New Bedford, MA Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit issuer
- Chief of police, written permit
- Exempt groups
- Military, veterans' orgs, funerals
- Chief sets
- Time and street space allowed
- Compliance responsibility
- Parade's chief officer
- Origin
- 1963 Code § 14-144
Summary
New Bedford bars any parade or procession from occupying a street to the exclusion of other travelers unless the chief of police issues a written permit first. Section 23-14 lets the chief set the time and street space allowed and puts the parade's chief officer on the hook for compliance.
No parade or procession shall occupy or march on any street to the exclusion or interruption of other persons in their individual right and use thereof, except police and fire departments, the organized militia, the organized naval forces, the independent chartered military organizations, the military and naval forces of the United States, associations wholly composed of soldiers, sailors or marines honorably discharged from the service of the United States, veterans of the National Guard or Naval Militia, the organizations of the order of the Sons of Veterans, and funerals, unless written permit therefor be given by the chief of police. The chief of police may designate the time in which said street or parts of streets may be so occupied and how much of the street such procession or parade may occupy, and when so designated the chief officer of such procession or parade shall be responsible that the designation is obeyed.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 19).
Full Breakdown
Section 23-14 opens with a blanket prohibition: no parade or procession may occupy or march on a street to the exclusion or interruption of other people's individual right to use it. military and naval forces, associations of honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, or marines, veterans of the National Guard or Naval Militia, the Sons of Veterans organizations, and funerals. Every other parade or procession needs a written permit from the chief of police before it can lawfully occupy a street. Once a permit issues, the chief of police decides the time window during which the street or portions of it may be occupied and how much of the street the procession may use; the chief officer leading that procession or parade is personally responsible for making sure those designated limits are followed.
The section also commits the department to public safety support, directing the chief of police to furnish whatever police escort is necessary to protect people and property and to maintain public peace and order along the route. This section traces back to the 1963 Code (§ 14-144) and sits in Chapter 23's traffic article alongside related public-way conduct rules like the ban on soliciting rides from vehicles in a roadway (§ 23-18).
Violations & Fines
The ordinance text does not print a standalone fine figure for marching without a permit; the operative mechanism is that an unpermitted parade or procession lacks lawful authority to occupy a street to the exclusion of other users, and the chief officer of any permitted procession is directly responsible for keeping the group within the time and space the chief of police designated, backed by the police escort the department is required to provide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to hold a parade in New Bedford?
Who decides how much street space a parade can use?
Does the police department help manage the parade route?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Bedford
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Parade Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Bristol County handle parade permits.