Pottstown, PA Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Chapter 15, Section 107 of the Borough Code, 'Use of Streets or Other Public Property for Processions and Assemblies,' requires a permit from the Borough Manager, or on appeal from Borough Council, before anyone may conduct a parade or an assembly on a Pottstown street, sidewalk, alley or other public property, or knowingly join one without a permit. The section defines an assembly as a gathering of 50 or more people without vehicles that interferes with vehicular or pedestrian traffic, and a parade as any march, procession or motorcade that does not comply with normal traffic controls.

Applicants must file with the Borough Manager at least 45 days in advance (Borough Council can waive that deadline for good cause), on a form covering the event's purpose, date, location, route, participating units and estimated attendance. Section 107 requires a $100 application fee and a deposit calculated from the Borough's hourly 'municipal service rate' for police, fire, EMS and cleanup costs, with an extra charge if the event runs more than half an hour past its estimated time; a fire company's own parade is exempt from both fee and deposit.

The Borough Manager must approve or deny the application at least 15 days before the event, and must deny it if the time, route or size would unreasonably disrupt traffic or police protection, or conflict with another permitted parade. Permits cannot authorize a parade held purely to advertise a product or for private profit. Funerals, weddings, school activities under staff supervision, and government agency activities are exempt from the permit requirement entirely, and a denial or major modification can be appealed to Borough Council within five days.