Noise Measurement for Business Licensing
If a local authority has asked you to prove your noise levels — for a new licence, a renewal, or after a neighbour complaint — you need a measurement report from a party with no interest in the result.
Who needs a noise measurement report
Chapter 7 of the Public Health Act B.E. 2535 requires a licence from the local authority for any business listed in the Ministry of Public Health Notification on Businesses Hazardous to Health B.E. 2558. The Notification covers 13 categories and more than 140 business types, and noise is one of the grounds on which a licence can be refused, made conditional, suspended or revoked.
The licence is issued by the local authority — a Bangkok district office, a municipality or a subdistrict administrative organisation — is normally valid for one year, and must be renewed before it expires.
- 1. Pets and livestock — kennels, boarding, animal noise complaints
- 2. Animals and animal products — processing plant machinery
- 3. Food, beverages and drinking water — compressors, chillers, extraction fans, ice plants
- 4. Medicines, medical devices, cosmetics and cleaning products — production and packing lines
- 5. Agriculture — dryers, mills, grading equipment
- 6. Metals and minerals — presses, grinding, cutting, hammering
- 7. Vehicles, machinery and mechanical equipment — workshops, spray booths, test running, air tools
- 8. Wood and paper — saws, planers, dust extraction
- 9. Service businesses — entertainment venues, hotels, fitness studios, laundries, spas, event spaces
- 10. Textiles — looms, dyeing plant, boilers
- 11. Stone, soil, sand, cement and similar materials — crushing, batching, concrete plant
- 12. Petroleum, petrochemicals, coal, coke and chemicals — pumps, flares, vents, compressors
- 13. Other businesses — including swiftlet nest operations, added by the 4th amendment B.E. 2568
The three tests, and which one applies to you
Most noise disputes in Thailand are argued with the wrong number. There are three separate legal tests and they are measured differently.
A venue can pass test 1 and fail test 2. A factory can satisfy the neighbours and still be in breach on test 3. We establish which tests apply to your case before we measure, and we say so in writing.
- 1. General environmental noise — National Environment Board Notification No. 15 (B.E. 2540): 24-hour equivalent level not exceeding 70 dB(A), maximum level not exceeding 115 dB(A). Applies to the ambient condition of the area, and usually needs a continuous 24-hour measurement.
- 2. Noise disturbance — National Environment Board Notification No. 29 (B.E. 2550): noise is a legal disturbance when the measured level exceeds the background level by more than 10 dB(A). This covers the great majority of complaint cases. It is a difference measurement, so if the background level is not established correctly the result is meaningless.
- 3. Occupational noise — Ministerial Regulation on heat, light and noise B.E. 2559: 8-hour time-weighted average not exceeding 85 dB(A), steady continuous noise not exceeding 115 dB(A), peak impact noise not exceeding 140 dB, with a hearing conservation programme required from 85 dB(A).
What we do
- Scope call — we establish which licence category you fall under, which authority you answer to, and which of the three tests applies.
- Measurement plan — receiver positions, measurement periods, background conditions and the operating states of your plant or venue, agreed with you before we mobilise.
- Field measurement — Class 1 instrumentation to IEC 61672-1, calibrated with traceability to national standards and field-checked before and after each measurement.
- Analysis against the applicable standard — including the background-level determination the disturbance test requires.
- Report — submission-ready, stating the method, the instrument and its calibration status, the conditions on the day, the measured results, and a clear statement of compliance or non-compliance against the named standard.
- If you do not pass — we tell you where the noise comes from and what has to change to meet the limit, in engineering terms, with target reductions. We do not supply or install the treatment, so we have no commercial interest in which contractor you use.
Credentials
Compliance work should be checkable. These are third-party credentials that can be verified independently of us. Licence and certificate numbers accompany our quotations and are supplied on request.
A note on scope. Geonoise is an independent consultancy, not an accredited testing laboratory, and does not hold ISO/IEC 17025. Where a licence application requires an accredited laboratory calibration or laboratory test, we say so at the scope call and route the work accordingly — we would rather tell you then than after the report is rejected.
- Licensed noise analyst, Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, Ministry of Labour — Mr. Pitupong Sarapho, Acoustic Consultant, holds the government licence to carry out measurement and analysis of workplace conditions relating to noise under the Ministerial Regulation of B.E. 2559. Occupational noise measurement in Thailand may only be certified by a licence holder.
- Licensed controlled science and technology professional, noise and vibration pollution — Mr. Pitupong Sarapho is licensed under the Science and Technology Professions Act B.E. 2551 in the controlled discipline of environmental impact analysis and pollution control. This is the credential required for noise and vibration work in the EIA process.
- ISO 9001:2015, certificate TH21/14357 — Geonoise (Thailand) Co., Ltd., scope "Acoustic and vibration engineering consultation". Every measurement job runs inside that quality system: documented method, controlled instruments, reviewed report.
Entertainment venues
Entertainment venues sit in category 9 of the Notification, and since the citywide enforcement wave of mid-2026 Bangkok venues have been asked for evidence they were never previously asked for.
For a venue the sequence is normally: measure at the complainant's boundary or façade with the venue operating at its normal maximum, establish the background level with the venue silent, and report the difference against the 10 dB(A) disturbance criterion — while separately confirming that staff exposure inside the venue meets the occupational limit.
- A sound level meter app, or a Class 2 meter, will not produce a report an authority accepts.
- A single spot reading proves nothing about a disturbance case, because the disturbance test is a comparison against a properly established background level.
Frequently asked questions
Do you guarantee we will pass?
No. Anyone who guarantees a result before measuring is selling you something other than measurement. We tell you what the level is.
Can you make the report say what we need it to say?
No. The value of the report to the authority is exactly that we have no stake in the outcome. If a report can be bought, it cannot be relied on — by them or by you.
We failed. Can you fix it?
We can tell you what has to change and by how many decibels, and we can verify the result afterwards. We do not sell or install acoustic treatment, so the recommendation is not a sales document.
How long is the report valid?
There is no fixed expiry. In practice the authority will accept a recent report reflecting current operating conditions. If your plant, layout or operating hours change materially, remeasure.
Do you cover the provinces?
Yes. Bangkok and nationwide; travel is quoted separately.
Can we watch the measurement?
Yes, and we encourage the person who will have to defend the result to attend.