Public Assemblies and Processions in Singapore

Public assemblies and public processions are activities regulated by the Public Order Act, a law enforced in Singapore by the Singapore Police Force. Generally, police permits are required before these activities may be held.

What are Public Assemblies?

A “public assembly” refers to an assembly held or to be held in a public place or to which members of the public in general are invited, induced or permitted to attend.

An assembly is defined as a gathering or meeting of persons the purpose (or one of the purposes) of which is to:

• Demonstrate support for or opposition to the views or actions of any person, group of persons or any government;
• Publicise a cause or campaign; or
• Mark or commemorate any event,

and includes a demonstration by a person alone for any of the three mentioned purposes.

What are Public Processions?

A “public procession” refers to a procession in, to or from a public place.

A procession is defined as a march, parade or other procession (whether or not involving the use of vehicles or other conveyances):

• Comprising 2 or more persons gathered at a place of assembly to move from that place substantially as a body of persons in succession proceeding by a common route or routes; and
• The purpose (or one of the purposes) of which is to:
  • Demonstrate support for or opposition to the views or actions of any person, group of persons or any government;
  • Publicise a cause or campaign; or
  • Mark or commemorate any event,

and includes any assembly held in conjunction with such procession, and a march by a person alone for any such mentioned purpose.

What are Public Places?

A “public place” means:

• Any place to which members of the public have access as of right or by virtue of express or implied permission, whether or not on payment of a fee, whether or not access to the place may be restricted at particular times or for particular purposes, and whether or not it is an “approved place” within the meaning of the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act; or
• A part of a place that the occupier of the place allows members of the public to enter, but only while the place is ordinarily open to members of the public.

Common Activities That are Public Assemblies and Processions

The following is a list of commonly held activities that require a permit:

• Religious assembly;
• Festival procession (e.g., lantern festival foot procession);
• Religious procession (e.g., chariot procession, foot procession, foot and vehicular procession or vehicular procession);
• Public talks; and
• Drinking in a public place:
  • During any prescribed no‑public drinking period applicable to that place
  • At an event, unless a consumption permit is granted to the organiser
  • Within liquor control zones (parts of Little India and Geylang are defined to be liquor control zones as of April 2015).

Exempted Assemblies and Processions

A Police Permit is not required for certain activities if the exemption requirements for those activities found in the First Schedule and the Second Schedule of the Public Order (Exempt Assemblies and Processions) 2009 are met.

Such requirements may state that permits from other authorities must be granted.

Some of the exempted activities are:

• Weddings;
• Funerals;
• Sporting competitions;
• Seventh Month Festival auctions;
• Charity events; and
• Press conferences.

How to Apply For a Police Permit

You can apply for a police permit for assembly or procession here via the GoBusiness Licensing platform. Supporting documents such as relating to the floorplan, programme and road map with route must be submitted.

If the proposed event requires a partial or full closure of any road, a separate road closure permit application has to be made here. Supporting documents, including a map showing the roads affected, traffic advisory signs and traffic management deployment, must be submitted.

The estimated processing time for the assembly or procession permit is 14 days, and at least 21 days for the road closure permit application.