This is a template for your own use, not legal advice. It is written for a municipal citation issued for motor vehicle noise; the preemption ground does not apply to other kinds of noise citations. TIMING: under NBMC Chapter 1.05, additional written evidence must be served on the other party at least five days before the hearing, so submit this well ahead of that deadline. Request the body-worn camera recording of your stop as early as possible (template on this site). If the recording has not been produced by your hearing date, ask in writing that the hearing be set after production. The citation and the officer's reports count as prima facie evidence under the same chapter, so address what the officer wrote specifically; do not rely only on the absence of proof. [Your name] [Your mailing address] [Your email] [Date] City of Newport Beach Administrative Hearing Officer via the Revenue Division Re: Evidence submission for administrative citation no. [citation number], hearing date [hearing date] 1. The citation is invalid on its face under Vehicle Code section 21. California Vehicle Code section 21(a) provides: "Except as otherwise expressly provided, the provisions of this code are applicable and uniform throughout the state and in all counties and municipalities therein, and a local authority shall not enact or enforce any ordinance or resolution on the matters covered by this code, including ordinances or resolutions that establish regulations or procedures for, or assess a fine, penalty, assessment, or fee for a violation of, matters covered by this code, unless expressly authorized by this code." Vehicle noise and exhaust equipment are matters covered by the Vehicle Code. Section 27150 requires an adequate muffler preventing "any excessive or unusual noise"; section 27151 prohibits modifications that amplify it; and section 27151(b) supplies the objective compliance standard, 95 dBA or less under the current SAE International test, for vehicles under 6,000 pounds other than motorcycles. Sections 27150.2 and 27150.7 give a cited driver the right to an objective test and dismissal on a certificate of compliance. California Highway Patrol Information Bulletin No. 98-100 (Q12) states that local vehicle noise ordinances are not authorized and that citations issued under such ordinances are invalid. The city's own code confirms this allocation. When NBMC Chapter 10.26 (Community Noise Control) assigns a noise category to another city ordinance, it names the destination: construction noise to Chapter 10.28 (section 10.26.035(D)), property maintenance noise to Chapter 10.28 (G), party and music noise to Chapters 10.28 and 10.58 (I), animal noise to Chapter 7.20 (J), and amplified sound equipment to Chapter 10.32 (section 10.26.050). Motor vehicle noise is not among those assignments. Instead, subsection (H) is the one exemption that points outside the municipal code entirely, exempting any activity preempted by state or federal law and noting that preemption "may include motor vehicle ... noise regulations." The vehicle-related sound the code does expressly send to Chapter 10.28 is personal audio equipment heard only inside the vehicle (section 10.26.050). 2. [If applicable:] No measurement, no measured standard, no duration assessed. No sound level measurement was taken. The cited ordinance contains no numeric standard, and no duration or other element was assessed or documented. The city's own Community Noise Control chapter, NBMC Chapter 10.26, establishes quantitative noise violations by measurement: numeric decibel limits by zone and time of day (section 10.26.025), measured over a 15-minute period with a sound level meter meeting the ANSI S1.4 Type 2 standard (section 10.26.010) at prescribed locations (section 10.26.055), with a measured exceedance deemed prima facie evidence of a violation (section 10.26.070). The citation meets no measured standard the city has written. To the extent the city offers an officer's unaided estimate of the sound level, an estimate by ear is not a measurement under any standard the city or the state has written. The city's own code defines evidence of a noise violation as an instrument reading against a published standard (section 10.26.070), and the state standard is a defined instrument test (Vehicle Code section 27151(b)). [Add the specifics of your stop here.] 3. The condition of the vehicle is immaterial to this contest. Exhaust equipment and exhaust sound are matters covered by the Vehicle Code whether a vehicle is stock or modified, so the preemption under Vehicle Code section 21 applies regardless of the vehicle's condition. No finding about the vehicle is necessary to resolve this citation, and the record before the Hearing Officer contains no inspection, measurement, or other evidence about the vehicle in any event. 4. [Optional, recommended:] A City of Newport Beach hearing officer has already declined to sustain a citation of this kind. In a written decision dated March 6, 2026, a hearing officer for the City of Newport Beach overturned an administrative citation issued under NBMC section 10.28.007 for vehicle noise, writing that where the vehicle was stock and unmodified, the officer's "subjective interpretation that the engine or exhaust noise was too loud is not viable to sustain the citation." That decision is a public record; it was produced by the City under the Public Records Act, and a copy may be requested from the City Clerk (hearing decisions for administrative citations under NBMC Chapter 1.05). A copy is attached. [Request the decision before your hearing and attach it. If you cannot obtain it in time, cite it by date and ask the Hearing Officer to take notice of the City's own hearing records.] Conclusion. The citation was issued under an ordinance the city cannot lawfully enforce against motor vehicle noise, and it is supported by no evidence meeting any standard. I request that the citation be dismissed and the deposit refunded. Sincerely, [Your name] Attachments: [list]