How to report a barking dog in Chicago

The rule

Section 7-12-100 of the Municipal Code makes it unlawful to let a dog make excessive noise that unnecessarily disturbs the comfort, quiet, peace or repose of anyone nearby, at any time of the day or night.

“Excessive noise” has a precise meaning: continued, repeated or habitual barking that lasts more than 10 minutes in a row, or happens on and off for a significant part of the day or night, and is louder than average conversation at a distance of 100 feet or more. The person disturbed is judged as a reasonable person with ordinary sensibilities.

Before you report

• Talk to the owner, or leave a note. The barking dog letter generator writes a friendly one.
• Note when it happens. A few days on the printable bark diary show whether bouts pass the 10 minute mark, and when.
• Ask the neighbours. If others hear it too, they can keep their own notes. One of the two routes to a citation needs them (see below).

How to report it

1. Call 311, or 312-744-5000 from outside the Chicago area. You can also make a request on the CHI311 website or app and track it there.
2. Give as much detail as you can: the address, when it happens, and a description. The City strongly recommends leaving your contact details for this kind of complaint.
3. If CACC needs more information, the call may come from a blocked or unknown number. If you no longer need the visit, call 311 to cancel the request.

What happens next

All animal requests go through 311 to Animal Care and Control, whose Animal Control Officers respond to them. CHI311 is open about the usual outcome: most of the time, the response is information and education for the owner on how to stop it happening again.

How a citation is issued

Under section 7-12-100, a citation can be based on either:

• an officer or city employee seeing or hearing the violation themselves, or
• a complaint signed and sworn to by residents of three different addresses, giving the date and time of the violation.

The second route is why notes from more than one household matter. The code doesn’t say where to file a sworn complaint, so ask 311 or CACC before you start.

Fines

The fine is between $50 and $250 for each offence, and each day the barking carries on counts as a separate offence.

If a dog is in danger

Neglect and abuse concerns, such as no food or water, also go to 311. CACC asks you to call 911 straight away if you see animal fighting in progress.

Keep a record

A phone can keep the log while you sleep. Left near a shared wall or window, DogQuiet logs each bark it hears with the time, how long it lasted and a short clip, and makes a PDF report. It is an approximate record, not proof: it can miss a bark or log another sound. See how to keep a bark diary for your own notes.

Other US cities

Other countries: England and Wales, Scotland, Toronto, Calgary, New South Wales, Victoria, Brisbane. The general steps, the evidence officials ask for and when to call the police are in how to report a barking dog.

Sources

Official pages this guide is based on, all read in October 2026:

1. CHI311. Nuisance Animals. 311.chicago.gov/s/article/Nuisance-Animals?language=en_US
2. Chicago Animal Care and Control. Field Services. chicago.gov/city/en/depts/cacc/supp_info/field-services.html
3. City of Chicago. 311 City Services. chicago.gov/city/en/depts/311.html
4. Municipal Code of Chicago. 7-12-100 Excessive animal noise: Prohibited. codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2640392