Portland noise rules at a glance
- Governing code: Portland City Code, Title 18 (Noise Control)
- Quiet hours: Night hours are 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM, when every limit drops 5 dBA
- How violations are judged: Measured decibel limits
- Construction: Commercial construction equipment is limited to 85 dBA measured at 50 feet from the source
- Complaints: Portland Noise Control Program
How Portland decides what counts as too loud
Portland's limit depends on two zones at once — the zone the noise comes from and the zone it is heard in — so the same machine can be legal on one side of a street and not the other.
Noise limits in Portland
| Applies to | Daytime | Night |
|---|---|---|
| Residential source, residential receiver | 55 dBA at the property line, 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM | 50 dBA, 10:00 PM – 7:00 AM |
| Commercial or mixed-use source, residential receiver | 60 dBA | 55 dBA |
| Industrial source, residential receiver | 65 dBA | 60 dBA |
| Impulsive sources | 100 dB peak | 80 dB peak |
What's specific to Portland
- The adjustments stack: a steady or narrow-band sound loses another 5 dBA on top of the nighttime reduction, so a constant hum at night is judged 10 dBA below the daytime figure.
- Sound plainly audible inside a dwelling between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM is separately prohibited, without any meter reading.
- Because the limit depends on the source zone, identifying what the noise is coming from matters as much as measuring it.
What Portland residents most often report
- Industrial and commercial equipment audible in adjoining residential zones, which is what the source/receiver grid is built for.
- Steady mechanical hum at night, which attracts both the 5 dBA night reduction and the 5 dBA narrow-band reduction.
- Construction equipment measured against the 85 dBA at 50 feet standard.
How to measure it in Portland
Establish two things before the number means anything: which zone the noise originates in and which zone you are standing in. Portland's Figure 1 is a grid of both, and quoting a single dBA reading without them proves nothing. Measure at the property line, and if the sound is a steady hum rather than something varying, say so — that alone moves the applicable limit down another 5 dBA.
Record levels with the free online decibel meter, and log the date, start time and duration with each reading. A phone microphone is accurate to roughly ±2 dB and is not a calibrated instrument — enough to establish a pattern, not enough for an enforcement hearing.
Turn your readings into something you can file
Portland Noise Control Program will ask when the noise happens and how long it lasts. A live decibel reading answers neither. Record a timestamped session — a ten-minute check or a full night — for free, and it is charted and kept on your device. When you are ready to file, export it as a PDF with the dates, times, duration and the statistics that describe a pattern rather than a moment.
- Timestamped sessions with the recording timezone
- Leq and L10/L50/L90 background levels
- Print-ready PDF report, one click
- Your last 25 sessions, kept on your device
Recording and charting are free. PDF reports are $19 for 3, with no subscription — see pricing.
Recording is free and stays on your device. A phone microphone is not a calibrated instrument — a session establishes a pattern, and this page is not legal advice.
How to file a noise complaint in Portland
Portland runs a dedicated noise programme rather than folding noise into general code enforcement, which means complaints are handled by staff who work only on sound.
Portland Noise Control Program →
Before you file, read how to document a noise complaint — what to log, where to measure, and who to go to first — with a printable noise log.
Sources
Municipal codes are amended regularly and enforcement practice varies by neighbourhood and agency. This page summarises the code as of 2026-08-10 and is not legal advice — confirm against the linked code before relying on any figure, and consult a lawyer for a dispute.
Noise ordinances in nearby cities
See all US metro noise ordinances or read how many decibels is too loud.