Ask what the night-time noise limit is at a house in Bangkok, Johor and Ho Chi Minh City, and you get three answers that do not even agree on what a night is. Thailand has no night. Vietnam added an evening in November 2025. Singapore counts a night from 11 p.m. to 6.59 a.m., but only at a factory boundary.
The table below is the comparison I wish existed when I started working in the region in 2005. It covers the six ASEAN countries where Geonoise, AVCM and the group companies do most of their environmental work. Every figure was checked against the current instrument in October 2026, and the sources are listed at the end.
The numbers are not comparable until you know the metric, the averaging time and the receptor class behind each one.
The comparison
| Country | Instrument (current) | Metric | Residential day | Residential night | Periods |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | National Environment Board Notification No. 15 (B.E. 2540 / 1997); nuisance: NEB No. 29 (B.E. 2550 / 2007) | LAeq 24 h and LAmax; nuisance as LAeq minus background LA90 | 70 dBA (24 h), LAmax 115 dBA | No separate night value; nuisance if more than 10 dBA above background | One 24 h period |
| Malaysia | DOE Guidelines for Environmental Noise Limits and Control, 3rd ed. (2019), Schedule 1 | LAeq | 55 dBA (suburban residential); 50 dBA low-density / noise-sensitive; 60 dBA urban high-density | 45 / 40 / 50 dBA respectively | Day 07:00 to 22:00; night 22:00 to 07:00 |
| Singapore | EPM (Boundary Noise Limits for Factory Premises) Regulations, Schedule as amended Feb 2025 | LAeq over the whole period (Part I) and LAeq 5 min (Part II), at the factory boundary | 65 dBA (period); 70 dBA (5 min) | 55 dBA (period); 60 dBA (5 min); evening 60 / 65 dBA | Day 07:00 to 18:59; evening 19:00 to 22:59; night 23:00 to 06:59 |
| Indonesia | KepMen LH No. 48/1996 (Baku Tingkat Kebisingan) | LSM: 24 h level from a 16 h day (LS) and 8 h night (LM) with a 5 dB night penalty; tolerance +3 dB | 55 dBA (as a 24 h LSM) | Folded into the LSM; no separate night value | Day 06:00 to 22:00; night 22:00 to 06:00 |
| Vietnam | QCVN 26:2025/BNNMT, in force 14 Nov 2025 (replaces QCVN 26:2010) | LAeq,T, minimum 15 min | 55 dBA (Zone B, housing); 50 dBA Zone A sensitive | 45 dBA (Zone B); 40 dBA Zone A; evening 50 / 45 dBA | Day 06:00 to 18:00; evening 18:00 to 22:00; night 22:00 to 06:00 |
| Philippines | NPCC Memorandum Circular No. 002, s. 1980 (applied by DENR-EMB) | dB(A), class by land use | 55 dBA (Class A); 50 dBA Class AA within 100 m of schools and hospitals | 45 dBA (Class A); 40 dBA Class AA; morning/evening 50 / 45 dBA | Day 09:00 to 18:00; morning and evening 05:00 to 09:00 and 18:00 to 22:00; night 22:00 to 05:00 |
What the table hides
Thailand's 70 dBA is a 24-hour energy average measured at the receiver, not a day limit. A plant that runs at 73 dBA for eight hours at night and is quiet by day can meet it. That is why complaints in Thailand are usually fought on the nuisance rule instead: a measured level more than 10 dBA above the background LA90, using the Pollution Control Committee method of 2022. For a factory next to a quiet village the nuisance rule bites long before the 70 dBA does. Bangkok adds its own 75 dBA at 30 m for construction and 90 dBA average for entertainment venues.
Malaysia's figures are a planning guideline, not a regulation. They become binding through EIA approval conditions and DOE enforcement, which is how compliance is normally assessed in practice. The same document carries a separate, more lenient table for road traffic on new or rebuilt roads: 65 dBA day and 60 dBA night at suburban housing.
Singapore has no general ambient standard at all. The limits apply at a factory's boundary and come in two parts: a long average over the entire day, evening or night, and a 5-minute LAeq that is 5 dB higher. A short night-time event is judged against 60 dBA over five minutes, the whole night against 55 dBA. Disputes between neighbours are handled by mediation and the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunal, not by a decibel figure.
Indonesia's 55 dBA for housing is older than most of the engineers applying it (1996) and is a 24-hour LSM, which combines the 16-hour day and the 8-hour night with a 5 dB penalty on the night. In practice an 8-hour night at 52 dBA and a day at 55 dBA already exceeds it. The regulation allows a 3 dB tolerance, which is often forgotten by one side of an argument and over-relied on by the other.
Vietnam is the one to re-check if you last looked before November 2025. QCVN 26:2010 had two zones (70/55 and 55/45 dBA). QCVN 26:2025 has five, A to E, three periods instead of two, and separate tables for road traffic (68/58 dBA at housing), railways and construction sites (65 dBA day, 60 evening, 50 night in zones A to C). A hotel is Zone B at 55/50/45 dBA. A project designed to the 2010 figure of 70 dBA by day at housing is now 15 dB over.
The Philippines still works from a 1980 circular of a commission that no longer exists; DENR-EMB applies it. It is the only one of the six with a morning period (05:00 to 09:00) and its daytime does not start until 09:00, which matters for early shifts. Where two classes meet, the arithmetic mean of the two limits is used at the boundary.
What this means for a regional project
- Design to the night-time or the shortest-averaging limit of the country, not to the headline day figure. For Singapore that is the 5-minute table; for Thailand it is the nuisance rule against measured background.
- Measure the background first, with the local method. Thailand (LA90, PCC 2022 method) and Vietnam (background correction in QCVN 26:2025) both correct the result for it, and a wrong background is the usual reason two consultants disagree by 5 dB.
- Do not reuse a Thai 24-hour logger result as a Malaysian or Vietnamese night value. Re-process the raw data into the period the regulation asks for.
- Check the date of the instrument. Vietnam changed in 2025; Singapore amended in 2025; Malaysia's 2019 edition replaced the 2007 one. A noise clause copied from a 2018 contract can be wrong in three of the six countries.
Geonoise Thailand and AVCM Malaysia measure to these methods with calibrated class 1 instruments, and model compliance at named receptors in SoundPLAN before a site is built. If you have a site that must satisfy more than one of these regimes, send me the layout and the receptor list and I will tell you which limit governs.
Questions we are asked
Which ASEAN country has the strictest residential noise limit?
At a residential receptor at night, Malaysia (45 dBA LAeq, 40 dBA at low-density or noise-sensitive housing), Vietnam (45 dBA in Zone B, 40 dBA in Zone A) and the Philippines (45 dBA Class A, 40 dBA Class AA) are the strictest on paper. Thailand has no night value; its 24-hour 70 dBA limit is lenient, but the nuisance rule of 10 dBA above background can be stricter than any of them next to a quiet area.
Did Vietnam change its noise standard?
Yes. QCVN 26:2025/BNNMT, issued under Circular 01/2025/TT-BNNMT on 15 May 2025, took effect on 14 November 2025 and replaces QCVN 26:2010/BTNMT. It introduces five zones (A to E), a day, evening and night period, and separate tables for road, rail and construction noise. Housing is Zone B: 55 dBA day, 50 dBA evening, 45 dBA night.
What is the noise limit in Thailand?
The general standard (NEB Notification No. 15, 1997) is a 24-hour LAeq of 70 dBA and a maximum of 115 dBA at the receiver. The nuisance standard (NEB Notification No. 29, 2007) is a measured level more than 10 dBA above the background LA90, assessed with the Pollution Control Committee method of 2022. Bangkok has additional limits for construction (75 dBA at 30 m) and entertainment venues.
Does Singapore have an ambient noise standard for residential areas?
No. Singapore regulates noise at the boundary of factory premises (EPMA Boundary Noise Limits for Factory Premises Regulations) and at construction sites. For residential premises affected by a factory the limits are 65/60/55 dBA LAeq over the day, evening and night, and 70/65/60 dBA LAeq over any 5 minutes. Neighbour-to-neighbour noise is dealt with through mediation and the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunal.
Are the Malaysian noise limits legally binding?
The DOE Guidelines for Environmental Noise Limits and Control (3rd edition, 2019) are a planning guideline. They become enforceable through EIA approval conditions and DOE directions, which is how compliance is normally assessed in practice.
Sources
- Thailand: NEB Notification No. 15 (B.E. 2540) and No. 29 (B.E. 2550), summarised with measurement methods on geonoise.co.th
- Malaysia: DOE Guidelines for Environmental Noise Limits and Control, 3rd edition (2019)
- Singapore: Environmental Protection and Management (Boundary Noise Limits for Factory Premises) Regulations, Schedule
- Singapore: NEA industrial noise control page
- Indonesia: Keputusan Menteri Negara Lingkungan Hidup No. 48/MENLH/11/1996, Baku Tingkat Kebisingan
- Vietnam: QCVN 26:2025/BNNMT, issued by Circular 01/2025/TT-BNNMT
- Philippines: NPCC Memorandum Circular No. 002, Series of 1980 (summary of classes and limits)