Busking with an amplifier: the rules

The three kinds of amplifier rule

Most cities fall into one of three groups:

• Banned. No amplification at all, sometimes city wide and sometimes only in certain streets, malls or stations. Amsterdam and the Toronto city permit work this way.
• Extra permit. You can use an amp, but only with a second permit on top of (or instead of) a busking permit. New York City and Dublin are examples.
• Allowed with limits. Amps are fine within a volume limit, a battery-only rule or set hours, as in Melbourne and Liverpool.

Being allowed to busk does not mean you are allowed to amplify. Read both sets of rules.

How volume limits are written

Cities describe loudness in two ways. Some give a decibel figure measured at a set distance, such as 72 dB at 3 metres in Melbourne or 85 dBA at 25 feet in Las Vegas. Others use an audibility test: your sound should not be heard beyond a certain distance, such as 50 m in Sydney and Adelaide or 100 feet in Portland. A few simply ask you to stay at or just above normal street noise, as in Bath and Bristol.

A free sound meter app on your phone gives you a rough idea, but it is not a calibrated meter. The simplest check is to walk the stated distance away while a friend plays, and turn down if you can still clearly hear the music.

Battery power only

Where amps are allowed, many cities require them to be battery powered, and almost none let you plug into buildings or street power. Rules in the data include:

• Melbourne, Hobart, Byron Bay and Singapore: amplification must be battery powered.
• Calgary: only small, portable, battery-powered amps, and none in parks.
• Vancouver: battery amps only for instruments that need them to be heard, and no voice amplification.
• Liverpool: a small battery amp at ground level; petrol or diesel generators are banned.
• Santa Monica: no generators or plugging into buildings, and speakers on the ground no more than three feet high.
• Helsinki: no amplification using an external power source. Winnipeg: you may not plug into public or private power.

Australia and New Zealand

City	Amplifier rule
Sydney	Sound should not be audible 50 m from your pitch; louder acts may need assessment.
Melbourne	Battery only. 72 dB at 3 m (79 dB in Bourke Street Mall). Amps 8am to 10pm Sunday to Thursday, to 11pm Friday and Saturday. No amps outside Flinders Street or Southern Cross stations.
Brisbane	No amplifiers, PA systems, speakers, keyboards, electric guitars or turntables in the malls.
Perth	Amps allowed everywhere except Hay Street Mall.
Adelaide	Amplified sound must not be heard beyond 50 m. In Rundle Mall, amps only in James Place.
Hobart	Battery only, and only at Franklin Square, Railway Roundabout, University Rose Gardens, Legacy Park and Morrison Street (Morrison Street 5pm to 8pm, Monday to Saturday).
Auckland	Amplified sound 7am to 9pm, 50 m from other sound acts, no louder than background noise at 30 m.
Wellington	Loud acts using amps are reviewed before a licence is issued.
Byron Bay	Battery only, 8am to 10:30pm.
Darwin	Amps only in Raintree Park, with notice the day before.
Fremantle	Not encouraged; only as set out in the guidelines, and officers can order the volume down.
Geelong	Amplified music generally not permitted.
Launceston	No amplification or electrically amplified instruments.
Dunedin	No amps at the Octagon busking spots.
Queenstown	Not confirmed in the current bylaw; an earlier version banned amplified sound.
Tauranga	No set limit; keep noise reasonable.

United States and Canada

City	Amplifier rule
New York City	Any amplified sound in public needs an NYPD sound device permit. Subway: no amps on platforms, 85 dBA at five feet.
Santa Monica	75 dBA at 25 feet on weekday daytimes, 85 dBA evenings and weekends. Speakers on the ground, no generators.
San Francisco	Fisherman's Wharf spots have set levels from 73 dB to 89 dB. No amps in BART stations.
Seattle	No amplification at Pike Place Market; amps in city parks need a park use permit.
Chicago	No louder than normal conversation heard from 100 feet.
Boston	70 decibels at any time, 50 decibels from 11pm to 7am.
Austin	Acoustic only without a permit; 85 decibel cap; not audible to homes or businesses after 10:30pm.
Portland	Amps allowed, but sound must not be plainly audible 100 feet away.
Las Vegas	85 dBA at 25 feet, or 107 dBA at one foot.
Denver	Allowed with the permit; confirm the decibel cap when you apply.
New Orleans	Heavily restricted, especially in the French Quarter and around Frenchmen Street.
Savannah	Amplified sound not permitted.
Madison	Downtown amps need a permit, in approved spaces and time slots.
Burlington (Church Street)	No amplified sound.
Boulder (Pearl Street)	No amplified sound on Pearl Street Mall.
San Diego	Must not be too loud; no figure found, and Gaslamp police are reported strict.
Toronto	No amplified sound under the city permit.
Vancouver	No voice amps; battery amps only where needed; under 70 dB, aimed at an audience within 10 m.
Montreal	Not audible beyond 25 m; no amplified percussion or brass; some Rue Saint-Paul Est spots ban amps.
Calgary	No amps in parks; elsewhere small battery amps only. On CTrain platforms riders must hear announcements.
Ottawa	No amplified sound from 11pm to 7am; ByWard Market zones may restrict amps.
Victoria	No amps, except juried performers at pilot sites such as Ship Point.
Quebec City	Only the instruments or systems allowed at your assigned site.

UK and Ireland

City	Amplifier rule
London	Each borough differs. In Camden, using an amp means you need a licence. Two Leicester Square pitches are suspended after a noise abatement order.
Edinburgh	Audible to passers-by without disturbing homes and businesses; the council is reviewing amplification in the Old Town, Waverley Bridge and Portobello.
Glasgow	No amps or loudspeakers from 9pm to 8am; not audible beyond 30 m.
Manchester	The code of conduct says not to use amplification.
Liverpool	Small battery amp at ground level; no generators; no amplified brass or woodwind. Lord Street is noise sensitive.
Birmingham	A PSPO to August 2028 bans amps and instruments on New Street and nearby streets.
Bath	No louder than ambient street noise.
Dublin	Separate amplification permit. 80 dB near the performer, 75 dB in Temple Bar; no amps around Temple Bar Square.
Cork	Separate amplification permit; 75 dB near the performer.
Cambridge	Not plainly audible beyond about 30 m; turn down if asked.
Bristol	Just above street noise, without drowning out other buskers.
Brighton	The council advises avoiding amps and drums.
York and Canterbury	No amplified performance from 9pm to 8am.
Newcastle upon Tyne	Amplified acts need authorisation from NE1.
Aberdeen	Not plainly audible beyond 50 m.
Galway	Average 80 dB or less measured from across the street, lower on quiet streets.

Europe and the rest of the world

City	Amplifier rule
Amsterdam	No amplifiers or drums.
Berlin	Amps on public streets need a special use permit; Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg says there is currently no legal basis to approve them.
Barcelona	Any amp needs a municipal seal showing it meets the volume limits.
Munich and Hamburg	No amplifiers or recorded playback.
Frankfurt	No amps, speakers or megaphones; under 60 dB(A).
Prague, Naples, Nice and Sofia	Amplification banned (in Naples, small speakers too).
Madrid	Banned in sensitive central zones; noise limits elsewhere.
Florence	Some pitches are reserved for musicians without amps.
Copenhagen	Only if needed, at 60 dB, with no microphone for singers.
Malmo	Amps and loudspeakers need a police permit.
Oslo	Speakers fall under the advance notice rule; quiet hours 23:00 to 06:00.
Singapore	Battery only, within each location's decibel limit.
Seoul (Han River)	Up to 2 speakers or amps; 65 dB by day, 60 dB in the evening.
Taipei	MRT stations such as Xinbeitou allow no amps or electronic instruments.
Tokyo	Loud performance not allowed under the Heaven Artist scheme.
Hong Kong	Noise that annoys others is an offence under the Noise Control Ordinance.
Tel Aviv	Generally not allowed without an approved request.
Cape Town	Keep volume reasonable under the noise nuisance by-law.

Rules change, so check the city's official page before you play. The busking map links to sources for about 150 cities.

Setting up an amp so it stays within the rules

• Put it low and close. An amp on the ground, angled towards the people in front of you, fills your pitch without carrying down the street.
• Turn down vocals first. A loud voice carries further than most instruments, and several cities restrict voice amplification.
• Check from a distance. Walk the limit distance away during your first song and adjust.
• Go quieter near homes, cafes and evening hours. Complaints are the usual reason buskers get moved on.
• Never leave backing tracks running while you take a break.

Taking tips when you are amplified

A louder act often draws a crowd that stands further back. A QR code sign that people can read from a few metres away lets them tip by card or phone without walking up to your case. TipIns codes open a payment page in the phone's browser, so listeners need no app. Make your own sign with the tip sign generator.

World busking map: Permit rules for 131 cities on one map.

Common questions