St. Petersburg, FL Special Events & Permits: Street Fair Rules (2026)

City Code § 25-8(a) makes it unlawful for any person to solicit custom or business, or sell or offer for sale any goods, wares or merchandise, or transact any other business on the public streets, sidewalks or other City property without first obtaining a written permit from the POD, unless the activity is already a lawful right-of-way use spelled out elsewhere in the Code (currently Chapters 16, 25 and 28). ' In practice that means St. Petersburg has no standalone, everyday sidewalk-vendor permit, a merchant, food cart or craft-fair booth can only sell on a public street or sidewalk as part of an approved special event, such as a street festival, farmers market or block party, or as a licensed tour vehicle operation.

Section 25-8(c) carves out an exception for protected speech materials, books, newspapers, leaflets and similar items entitled to First Amendment protection may be sold on City sidewalks without this permit. Section 25-8(d) lets the POD attach conditions to any permit it issues, requiring 'such assurances as are deemed necessary for the protection of the public and the City,' which in practice covers proof of insurance and indemnification for vendors operating within a permitted event footprint. A vendor caught selling merchandise at or around a street fair without being covered by the event's POD permit is in violation of § 25-8 itself, independent of any violation the event organizer may separately face.