Bethlehem, PA Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required from
- Traffic Division
- Exempt processions
- funerals and Armed Forces marches
- Governing section
- § 521.02
- Original adoption
- Ord. 1769, 11/13/1962
- Default penalty
- $600 fine or 90 days jail (§ 101.99)
Summary
No parade or procession can occupy or move along a Bethlehem street without a permit from the Traffic Division, under an ordinance dating to 1962. Funerals and Armed Forces marches are the only exemptions; funeral processions instead follow their own escort and identification rules under Article 521.
No procession or parade, except funerals and the Armed Forces of the United States or of this State, shall occupy, march or proceed along any street except in accordance with a permit issued by the Traffic Division.
Full Breakdown
02 of the Codified Ordinances requires a Traffic Division permit before any procession or parade, other than a funeral or a march of the Armed Forces of the United States or of Pennsylvania, may occupy, march or proceed along any city street. The rule was adopted by Ordinance 1769, Section 8, passed November 13, 1962, and remains in force unchanged in Article 521, Operation of Vehicles. 01: a funeral home can request a police escort for a fee set by Council resolution, paid directly by the funeral home; the funeral director must give printed instructions to each driver, identify every vehicle in the procession with a pennant or approved insignia, run low-beam headlights and four-way flashers, keep drivers close to the right-hand edge of the roadway, and bar any driver from cutting between procession vehicles while they are moving.
03 separately bars driving through a service station or other property to avoid stopping for a traffic control device. 99, which applies whenever an ordinance declares conduct unlawful without setting its own fine.
Violations & Fines
Because Article 521 has no dedicated penalty section, an unpermitted parade or procession is punished under the City's general penalty, Section 101.99: a fine of $600 or imprisonment of not more than ninety days, or both, for the violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to hold a parade in Bethlehem?
Do funeral processions need the same permit?
What is the penalty for an unpermitted parade?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bethlehem
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