Office of Special Events

650 S. Griffin Street
Dallas, Texas 75202-5005

Main (214) 939-2701
Fax (214) 939-2709

Welcome to the Office of Special Events website for the City of Dallas. We hope this website will be informative and useful as you begin planning your special event or commercial filming.

The Office of Special Events permits more than 700 special events and commercial filmings each year. The events, which range in size from 75 people to 300,000 people, connect our communities and showcase the best our citizens and City have to offer.

From parades to foot races to street festivals, the Office of Special Events staff looks forward to assisting you with your special event or commercial filming permit needs.

Mission
The mission of the Office of Special Events is to promote economic development in the city, particularly in the "Center City" area by facilitating the development and growth of both new and existing special events and commercial filming activity.

To accomplish its mission, the Office of Special Events is committed to providing:

• Assistance in attracting or creating new special events or commercial filming activity         
• An efficient, user-friendly special event permit system          
• A centralized operational planning process for new and major special events and commercial filming projects

Office of Special Events:
The Office of Special Events is the regulatory authority of permitting outdoor special events and commercial filming activity in the City of Dallas

Definition of a Special Event

1. Temporary event using either private or public property
2. Estimated number of participants is 75 people or more, and involves one or more of the following:
   • Closing of a public street    
   • Blocking or restriction of public property    
   • Sale of merchandise, food or beverages on public property    
   • Erection of a tent 400 square feet or larger on public or private property    
   • Installation of stage, bandshell, trailer, van, portable building, grandstand, bleachers on public property    
   • Placement of portable toilets (honeybuckets)    
   • Placement of temporary no-parking, directional, oversize or banners

Exemptions
No permits issued for DCC, Farmers Market, Reunion Arena or Fair Park

Vendors

• City-licensed vendors have rights to vend at your event    
• OSE sends letters with conditions of how they can vend at special event    
• Vend certain products (brand exclusivity)

Application Process
Individuals must complete a Special Event Permit Application and submit it no less than 45 days prior to the event date with the applicable fees.    

• From the time of submission, the Office of Special Events sends out a department review form to various city departments requesting approval of the special event permit request. According to Dallas City Code, the citywide departments are required to have no less than 10 business days to submit their approval/denial of the permit request.    

Once the departments approve the request and the necessary paperwork has been submitted, a special event permit is developed for final approval and signature by the Special Events Manager.

Feed the Hungry In Dallas
The City of Dallas, through the Office of Special Events, is supporting a new program to help feed the hungry in Dallas.  The goal of this program is to facilitate the dissemination of safely recoverd edible remaining food from special events to the hungry in our city.
This program is in conjunction with the local chapter of Rock & Wrap It Up, a non-profit corporation that transports food to Dallas area shelters. Please refer to the below to the general information page for contact numbers. Your donation is tax deductible.

To contact the Office of Special Events, please call (214) 939-2701 or fax (214) 939-2709.