Protest permit

A protest permit or parade permit is permission granted by a governmental agency for a demonstration to be held in a particular venue at a particular time. Failing to obtain a permit may lead to charges of parading without a permit.

The requirement of a permit is sometimes denounced as an infringement of free speech, by those who perceive permits as denied on spurious grounds or used to move protestors into free speech zones. Permits are sometimes denied on grounds that the protest will create a security risk. A 2006 study in Mobilization said the available venues for protests were shrinking in number, citizens have experienced increasing difficulty in gaining unrestricted access to them, and such venues are no longer where most people typically congregate in large numbers.