Special Events

About 2,500 special events are held in the City of Los Angeles every year. Approvals for special events come from different agencies within the City. The Police Commission grants Parade Permits while the Board of Public Works reviews Street Closure Permits. Your City Councilmember can introduce motions to declare a gathering a special event.

Procedures to apply for special event approvals can be found here.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation receives notifications from the three approval bodies and conducts preliminary screenings to determine the appropriate level of transportation response.

LADOT can respond in many ways: The Department can simply post temporary parking restrictions at the event location or it can prepare a detailed Special Event Traffic Management Plan, among other actions.

Notifications of large upcoming special events are posted on the Department of Transportation’s Automated Traffic Surveillance And Control website . The special events are listed under “Special Event Info.”