Columbia County, GA Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Under Sec. 82-213, no parade or public assembly may occur without a permit from the county's designated permit official. Applications must be submitted in writing at least 14 days before the event, though the official will consider late filings for a spontaneous response to a current event or other compelling cause. The form must list the responsible planner, the date, time, route and assembly/disband points, expected crowd and vehicle counts, any animals involved with health certificates, and payment of a nonrefundable fee set by the board of commissioners.

The permit official can deny or revoke a permit only on the 16 enumerated grounds in subsection (c), such as an incomplete application, unpaid fees, material misrepresentation, unreasonable danger to public health or safety, conflicts with a county-sponsored program, or insufficient law enforcement and traffic-control staffing at the requested time; content-based denial on political, social or religious grounds is expressly barred. The applicant bears the cost of off-duty or reimbursed on-duty law enforcement for street closures, and festivals additionally cover fire/EMS staffing and post-event street, sidewalk and trash cleanup, determined in consultation with the Sheriff and fire departments.

The permit official must approve or deny within seven days of receipt or the permit is deemed waived. Denials must state the grounds in writing and, where feasible, propose a fix or an alternate time or place.