Standards (noise regulations) relating to sound transmission are established by national, state or provincial and municipal levels of government. They usually places restrictions on the amount of noise, the duration of noise, and the source of noise, as well as limiting to certain times of the day. These standards include:
- ANSI S1.4 - Specifications for Sound Level Meters.
- ANSI S1.11 - Specification For Octave-Band And Fractional-Octave-Band Analog And Digital Filters.
- IEC 61672 - Electroacoustics - Sound level meters.
- ISO 9612 - Acoustics - Determination of occupational noise exposure levels - Engineering method.
- ISO 1996 - Acoustics - Description, measurement and assessment of environmental noise.
- ISO 16032 - Acoustics - Measurement of sound pressure level from service equipment in buildings - Engineering method.
- ISO 3382-1 - Acoustics - Measurement of room acoustic parameters.
These are just a few of the many standards that define sound level measurements. The specific standard that should be used will depend on the application.
In addition to these standards, some organizations develop guidelines and recommendations for sound level measurements in various areas, including environmental, industrial, building, and room acoustics. These organizations include:
- American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
- International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
- International Commission for Acoustics (ICA)