Grand Forks, ND Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Notice required
- 24 hours before parade
- Notice recipient
- Chief of police
- What notice must state
- Parade's time and route
- Noise-ban fine if no notice
- Up to $1,000, § 9-0502
- Amplified sound elsewhere
- Needs city council authorization
Summary
Grand Forks exempts parades and processions from its unnecessary-noise ban under City Code section 9-0201 only if the organizer gives the chief of police notice of the parade's time and route at least 24 hours in advance. Miss that notice and the noise ban, punishable by up to $1,000 under section 9-0502, applies to the event.
9-0201. - Unnecessary noise. It is unlawful for any person to make unnecessary noises upon the streets and alleys of the city, including the use of loud speakers, radios, calliopes, and other attention attracting devices, and including the unnecessary use of automobiles or motorcycles without muffling the exhaust thereof. Permission may be granted to use loud speakers, radios, calliopes, and other attention-attracting devices upon written application to, and issuance of an authorization from, the city council or a committee thereof. This section shall not apply to the participants in any parade or procession of any regularly organized group, school, convention, political gathering or organization, if notice of the parade or procession and its time and route shall have been given to the chief of police at least twenty-four (24) hours previously.
Full Breakdown
Grand Forks does not run a standalone parade-permit office; instead, section 9-0201 folds the parade rule into the city's general noise ordinance. The base rule bans unnecessary noise on the streets and alleys of the city, including loudspeakers, radios, calliopes and unmuffled vehicle exhaust, and anyone else who wants to use amplified sound in public has to apply in writing to the city council or one of its committees for authorization.
Parades get a narrower, automatic path instead of a council vote: section 9-0201 exempts participants in any parade or procession of a regularly organized group, school, convention, political gathering or organization from the noise ban, but only if notice of the parade or procession, including its time and route, has been given to the chief of police at least 24 hours beforehand. Because the notice goes to the police department rather than through a separate ordinance or fee schedule, the practical effect is that Grand Forks requires route-and-time notice, not a paid permit application, before a parade can legally use sound equipment or a designated route without running afoul of the noise code. Section 9-0211 separately bans throwing candy or other objects from a moving float or vehicle during any parade, march or procession in the city.
Violations & Fines
A parade that proceeds without the 24-hour notice to the chief of police loses its exemption under section 9-0201 and is exposed to the general noise-ordinance penalty in section 9-0502: a fine of up to $1,000, at the municipal court's discretion, since section 9-0201 sits in the noncriminal Article 2 of Chapter IX.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to hold a parade in Grand Forks?
What happens if I don't notify police before a parade?
Can I use a loudspeaker on a parade route without separate authorization?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Grand Forks
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