a))

A horn must be audible from at least 200 feet, but "no horn or other warning device shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle," and a driver "shall when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation give audible warning with his horn but shall not otherwise use the horn when upon a highway" (W.S. 31-5-952(a)).

Penalty. Violating the traffic act is a misdemeanor (W.S. 31-5-1201(a)). Where no other penalty is provided, the fine is:

Source: W.S. 31-5-1201(b).

The 2026 Uniform Bail and Forfeiture Schedules list "Horns (952); mufflers (953); mirrors (954); windshield wipers (955)" at category B, which the schedule sets at $100.00, including $20.00 court costs, a $40.00 court automation fee and a $10.00 civil legal services fee.

Local rules. The traffic act is "applicable and uniform throughout this state and in all political subdivisions and municipalities therein," though local authorities may adopt traffic regulations for streets within their limits and enforce them in municipal court (W.S. 31-5-108).

Off-road recreational vehicles. An off-road recreational vehicle operated on a public road right-of-way, street, road or highway needs a muffler under W.S. 31-5-953(c) (W.S. 31-5-1601(a)(iv)). "If operated on state or federal lands," it must also have "a noise muffler which produces a propulsion noise level of not more than one hundred two (102) decibels at twenty (20) inches in a stationary test" (W.S. 31-5-1601(a)(v)(B)). The 2026 bail schedule lists the spark arrester and noise muffler requirement at category A, $85.00.

Motorboats

"Motorboats shall be equipped, maintained and operated to prevent excessive or unusually loud noise and shall at all times be equipped with a muffler or shall use another method of noise suppression in good working order and in constant operation" (W.S. 41-13-209(b)).

No one may operate or allow the operation of a motorboat with "an altered muffler or muffler cutout, bypass or other devise" that reduces or eliminates the muffler's effectiveness (W.S. 41-13-209(b)). These rules do not apply "to motorboats competing in or while on trials of an approved race or regatta nor in areas designated by the game and fish department" (W.S. 41-13-209(c)).

A violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $200, up to 30 days in jail, or both, and the person "may be refused the privilege of operating any watercraft on any of the waterways of this state for not more than two (2) years" (W.S. 41-13-216(a)). The 2026 bail schedule lists a missing muffler and an exhaust cutout on a motorboat at category B, $100.00.

State parks

Wyoming State Parks posts camping quiet hours. Its rules page for Hawk Springs State Recreation Area states: "Quiet hours shall be maintained in all camping areas from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m." The 2026 Uniform Bail and Forfeiture Schedules list state park violations of "Camping; Quiet hours" at category C ($150.00), "Conduct; Noise disturbance" at category A ($85.00), and Hot Springs State Park quiet hours at category A.

In January 2026 the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources gave notice of proposed amendments to its Chapter 1 rules, including explicitly treating barking or excessively noisy dogs as quiet-hours violations. Check the posted rules at the park you visit.

Shooting ranges, farms and feedlots

Sport shooting ranges. Wyoming's shield turns on compliance with the noise rules that applied when the range was approved:

"(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who operates or uses a sport shooting range in this state shall not be subject to civil liability or criminal prosecution in any matter relating to noise or noise pollution resulting from the operation or use of the range if the range is in compliance with any noise control laws or ordinances that applied to the range and its operation at the time construction or operation of the range was approved by a local government." (W.S. 16-11-102(a))

On the same condition, an operator or user "is not subject to an action for nuisance, and a court of this state shall not enjoin the use or operation of a range on the basis of noise or noise pollution" (W.S. 16-11-102(b)). State agency decibel rules for outdoor noise "shall not apply to a sport shooting range exempted from liability under this act" (W.S. 16-11-102(c)). The act "does not prohibit a local government from regulating the location and construction of a sport shooting range after the effective date of this act" (W.S. 16-11-103), and "local government" means a county, city or town (W.S. 16-11-101(a)(i)).

Farms and ranches. Under the Right to Farm and Ranch Act, "a farm or ranch operation shall not be found to be a public or private nuisance by reason of that operation" if it "(i) Conforms to generally accepted agricultural management practices; and (ii) Existed before a change in the land use adjacent to the farm or ranch land and the farm or ranch operation would not have been a nuisance before the change in land use or occupancy occurred" (W.S. 11-44-103(a)). Both conditions must be met.

Feedlots. The feedlot statutes define "materially affects" to include rules that regulate "the emission of noise" (W.S. 11-39-101(a)(vii)). In a nuisance action brought by someone who acquired their property after the feedlot's established date of operation, "proof of compliance with W.S. 11-39-103 is an absolute defense, if the conditions or circumstances alleged to constitute a nuisance are subject to regulatory jurisdiction by political subdivisions or related to the activities of the department of environmental quality" (W.S. 11-39-102).

What you can do about a noisy neighbor

1. Check the local ordinance. Your city or town code sets the hours and limits that apply on your street.
2. Call the police non-emergency line for noise in progress. Officers can act under the local ordinance or, where its elements are met, under W.S. 6-6-102.
3. Ask about nuisance abatement. Cities and towns may declare and abate nuisances (W.S. 15-1-103(a)(xix)), and counties may abate nuisances that threaten health or safety (W.S. 18-2-101(a)(viii)). A lawyer licensed in Wyoming can explain whether a private nuisance claim fits your facts.
4. Renters. A renter may not "interfere with another person's peaceful enjoyment of the residential property" (W.S. 1-21-1205(a)(ii)). A forcible entry and detainer action may be brought against a renter who violates that duty (W.S. 1-21-1002(a)(vi)), after a notice to quit served at least 3 days before the action begins (W.S. 1-21-1003). See also our guide to Wyoming landlord-tenant laws. For holiday noise, see Wyoming fireworks laws.

Related

• Noise ordinance laws by state
• Wyoming landlord-tenant laws
• Wyoming fireworks laws
• Montana noise ordinance laws
• Colorado noise ordinance laws

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

Last updated: 2026-10-10.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the noise laws in Wyoming?

Disturbing the peace of a community or its inhabitants by unreasonably loud noise or music, with knowledge or probable cause to believe it will disturb the peace, is breach of the peace (W.S. 6-6-102). Quiet hours and decibel limits come from city and town ordinances, and state traffic law requires mufflers that prevent excessive or unusual noise (W.S. 31-5-953).

What are the quiet hours in Wyoming?

Quiet hours for homes are set by your city or town ordinance. The state breach of the peace statute does not use set hours; it asks whether the noise or music was unreasonably loud and disturbed the peace (W.S. 6-6-102). In state park camping areas, Wyoming State Parks posts quiet hours of 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

What is the penalty for disturbing the peace in Wyoming?

Breach of the peace is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in jail, a fine of up to $750, or both (W.S. 6-6-102(b)). It is not listed on the 2026 Uniform Bail and Forfeiture Schedules, so a citation is a must appear.

What is the fine for a city noise ordinance violation in Wyoming?

Each city or town sets its own penalty, but state law caps ordinance fines at $750 and jail at 6 months (W.S. 15-1-103(a)(xli)).

Are loud exhausts illegal in Wyoming?

Every motor vehicle must have a muffler or other effective noise suppressing system in good working order and constant operation, and cut-outs and bypasses are banned (W.S. 31-5-953(a)). A first conviction carries a fine of up to $200 (W.S. 31-5-1201(b)), and the 2026 bail schedule lists muffler violations at category B, $100.

Can I call the police on a loud neighbor in Wyoming?

Police can enforce your city or town noise ordinance or, where its elements are met, breach of the peace under W.S. 6-6-102, which requires unreasonably loud noise or music and knowledge or probable cause to believe it will disturb the peace.

Can I complain about noise from a shooting range or ranch in Wyoming?

State law limits those claims. A range that complies with the noise laws in effect when a local government approved it cannot be sued for nuisance or enjoined over noise (W.S. 16-11-102), and a farm or ranch that follows accepted practices and predates the change in neighboring land use is not a nuisance (W.S. 11-44-103(a)).