Tuscaloosa, AL Special Events & Permits: Block Party Permits (2026)

Sec. 21-27, most recently amended by Ord. No. 9342 in 2023, defines a "special event" broadly to include any concert, demonstration, marathon, march, memorial, parade, race, walk, or similar gathering of persons, animals, or vehicles on public property organized for amusement, athletic competition, charity, demonstration, education, or entertainment; it excludes informal gatherings that conform to a property's dedicated use and events already regulated at the lakes or the Amphitheater, River Market, and Transportation Museum. A "minor event demonstration," fewer than twenty people, away from a major arterial, does not require a permit.

Everyone else files with the arts and entertainment director, who must grant or deny within five business days, or within twenty-four hours for a shortened "spontaneous event" application. Events needing an alcohol license on public property must apply at least sixty days ahead. The $25 permit fee is due at filing, and the director can also require a damage or cleanup deposit and a reservation or rental fee under a schedule the mayor approves annually. Denial grounds run from an incomplete or fraudulent application to a route on a major arterial road, insufficient police or fire-rescue staffing, or a conflicting event already scheduled for the same city personnel.

the next business day, and the mayor, or council president if unavailable, must rule within two business days. For-profit events or those over 500 people need $1 million in general liability insurance naming the city as an additional insured, and events needing an alcohol permit also need $1 million in dram shop coverage.