First Amendment assembly permit.
Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 50-267
in effect§ 50-267. - First Amendment assembly permit.
(a) Purpose. The purpose of requiring a permit for any assembly occurring on public property is to ensure that public safety and order is maintained when large groups of individuals congregate together.
(b) Permit required. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any assembly on public property without first obtaining an assembly permit, if the assembly consists of 25 or more people, or the assembly will impede or obstruct normal vehicle traffic or pedestrian use of any street or sidewalk.
(1) For the purposes of this division, "assembly" shall mean any group of people congregating, standing, or moving together on public property for the sole purpose of exercising their First Amendment rights.
(2) Any event requiring the full closure of any public right-of-way shall also obtain a revocable right-of-way use permit pursuant to Article VIII of Chapter 50. However, if the proposed assembly is in response to an occurrence whose timing did not reasonably allow the applicant to file a timely revocable right-of-way use permit application and the imposition of the time requirement would place an unreasonable restriction on the free speech rights of the applicant, the person or entity seeking to close the public right-of-way may seek an administrative revocable right-of-way use permit by submitting a copy of their application to the Special Event Permit Coordinator and by paying the applicable fee, if any.
(c) Application procedure. Every person and/or entity seeking an assembly permit shall file with the special event permit coordinator an application on a form to be furnished by the event permit coordinator. The complete application shall be filed with the special event permit coordinator at least 48 hours (exclusive of weekends and holidays) prior to the commencement of the assembly.
(d) Permit regulations. The following regulations apply to any assembly permit:
(1) The permit shall be subject to, and subordinate to, any franchise for the use of the public rights-of-way previously or subsequently granted by the City to any public utilities, firms or corporations, and the permit shall further be subject to, and subordinate to, the right and power of the City to construct, operate and maintain any public utilities or public facilities in, above and under the public right-of-way.
(2) Access to public buildings, permanent businesses, and operations of such businesses on private property within or adjacent to the assembly shall not be obstructed.
(3) Access to the public streets and sidewalks shall not be prevented.
(4) There shall be no damage, drilling, painting, construction, or placement of any structures upon City streets, sidewalks or other public property unless specifically authorized in writing by the Director of Public Works or his/her designee.
(e) Denial/revocation. An application for an assembly permit shall be denied and/or an assembly permit shall be revoked by the special event permit coordinator or his/her designee if one of the following circumstances is met:
(1) a fully executed prior application for permit for the same time and place has been received, and a permit has been or will be granted to a prior applicant authorizing uses or activities which do not reasonably permit multiple occupancy of the particular place;
(2) the activity intended or engaged in by the applicant/permittee is prohibited by law; or
(3) the applicant is seeking a permit for a location that is not owned by the City.
(f) Appeal. In the event that an application for an assembly permit is denied or an assembly permit is revoked, the applicant or permittee will be given written notice of the reason for the denial/revocation. The applicant or permittee may submit a written appeal to the City Manager or his/her designee within seven days after receiving notice of the denial/revocation. The City Manager or his/her designee will review the appeal and issue a written response to the applicant/permittee within one business day of receiving the appeal.
(Ord. No. 24802, § 2, 12-31-13)
Source: City of Oklahoma City, Municipal Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/ok/oklahoma_city/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=OKMUCO2020_CH50STSI_ARTVIIIOUSPEV_S50-267FIAMASPEFetched: 10/28/2026