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

The requirement covers any "formal public procession, march, ceremony, show, exhibition, pageant" or group of people, animals, or vehicles moving together on a street, sidewalk, park, or other public place, and the ordinance defines "city" to include Mobile's police jurisdiction outside the corporate limits, so the permit rule follows the parade there too. Funeral processions, students traveling to or from school activities under staff supervision, and government agencies acting within their normal functions are exempt from the article. Everyone else must file with the Mobile Police Department's chief on the department's own form, listing the organizer's name and address, the parade chairman responsible for conduct on the route, the date, start and end times, the exact route with starting and termination points, the assembly location and assembly time, the spacing to be kept between units, and the approximate number of people, animals, and vehicles involved.

The chief must act within five days of filing; a denial must be mailed within six days and state the reasons, and the department can offer an alternate date, time, or route instead of an outright denial, which the applicant has three days to accept. The department weighs traffic disruption, the number of officers and ambulances the parade would divert, fire equipment access, and whether the event is really just paid advertising, since parades held solely to promote a product or for private profit do not qualify.

Once issued, a permit lists the starting time, minimum and maximum speed, spacing between units, and the streets and maximum length covered, and the police chief can revoke it if the permittee stops following those conditions.