Boulder, CO Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required for
- Parades, funeral processions, sound trucks
- Issuing authority
- City manager, Section 7-2-14(c)
- Approval standard
- 4 findings: noise, safety, traffic, legality
- Exempt
- Military, police, fire forces of city/state/US
- Penalty if unpermitted
- $10-$500 traffic infraction, Section 7-2-4
Summary
Boulder requires a city manager permit before any parade, funeral procession, or amplified sound truck can use city streets. Section 7-2-14 of the Boulder Revised Code lets the manager approve the permit only after finding the activity won't violate the noise chapter, threaten safety, unreasonably block traffic, or serve an illegal purpose.
(a)No person in a funeral or other procession or a parade, except the military, police or fire forces of the city, the state or the United States, shall occupy, march, drive or proceed upon or along any street except in accordance with a permit issued under this section.(b)No sound truck or other vehicle equipped with an amplifier or loudspeaker shall use such equipment while upon a street for the purpose of selling, offering for sale or advertising in any fashion except in accordance with a permit issued under this section.(c)Upon application the city manager shall issue a funeral, procession, parade or sound truck permit if the manager finds that:(1)Such activity will not violate Chapter 5-9, "Noise," B.R.C. 1981;(2)There is no reason to believe that such activity cannot be carried out in safety;(3)Such activity will not unreasonably interfere with the efficient movement of traffic; and(4)The activity is not for an illegal purpose.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 167 Update 3).
Full Breakdown
Boulder Revised Code Section 7-2-14 makes it unlawful for anyone besides military, police, or fire forces to march, drive, or otherwise proceed in a funeral procession or parade along a city street without a permit issued under this section. The same permit requirement covers any sound truck or vehicle with an amplifier or loudspeaker used on a street to sell, offer for sale, or advertise. C. 1981; there is no reason to believe it cannot be carried out safely; it will not unreasonably interfere with the efficient movement of traffic; and it is not for an illegal purpose.
The manager sets the form of the application and can require whatever information is reasonably necessary to make those findings, and once issued, the permit itself can carry restrictions on the time, place, and manner of the activity that the manager finds reasonably necessary to satisfy the section's four-part test. The provision sits in Title 7, Chapter 2, General Provisions, alongside the city's other rules for vehicles and pedestrians, and applies citywide to the same extent as the rest of Title 7 under Section 7-2-3.
Violations & Fines
Section 7-2-14 carries no standalone fine schedule, so an unpermitted parade, procession, or sound truck use falls under the Title 7 catch-all in Section 7-2-4: a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of at least $10 and up to $500, doubled to as much as $500 if it happens in a posted school or construction zone. The municipal court, not a hearing officer, handles the citation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to hold a parade in Boulder?
Does a sound truck need a permit in Boulder too?
What happens if I hold an unpermitted parade in Boulder?
Can the city put conditions on a Boulder parade permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Boulder
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Parade Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Boulder County handle parade permits.