Thai Noise Law: Limits, Nuisance, Factories and Workplaces

Which law applies to which situation

• General environmental noise → Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act B.E. 2535 and the National Environment Board notifications
• Nuisance from neighbours, shops, venues and events → Public Health Act B.E. 2535; the local authority has the power to order it stopped
• Factories and industrial premises → Factory Act B.E. 2535 and the Ministry of Industry regulations and notifications
• Noise received by employees at work → Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 and the Ministerial Regulation on heat, light and noise B.E. 2549
• Criminal penalties for causing a disturbance → Criminal Code sections 370, 372 and 376

The framework act: Environmental Quality Act B.E. 2535 and the general noise limits

The Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act B.E. 2535 is the framework. Section 32 empowers the National Environment Board to set general noise and vibration standards on a scientific basis.

• NEB Notification No. 15 (B.E. 2540), general noise standard: maximum level not above 115 dBA, and the 24-hour average (Leq 24 h) not above 70 dBA
• NEB Notification No. 17 (B.E. 2543) and No. 29 (B.E. 2550), nuisance noise: a disturbance level above 10 dBA counts as nuisance noise
• The methods for measuring the background level, the level during the disturbance and the calculation of the disturbance level are set by Pollution Control Department notification, most recently B.E. 2565
• Section 46: projects of the listed types and sizes must prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment, which includes noise
• Sections 68 and 92: the owner of a source exceeding the standard must install control equipment; failure to operate control equipment that exists carries a daily fine of four times its running cost

The numerical limits, with the measurement conditions attached to each, are tabulated on the Thailand noise limits reference.

Nuisance: Public Health Act B.E. 2535

This is the law residents use most. Section 25(4) defines any act that causes noise or vibration to the point of harming, or being likely to harm, health as a nuisance.

• Sections 26–27: the local official (district, municipality or sub-district administration) may order in writing that a nuisance in a public place be stopped, removed and controlled
• Section 28: for a nuisance on private premises, the owner or occupier is ordered to stop it within a set time; where health is seriously affected, use of the premises can be prohibited until it is corrected
• Section 74: failure to comply with the official's order carries up to one month's imprisonment, a fine of up to 2,000 baht, or both
• Sections 31–33: businesses classed as hazardous to health need a local licence, and the authority may attach noise conditions to it
• Section 71: operating such a business without a licence carries up to six months' imprisonment or a fine of up to 10,000 baht

How the licensing route applies to the thirteen categories of controlled business, and what a measurement for the licence has to contain, is on business licensing noise measurement.

Criminal penalties: the Criminal Code

• Section 370: making noise or a disturbance without reasonable cause so that the public is alarmed or troubled — a fine of up to 100 baht; symbolic, but it establishes the record
• Section 372: a noisy quarrel in a public place — a fine of up to 500 baht
• Section 376: firing a gun or using explosives without cause in a town or community — up to 10 days' imprisonment or a fine of up to 500 baht

Factories: Factory Act B.E. 2535

The Act covers premises using machinery of 5 horsepower or more, or seven or more workers. Ministerial Regulation No. 2 (B.E. 2535) restricts location (no factories in housing estates or near schools, temples and hospitals), requires that machinery not cause vibration or noise disturbing neighbouring residents (clause 6), and requires that noise from the operation not exceed the standard set by the Minister (clause 17).

• Section 37: the official may order a breach stopped or corrected and, with approval, seal the machinery
• Section 45: breach of a ministerial regulation under section 8 — a fine of up to 200,000 baht
• Section 57: failure to comply with an order under section 37 — up to one year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 100,000 baht, plus a daily fine of up to 5,000 baht while the breach continues
• Ministry of Industry Notification B.E. 2546 on the working environment: no entry to areas above 140 dBA, warning signs where the standard is exceeded, and measurement, analysis and reporting at least once a year by an internationally recognised method
• Quarries (Ministry of Science notification): maximum level during blasting not above 115 dBA, Leq 8 h not above 75 dBA, Leq 24 h not above 70 dBA, with a vibration table of particle velocity against frequency from 1 to 40 Hz

Boundary measurement, EIA monitoring and plant surveys for factories are described under industrial and occupational noise and environmental noise.

Noise at work: Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541

The Ministerial Regulation on safety, occupational health and working environment standards for heat, light and noise B.E. 2549 is the main instrument for the noise employees receive.

• Impact or impulse noise above 140 dBA: the employer must stop the work until it is corrected
• 8-hour TWA of 85 dBA or more: a hearing conservation programme is mandatory
• Order of control: reduce at the source or along the path first; PPE only where that is insufficient — earplugs must attenuate at least 15 dBA and earmuffs at least 25 dBA, with warning signs in areas over the limit
• The working environment must be measured and analysed, the report certified by a professional safety officer and submitted to the Director-General within 30 days, and at-risk employees given health checks
• Employer penalty (section 148): up to one year's imprisonment, a fine of up to 200,000 baht, or both

Geonoise delivers the survey, the dosimetry and the written programme under its hearing conservation programme service, signed by a licensed noise analyst.

Entertainment venues in Bangkok: specific rules

• Bangkok Metropolitan Administration regulation B.E. 2548 (music, dancing, discotheques, karaoke): average level inside the premises not above 90 dBA and a maximum at any moment not above 110 dBA
• Noise leaving the building must not cause a nuisance to nearby residents
• The sound must be stopped or reduced periodically to give customers a rest from exposure, and hearing protection provided on request
• Venues of 100 m² or more, or with a previous nuisance record, must install a sound level meter with a display visible to customers

For a venue facing inspection or an order, see the entertainment venue noise report page.

The authorities, and using the law in practice

• Pollution Control Department: standards, measurement methods and the technical basis for noise and vibration
• Local officials (district, municipality, sub-district administration): receive nuisance complaints and issue orders under the Public Health Act
• Department of Industrial Works: regulates factories under the Factory Act
• Department of Labour Protection and Welfare: noise at work
• A legal reference only works with a measurement made by the right method: a Class 1 meter with a current calibration certificate, used as the Pollution Control Department notification prescribes. The steps are in our legal process and evidence guide

Note: this article is a plain-language summary compiled from Pollution Control Department publications and is not legal advice. Laws and limits are revised — the nuisance measurement notification was updated in B.E. 2565 — so check the version in force, or ask Geonoise for an interpretation and a measurement the authority will accept.

Frequently asked questions