District of Columbia § 25-725 Noise from licensed premises.

District of Columbia Statutes

§ 25-725 — Noise from licensed premises.

District of Columbia § 25-725

Title 25Alcoholic Beverages. [Enacted title]

Ch. 7Standards of Operation.

Subch. IIIHours; Noise Restrictions; Control of Litter.

This text of District of Columbia § 25-725 (Noise from licensed premises.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

D.C. Code § 25-725 (2026).

Text

(a)The licensee under an on-premises retailer’s license shall not produce any sound, noise, or music of such intensity that it may be heard in any premises other than the licensed establishment by the use of any:

(1)Mechanical device, machine, apparatus, or instrument for amplification of the human voice or any sound or noise;

(2)Bell, horn, gong, whistle, drum, or other noise-making article, instrument, or device; or

(3)Musical instrument.

(b)This section shall not apply to:

(1)Areas in the building which are not part of the licensed establishment;

(2)A building owned by the licensee which abuts the licensed establishment;

(3)Any premises other than the licensed establishment that are located within a commercial, manufacturing, or mixed-use zone, as defined in t

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(a) The licensee under an on-premises retailer’s license shall not produce any sound, noise, or music of such intensity that it may be heard in any premises other than the licensed establishment by the use of any:

(1) Mechanical device, machine, apparatus, or instrument for amplification of the human voice or any sound or noise;

(2) Bell, horn, gong, whistle, drum, or other noise-making article, instrument, or device; or

(3) Musical instrument.

(b) This section shall not apply to:

(1) Areas in the building which are not part of the licensed establishment;

(2) A building owned by the licensee which abuts the licensed establishment;

(3) Any premises other than the licensed establishment that are located within a commercial, manufacturing, or mixed-use zone, as defined in the zoning regulations and shown in the official atlases of the Zoning Commission for the District;

(4) Sounds, noises, or music occasioned by normal opening of entrance and exit doors for the purpose of ingress and egress; or

(5) Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning devices.

(c) The licensees under this subchapter shall comply with the noise level requirements set forth in Chapter 27 of Title 20 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.

(1) ABCA shall maintain a complaint program to receive noise complaints by phone, email, and fax. The complaint program shall be staffed by an ABCA employee until at least one hour after the end time for the legal sale of alcoholic beverages as set forth in § 25-723 .

(2) ABCA shall keep records regarding noise complaints and record the following information at the time the complaint is made:

(A) The time and date of the complaint;

(B) The name and address of the establishment that is the subject of the complaint;

(C) The name and address of the complainant, if available;

(D) The nature of the noise complaint; and

(E) Whether the complaint was substantiated by ABCA.

(3) Upon receipt of a noise complaint, ABCA shall attempt to contact the establishment by phone or in person and inform the ABC manager on-duty that a noise complaint has been received and describe the nature of the complaint.

(4) ABCA shall notify the licensee of the complaint by e-mail, phone, or registered mail within 72 hours of receiving the complaint. ABCA shall notify the licensee of the results of any investigation that may result in a show cause hearing within 90 days as required by § 25-832 .

(e) The windows and doors of an establishment from which noise can be heard shall remain open or closed, as they were at the time the complaint was made, in order for an ABCA investigator or Metropolitan Police Department officer to determine whether a violation of subsection (a) of this section exists. The ABCA investigator shall have the authority to direct that windows and doors be closed or opened.