Seminole County, FL Special Events & Permits: Park Event Permits (2026)

Seminole County Code Chapter 190 splits its parks system into Public Parks (Part 2, Secs. 44) and Natural Lands (Part 3, Secs. 86), and both rely on the same permit tool for anything beyond ordinary, open-to-the-public access: the Special Authorization Permit. Sec. 26 and Sec. 77 define it as 'written permission, which may include a partnership agreement, granted by the County to an individual or any group of individuals associated with an organization such as a church, school, club, or scout troop' to hold an activity.

Sec. 82 sets the actual application standard: any person may apply to the Leisure Services Department Director or designee, and the Director must find the proposed activity 'is consistent with and furthers the adopted management plan and legislative intent' before issuing it. That is a discretionary sign-off, not a ministerial registration, so staff can turn down an event that conflicts with a site's management plan. The permit requirement layers on top of Sec. 1, which lets the County Manager write supplemental rules for County Parks covering everything from the location of activities to alcohol and fires, and makes compliance with those rules 'a general condition of each permit to use a County Park' under Sec.

1(d). For Natural Lands sites specifically, Sec. 80(c) directs the County to adopt a fee schedule by resolution for the various permitted uses. Anyone planning a reunion, tournament, wedding, or similar gathering that would exceed normal park access should contact the Leisure Services Department before scheduling, since holding such an event without the permit is itself a code violation under Sec. 2.