Fla. Stat. § 316.293

civil infractionverified

Motor vehicle noise

How Florida classifies this section

Noncriminal traffic infraction (civil)

“Except as provided in ss. 318.17 and 320.07(3)(c), any person cited for a violation of chapter 316, s. 320.0605, s. 320.07(3)(a) or (b), s. 322.065, s. 322.15(1), s. 322.16(2) or (3), s. 322.1615, s. 322.19, or s. 1006.66(3) is charged with a noncriminal infraction”
— § 318.14(1), Fla. Stat., verbatim

The statute, verbatim

316.293 Motor vehicle noise.—(1) DEFINITIONS.—The following words and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in this subsection, except where the context otherwise requires:(a) “dB A” means the composite abbreviation for the A-weighted sound level and the unit of sound level, the decibel.
(b) “Gross combination weight rating” or “GCWR” means the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a combination vehicle.
(c) “Gross vehicle weight rating” or “GVWR” means the value specified by the manufacturer as the loaded weight of a single vehicle.
(d) “Sound level” means the A-weighted sound pressure level measured with fast response using an instrument complying with the specification for sound level meters of the American National Standards Institute, Inc., or its successor bodies, except that only A-weighting and fast dynamic response need be provided.
(e) “Department” means the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
(2) OPERATING NOISE LIMITS.—No person shall operate or be permitted to operate a vehicle at any time or under any condition of roadway grade, load, acceleration, or deceleration in such a manner as to generate a sound level in excess of the following limit for the category of motor vehicle and applicable speed limit at a distance of 50 feet from the center of the lane of travel under measurement procedures established under subsection (3).(a) For motorcycles other than motor-driven cycles: Sound level limit
Speed limit
35 mph or lessSpeed limit
over 35 mph
Before January 1, 197982 dB A86 dB A
On or after
January 1, 197978 dB A82 dB A
(b) For any motor vehicle with a GVWR or GCWR of 10,000 pounds or more: Sound level limit
Speed limit
35 mph or lessSpeed limit
over 35 mph
On or after
January 1, 197586 dB A90 dB A
(c) For motor-driven cycles and any other motor vehicle not included in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b): Sound level limit
Speed limit
35 mph or lessSpeed limit
over 35 mph
Before January 1, 197976 dB A82 dB A
On or after
January 1, 197972 dB A79 dB A
(3) MEASUREMENT PROCEDURES.—The measurement procedures for determining compliance with this section shall be established by regulation of the Department of Environmental Protection as provided in s. 403.415(9), in cooperation with the department. Such regulations shall include the selection of measurement sites and measurement procedures and shall take into consideration accepted scientific and professional methods for the measurement of vehicular sound levels. The measurement procedures may include adjustment factors to be applied to the noise limit for measurement distances of other than 50 feet from the center of the lane of travel.
(4) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to the total noise from a vehicle and shall not be construed as limiting or precluding the enforcement of any other provisions of this chapter relating to motor vehicle mufflers for noise control.
(5) NOISE ABATEMENT EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS.—(a) No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motor vehicle or any other noise-abatement device of a motor vehicle operated or to be operated upon the highways of this state in such a manner that the noise emitted by the motor vehicle is above that emitted by the vehicle as originally manufactured.
(b) No person shall operate a motor vehicle upon the highways of the state with an exhaust system or noise-abatement device so modified.
(6) EXEMPT VEHICLES.—The following are exempt from the operation of this act:(a) Emergency vehicles operating as specified in s. 316.072(5)(a).
(b) Any motor vehicle engaged in a professional or amateur sanctioned, competitive sports event for which admission or entry fee is charged, or practice or time trials for such event.
(c) Any motor vehicle engaged in a manufacturer’s engineering, design, or equipment test.
(d) Construction or agricultural equipment either on a job site or traveling on the highways.
(7) VIOLATIONS.—A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318.
History.—s. 4, ch. 74-110; s. 32, ch. 76-31; s. 2, ch. 78-280; s. 28, ch. 79-65; s. 136, ch. 94-356; s. 16, ch. 97-300; s. 205, ch. 99-248.

sha256 3bbe79fc506d8dfcc64af36b546e9909… · 2025 Fla. Stat., dual fetch-path pipeline · permanent corpus page →

Which text, as of when

2025 Florida Statuteslast amended 1999

Decoded against the 2025 Florida Statutes as ingested — dual fetch-path verified, hash-pinned. Session laws amend sections on their own effective dates; the 2026 Laws of Florida are indexed as the corpus's overlay.

History.—s. 4, ch. 74-110; s. 32, ch. 76-31; s. 2, ch. 78-280; s. 28, ch. 79-65; s. 136, ch. 94-356; s. 16, ch. 97-300; s. 205, ch. 99-248.

License points — the scale, shown

Point values attach on conviction, under § 322.27(3)(d)'s graduated scale. Which row a case lands on can turn on facts the citation and the disposition determine — the rows that could reach this section are shown with their own words and conditions. The scale is shown, not applied.

3 points§ 322.27(3)(d) row 8

“All other moving violations (including parking on a highway outside the limits of a municipality)—3 points.”

4 points§ 322.27(3)(d) row 9only resulting in a crash (speed and wireless-device rows carry their own crash values)

“Any moving violation covered in this paragraph, excluding unlawful speed and unlawful use of a wireless communications device, resulting in a crash—4 points.”

Decode your own citation — free

The War Room reads the statute box off your citation (typed, or photographed in your browser — the image never uploads), computes your 30-day window with the arithmetic shown, and lays out every option with its consequences quoted. Free with a verified account; no payment, no card.

Open the War Room — free account

Questions drivers ask

Is a section 316.293 ticket criminal or a civil infraction in Florida?

Section 316.293 sits in the noncriminal traffic infraction framework: Except as provided in ss. 318.17 and 320.07(3)(c), any person cited for a violation of chapter 316, s. 320.0605, s. 320.07(3)(a) or (b), s. 322.065, s. 322.15(1), s. 322.16(2) or (3), s. 322.1615, s. 322.19, or s. 1006.6… (§ 318.14(1), Fla. Stat.). The § 318.17 criminal exceptions do not name this section.

What is the deadline after a section 316.293 citation?

Under § 318.14(4)(a), a person charged with a noncriminal infraction who does not elect to appear generally has 30 days after the date of issuance to pay or enter the clerk's payment plan. The War Room computes the exact window from your citation's issuance date, arithmetic shown, and § 318.15 states what follows a missed window. Verify any date with the clerk of the county on the citation.

What are the options after a section 316.293 ticket?

The § 318.14 menu, where it applies: pay the penalty (an admission by statute), enter a payment plan, elect the basic driver improvement course where eligible (adjudication withheld, no points, once per 12 months and eight times lifetime), or request the infraction hearing where the state must prove the infraction beyond a reasonable doubt (§ 318.14(6)). Any option can be walked with a licensed attorney — choosing is yours, or one to make with counsel.

How many license points can section 316.293 carry?

Points attach on conviction under § 322.27(3)(d)'s graduated scale. The rows that could reach this section carry 3, 4 points, with conditions the statute itself states (crash involvement, speed over the limit, school-zone factors). The scale is shown, not applied — which row fits a case depends on facts the citation and the disposition determine.

Can this page tell me what to do about my ticket?

No — and that line is the product. It shows the statute verbatim, the classification, the point rows, and the options with their stated consequences. What to do about a specific ticket is a decision for you, or for a licensed attorney; the free War Room decodes your citation, and the attorney connection is free to request with the firm billing directly.

Related sections

§ 318.14 § 318.18 § 322.27 The traffic-ticket guide →Records Suite →Authenticity Shield →

TrialVector is software, not a law firm, and provides legal information, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by using this tool. The software is not an attorney, and conversations with it are not protected by attorney-client privilege. Deadlines shown are arithmetic from the inputs you provide — verify every date with the clerk of the court named on your citation. Nothing here predicts or promises any outcome in any case. Florida citations only — other states are not yet covered, and this tool will say so rather than guess. Reading your ticket happens in your browser; the decision about what to do with it never happens in software.