• The City of Chicago strongly supports the rights of individuals and groups to safely assemble and express their First Amendment rights. The Chicago Department of Transportation issues permits for marches, processions, or similar activity taking place on public streets, sidewalks, or other areas of the public right of way.
• Permit applications are reviewed by multiple City departments to identify any potential conflicts, safety issues, and to assess the availability of resources necessary to support the gathering.
• If you’re organizing a procession that requires a street closure or rerouting of vehicular traffic, you must apply for a Parade permit.
• The application, which requires a $50 non-refundable processing fee, is available here.
• If you’re organizing a public assembly taking place on the sidewalk that will impede pedestrian traffic but not require a street closure or traffic reroute, you must notify CDOT so that the city can make any needed preparations to provide personnel or other city services to minimize the obstruction to pedestrian and other traffic.
• The Notification of Public Assembly is available here.
• Applications and notifications should be submitted in person at the Department of Transportation – Division of Infrastructure Management Permit
  office which is located at:

121 North LaSalle Street

City Hall – Room 905

Chicago, Illinois 60602

Permit office hours are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

• Each application that is submitted is evaluated based on the specific details of the proposed routes and any events happening concurrently in the city.
• When a permit is denied, the applicant is given an alternative route per the requirements of city ordinance that allows the parade to proceed while accounting for police resources, security, safety, and other additional factors.