Special Events & Permits in Sacramento, CA (2026)
4 verified special events & permits rules for Sacramento, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Block Party Permits
Sacramento City Code Chapter 12.16 requires anyone closing a public street or alley for a block party, celebration, or street dance to obtain a city manager permit at least 20 days in advance. The manager can deny, condition, or revoke the permit on safety, traffic, or police-staffing grounds, and denials go to the city council on appeal.
Sacramento Block Party Street Closure Permits
Some RestrictionsSacramento City Code § 12.16.020
No person shall close any portion of a public street or alley to vehicular or pedestrian traffic for the purpose of conducting a celebration, block party, street dance, local special event, or for other purposes, without first obtaining a permit from the city manager as provided in this article. This section shall not apply to those governmental agencies which are otherwise authorized to close ...
Park Event Permits
Planning a gathering in a Sacramento park takes a permit filed 15 days ahead. City Code § 12.72.160 requires a city form disclosing the organizer, dates, attendance estimate, activities, and equipment, and § 12.72.060 forces a permit once an assembly exceeds 50 people for more than 30 minutes.
Sacramento Park Event Permit Application Rules
Some RestrictionsSacramento City Code § 12.72.160(A)
Whenever a building use or park use permit is required by this chapter, an application shall be completed on a city form and filed with the director at least fifteen (15) days in advance of the date for which the permit is sought stating at a minimum the following information: 1. The name, mailing address, e-mail address (if any), and telephone number of the applicant; ... 3. Dates and hours of...
Parade Permits
Sacramento City Code Chapter 12.48 requires a special event permit from the city manager before anyone organizes, sponsors, or conducts a parade, march, or procession of more than fifty people occupying a city street, sidewalk, alley, or park for over thirty minutes. Applications are due sixty days ahead, cost a nonrefundable fee, and unpermitted parades are a misdemeanor.
Sacramento Special Event Permit for Parades
Significant RestrictionsSacramento City Code §§ 12.48.010, 12.48.020
"Special event" means an organized assembly of more than fifty (50) persons who occupy all or any portion of a public street, sidewalk, alley, or park for a period of more than thirty (30) minutes. The term "special event" includes an assembly of more than fifty (50) persons to conduct a parade, march, or procession that will occupy all or any portion of a public street, sidewalk, alley, or par...
Sidewalk Dining & Cafés
Sacramento requires a sidewalk café revocable encroachment permit before any restaurant may set tables and chairs on a public sidewalk, alley, boardwalk, or pedestrian mall. The city manager or designee issues the permit under City Code § 3.76.040, and every café must keep a four-foot clear zone, six feet downtown and in Old Sacramento, around all fixtures.
Sacramento Sidewalk Café Permit Rules
Significant RestrictionsSacramento City Code § 3.76.040
A. Sidewalk cafés are permitted on a city sidewalk, boardwalk, alley, or pedestrian mall located in the public right-of-way, subject to issuance of a sidewalk café revocable encroachment permit under this section... C. A sidewalk café may be established only in conjunction with an adjacent restaurant use. D. Sidewalk cafés shall not obstruct pedestrian traffic, accessibility to vehicles parked ...
Looking for Sacramento County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Sacramento city rules.
Special Events & Permits in Sacramento County →