The Town of Southampton stops exterior amplified sound at 7pm, with no wedding carve out
Chapter 235 of the Town Code sets the limits. In a residential district the maximum is 65 dBA from 7am to 7pm and 50 dBA from 7pm to 7am. In a commercial district it is 70 dBA by day and 55 dBA at night.
The stricter rule is about equipment. Section 235-2A prohibits amplifiers, speakers or any other device that reproduces amplified sound on the exterior of any premises. The only carve out, in 235-4A(17), allows amplified sound outdoors from 7am to 7pm if it stays within the standard, and the section explicitly includes small outdoor speakers. There is no exemption for weddings, catered events or private parties anywhere in the chapter. We read it looking for one.
In practice that means a tented reception on Town land with a DJ or a band through a PA after 7pm is operating outside the code. A venue that tells you otherwise should be able to point to the section that says so. Chapter 235 does not contain one.
The Village of Southampton allows amplified sound until 11pm and can exempt a wedding outright
Chapter 77 of the Village Code uses the same decibel structure: 65 and 50 dBA residential, 70 and 55 dBA commercial. The difference sits in two sections amended on 11 July 2024.
Section 77-2B permits noncommercial amplified sound between 9am and 11pm, provided it does not exceed the standard. That alone runs well past the Town's 7pm. Section 77-4A then exempts any wedding or similar private event for which the Board of Trustees has granted an exception. A wedding with a Village exception in hand is outside the standard for whatever period the Trustees allow.
How to apply for that exception, what it costs, and how far ahead to ask are not published in the code. The Village Clerk's office is the place to ask, and the answer you want is the Board's resolution language on paper before you sign a venue contract.
Town penalties reach $10,000 on a third offense within 18 months
Section 235-6 of the Town Code sets a penalty of up to $1,000 or 15 days for a violation, rising to $2,500 to $10,000 for a third offense within 18 months. The fine goes to whoever the summons names, and at a rented estate that can be the owner rather than the couple. The lease will say who carries it. Read that clause twice.
The Village's penalty section for Chapter 77 is not in our research. Ask the Village Clerk what a violation costs and who gets charged.
Finding out which side of the line a property sits on takes four checks
The Village of Southampton is an incorporated village inside the Town of Southampton. A Southampton mailing address tells you nothing about which noise code governs. Run these checks before you book.
- Pull up the Village of Southampton's official boundary map and locate the parcel. If the property is outside the village boundary, the Town's Chapter 235 applies.
- Ask the owner or venue for the most recent property tax bill. A parcel inside the Village carries a village tax line; a parcel outside it does not.
- Ask the venue or estate owner to state, in writing, which municipality has jurisdiction over noise on the property, and to name the code chapter they rely on for the music end time.
- If the property sits close to the boundary, call both the Village Clerk and the Town's Code Enforcement office and ask each whether it claims the parcel.
What to ask the venue, the DJ and the band once you know the jurisdiction
Once the jurisdiction is settled, the questions get specific.
- In the Town: how does the venue run a reception if amplified sound must stop at 7pm under 235-4A(17), and has it ever been cited under 235-6?
- In the Village: has the venue obtained a 77-4A exception from the Board of Trustees before, and will it apply for one for your date?
- For the DJ or band: can they play inside 50 dBA at night if required, and do they use a sound limiter?
- For everyone: who is the applicant of record on any noise exception, and who pays a fine under 235-6 if one is issued?
- For Code Enforcement: where is the decibel reading taken? Our research covers the limits and no more.
East Hampton writes a different clock: a 9pm trigger in the Town and 11pm in the Village
For comparison, East Hampton Town lists amplified music outdoors after 9pm as a condition that triggers a special event permit, and the Village of East Hampton may permit outdoor music until 11pm as a condition of its permit under 139-11B. Southampton's Town code has no permit route of that kind. Each municipality on the East End sets its own hour, and the property line is the only thing that tells you which one you are under.
Sources: Town of Southampton Code Chapter 235, Noise · Village of Southampton Code Chapter 77, Noise · East Hampton Town, Special Event Applications page · East Hampton Village Code Chapter 139, Special Events
Rules read on 3 September 2026. Codes change; confirm with the issuing office before you sign anything.
