Decatur, AL Special Events & Permits: Street Fair Rules (2026)

The license schedule in § 14-38 of the Code of Decatur, Alabama, item (29), prices a fair, carnival or circus at $2,000 per week or partial week, not prorated. The fee covers all side-shows, rides and concessions, so vendors working inside the licensed event are not billed separately under that item. Before the license issues, the applicant must provide the revenue department a certificate of insurance showing at least $1,000,000 in public liability coverage and must post a $5,000 tax bond to guarantee prompt payment of any additional taxes the city is owed because of the event. The license is issued for a specific period not to exceed two weeks.

Zoning is the second gate. Article V of chapter 25 covers temporary occupancy businesses, which § 25-109 defines to include fairs, carnivals and circuses on a vacant lot or part of a lot shared with another business, operating on a seasonal or temporary basis for no more than 90 days. Under § 25-110 the use is permitted in any zoning classification except residential once the building department verifies the district, the applicant signs a requirements affidavit and the revenue department issues a business privilege license. Section 25-111(b) prohibits all temporary occupancy businesses in residential zoning districts.

Section 25-112 sets the site conditions: signs must follow the sign ordinance, approved temporary toilet facilities must be provided for the whole occupancy (the building director can waive this), off-street parking follows the zoning district and occupancy class at the building director's discretion, a site plan showing the parking is required, electrical hookups must meet the adopted electrical code, tents need flame-resistance certification, and a nonrefundable $50 application fee applies. Under § 25-113(b) the approval is personal to the applicant, cannot move to another location and is good only for the original time period.

Article V of chapter 14 separately taxes places of amusement, amusement parks and places where an admission fee is charged at 4 percent of gross receipts inside the city limits (§ 14-122), and itinerant operations owe the tax on the last day of operation or the 20th of the next month, whichever comes first (§ 14-124).