We permit and regulate entertainment for venues and events in San Francisco.
Schedule
We meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month.
Get an entertainment permit for your outdoor event
The One Time Outdoor Event permit is for an outdoor event with entertainment/amplified sound.
Get an entertainment permit for your indoor event
Apply for a One Time Indoor Entertainment Permit from the Entertainment Commission
Get a sound truck permit
This permit lets you have amplified sound on a vehicle outdoors.
Get a Place of Entertainment permit for your business
You need a Place of Entertainment (POE) permit if you want to host entertainment on a regular basis, like at a venue, concert hall or nightclub.
Get a Limited Live Performance permit
You need a Limited Live Performance permit if you want to host entertainment on a regular basis as a secondary activity, like a restaurant with live music.
Get a Billiard Parlor permit for your business
A Billiard Parlor (BP) permit lets you charge customers to use 1 or more pool tables.
Get a Mechanical Amusement Device permit for your business
A Mechanical Amusement Device (MAD) permit lets you charge customers to use mechanical or arcade games.
Get a Fixed Place Outdoor Amplified Sound permit for your business
You need a permit if you want to host outdoor amplified sound on a regular basis with no live performer at your business.
Get an Extended Hours Premises permit for your business
An Extended Hours Premises (EHP) permit lets you host entertainment and/or serve food and non-alcoholic drinks between 2 am and 6 am.
Pay your entertainment permit fee
Pay your entertainment permit fee online or by mail.
Check your entertainment permit fees
View the application and license fees for our entertainment permits. Fees are updated each year.
Check inspection fees for your entertainment business
There are different inspection fees for each City department.
Nightlife/entertainment businesses are encouraged to apply!
New programs bring total invested in SF small businesses since the pandemic to over $115 million, helping thousands of businesses and the City’s broader work to fill vacancies, make storefront improvements, and provide disaster relief
The Entertainment Commission supports a thriving entertainment and nightlife culture that balances the needs of the City’s entertainment community, its audiences, and its neighbors across all neighborhoods.
Get our newsletter updates
Sign up
Mon to Fri,
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
We are working on a hybrid schedule. Email or call us for help.
Do you have a sound complaint? Call 311, or visit sf.gov/report-noise-problem
Request public records
Email dylan.rice@sfgov.org to submit a request.
Archived website
See previous website archived July 2022.