Provo, UT Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Provo City Code Ch. 6.20
- Permit required for
- Parades, marches, motorcades on public streets
- Issuing authority
- Mayor or Mayor's designee
- No-permit consequence
- Billed for City support-service costs
- Appeal path
- Chapter 3.06 administrative hearing
Summary
Provo City Code Chapter 6.20 requires anyone sponsoring a parade, defined as a march, procession or motorcade that interferes with normal street or sidewalk traffic, to obtain a special event permit before the event. Applicants pay a processing fee and satisfy conditions reviewed by the Mayor's designee.
“Parade” means any march, walk or run, procession, demonstration, counterdemonstration, motorcade, or other similar activity consisting of persons, animals, vehicles or any combination thereof, which assembles or travels in unison upon any public street, sidewalk, alley or other public right-of-way within the City, that interferes with the normal flow or regulation of traffic upon the streets, sidewalks, alley or other public right-of-way within the City and does not comply with normal or usual traffic regulation or controls. ... 6.20.030(1) All persons sponsoring, maintaining, promoting, or conducting a special event shall pay the application processing fee, complete a permit application, and obtain a special event permit prior to conducting the special event. A valid permit to hold a special event shall authorize any person expressly named in the permit to engage in any lawful activity described in the permit.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-17, passed June 9, 2026).
Full Breakdown
020 as any march, walk, run, procession, demonstration, counterdemonstration, or motorcade of persons, animals or vehicles that assembles or travels in unison on a public street, sidewalk, alley or right-of-way and interferes with the normal flow of traffic. 030(1) requires anyone sponsoring, promoting or conducting the parade to pay the application processing fee, complete a permit application, and obtain a special event permit before the event; the resulting permit only authorizes the lawful activity actually described in it. 030(2), the Mayor or the Mayor's designee normally grants the permit once the application is complete, the requested location is available, all fees, deposits or bonds are paid, and the applicant has secured any required inspections, including a temporary mass gathering permit from the Utah County Health Department if the parade qualifies as a mass gathering.
06. 055, and the City bills the organizer afterward for the cost of the police, fire and other City services the event actually used. 220 govern reserving curbside viewing space along the route.
Violations & Fines
Running an unpermitted parade triggers cost recovery under Section 6.20.055: the City invoices the organizer for the police, fire, inspection and other support services it provided, billed at Consolidated Fee Schedule rates. A permit denial can be appealed through the Chapter 3.06 administrative hearing process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every parade in Provo need a permit?
What happens if we hold the parade without a permit?
Can the City deny our parade permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Provo
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Parade Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Utah County handle parade permits.