Birmingham, AL Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Birmingham Code of Ordinances § 12-5-22 makes it unlawful to organize, hold, or take part in a parade, demonstration, race, or special event on city streets, sidewalks, other public ways, or city-owned property without a permit from the city traffic engineer (or, for parks property, the director of park and recreation). Small demonstrations of one person per ten linear feet of sidewalk frontage, capped at six demonstrators total in front of any single business, do not need a permit, so long as they do not block entrances or gather more than three people around anyone entering or leaving.

Fees and notice periods scale with the event under § 12-5-24: a nonprofit demonstration on public streets costs $25 with three working days' notice; a nonprofit special event costs $100 for an eight-hour setup-to-teardown window (or $25 plus public-safety staffing costs for longer events) with 15 working days' notice; a nonprofit race under five miles costs $150 with 30 calendar days' notice. For-profit special events cost $1,500 for the first eight hours plus $750 per additional eight-hour block, filed at least 15 working days ahead.

m. Race and for-profit organizers must also file a hold-harmless agreement and, for for-profit events, a certificate of insurance naming the city. The traffic engineer, parks director, police chief, or fire chief can deny, modify, or reroute a permit during a public-safety crisis or where a conflicting event is already scheduled, but a permit cannot be denied based solely on a demonstration's subject matter. Denials go out at least 48 hours before a demonstration, seven days before a special event, or 25 days before a race, and applicants can appeal to the municipal court's presiding judge.