Roll-off dumpster permits in 28 US metros: who pulls it, and which office issues it
Placement is a municipal question almost everywhere. These 28 markets are the ones we surveyed, and they disagree with each other on the permit’s name, the office that issues it, how long it runs, and, most consequentially, on who has to apply.
Informational only. Informational only, not legal advice. Placement rules are municipal, fees change annually, ordinances get renumbered, and permit portals migrate. The binding authority is the office named on this page. Confirm the current rule with them before you deliver a box.
Reviewed August 2026
Verify with the office named on each metro’s own page.
How to read these pages
28 metro markets across 20 states. Fifteen entries rest on an agency page or code section we opened and read; seven on an official page we could identify but not open; six on secondary sources only. Every entry says which.
The column that matters most is the one no broker guide gets right. In a good number of these markets the hauler pulls the permit and the customer is expressly barred from applying, which means an operator who assumes their customer will handle it either does unpaid paperwork at the last minute or watches a delivery bounce. We found that pattern in 9 of the 28 markets we surveyed.
Where a figure is missing from a row, that is a finding rather than an omission. We publish a fee only where an agency page we could actually open carried it, which is six of these markets. Everywhere else the row routes you to the office instead, and the metro’s own page says what our request got back when we tried to read the source.
The 28 metros we surveyed
| Metro | The permit, as the source names it | Who pulls it |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | ||
| Phoenix | Right-of-Way Use PermitCity of Phoenix Street Transportation Department, Right-of-Way Management Office | Verify with the office |
| California | ||
| Los Angeles | Temporary use permit for a container in the right-of-way (city)StreetsLA / Bureau of Street Services, with LA Sanitation for roll-off questions | Verify with the office |
| San Diego | Traffic Control Permit for a Storage Container or DumpsterDevelopment Services Department, Traffic Control | The permit holder placing the container. |
| San Francisco | Debris Box Permit, plus a Street Space Permit for placementSan Francisco Department of the Environment for the Debris Box Permit; Department of Building Inspection for the Street Space Permit | The debris box company holds the permit. |
| Colorado | ||
| Denver | Revocable Street Occupancy PermitDenver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, via e-Permits | The container owner is named on the box: the owner’s name and contact information must be clearly visible on the container, and the permit itself must be visible on the property.. |
| District of Columbia | ||
| Washington, DC | Public Space Occupancy PermitDistrict Department of Transportation, Public Space Regulation Division, through the Transportation Online Permit System | Verify with the office |
| Florida | ||
| Miami | Miami-Dade County General Hauler Permit, plus a city right-of-way permitMiami-Dade Public Works and Waste Management; City of Miami permitting | The hauler holds the county permit. |
| Tampa | Franchise Agreement for commercial haulers, or a one-year Hauler PermitCity of Tampa Solid Waste Department | The hauler. |
| Georgia | ||
| Atlanta | Right-of-way permit, with a published dumpster and container placement checklistAtlanta Department of Transportation | Verify with the office |
| Illinois | ||
| Chicago | Commercial Refuse Container (CRC) permitChicago Department of Transportation | The provider of the container. |
| Indiana | ||
| Indianapolis | Right-of-Way Use Permit (No Excavation)Department of Business and Neighborhood Services and Department of Public Works, jointly, through the Accela Citizens Access portal | Verify with the office |
| Maryland | ||
| Baltimore | Minor Privilege permit or Temporary Use of Right of Way permitBaltimore City Department of Transportation, Right of Way Services Division | Verify with the office |
| Massachusetts | ||
| Boston | Street Occupancy PermitBoston Public Works Department | The applicant applies, but a container company stands behind them: for storage containers occupying the street the applicant needs a letter of authorization from the company that owns the containers, and that company must hold a bond with the City. |
| Michigan | ||
| Detroit | Dumpster permit, listed under occupying the right-of-wayDepartment of Public Works, City Engineering Division | Verify with the office |
| Minnesota | ||
| Minneapolis | Street Use PermitPublic Works approves; applications run through Community Planning and Economic Development | Only licensed contractors may apply, and applicants must work with City-licensed solid waste haulers, wrecking contractors or storage container companies.. |
| Nevada | ||
| Las Vegas | Construction Parking Permit (reported)City of Las Vegas Parking and Transportation | Verify with the office |
| New York | ||
| New York City | Commercial Refuse Container, Construction Debris Container, or Bulk Item Refuse Container permitNew York City Department of Transportation | The hauler or the general contractor. |
| North Carolina | ||
| Charlotte | Right-of-Way Use Permit or right-of-way encroachmentCharlotte Department of Transportation for city-maintained streets; the North Carolina Department of Transportation for state-maintained streets | Verify with the office |
| Ohio | ||
| Columbus | Right-of-way occupancy permitCity of Columbus, Department of Public Service | Verify with the office |
| Oregon | ||
| Portland | Temporary Street Use Permit, and containers are not named on itPortland Bureau of Transportation | Verify with the office |
| Pennsylvania | ||
| Philadelphia | Dumpster License (private or public right-of-way), plus a Streets right-of-way permitDepartment of Licenses and Inspections, with Department of Streets approval for the right-of-way variant | The license holder applies, and the application must name the servicing hauler: a business licensed under the city code section that governs waste collection has to be identified as the one that will service the dumpster. |
| Tennessee | ||
| Nashville | Right-of-way permit, plus a Private Collection Permit for the haulerNashville Department of Transportation for placement; Metro Waste Services for collection | Two permits, and the second one is yours. |
| Texas | ||
| Austin | Temporary Use of Right-of-Way (TURP) permitAustin Transportation and Public Works, Right-of-Way Management | The applicant. |
| Dallas | Unresolved: the right-of-way page does not address containersDallas Public Works, Right-of-Way Management | Verify with the office |
| Houston | Combustible Waste Storage (Dumpster) PermitCity of Houston Solid Waste Management Department, administered through the Houston Permitting Center | The permit attaches to the property or operation rather than to the hauler: the city describes businesses, apartment complexes, strip centers and other properties with dumpsters or roll-off containers exceeding 50 cubic feet as the permit holders.. |
| San Antonio | Lane or sidewalk closure permitSan Antonio Public Works, Right-of-Way Management | Verify with the office |
| Washington | ||
| Seattle | Street Use permit (storage container or residential dumpster; construction differs)Seattle Department of Transportation, Street Use | Verify with the office |
| Wisconsin | ||
| Milwaukee | Street occupancy permitMilwaukee Department of Public Works, through the city land management portal or the Permit and Development Center | Verify with the office |
Where to go next
Placement is one of three layers. The other two are whether your state licenses you to haul at all, and what the federal truck rulebook says about the vehicle under the box.
Keep the permit with the box it covers
Permit numbers, expiry dates and the office that issued them belong next to the container they cover. SwapProof is being built to keep each placement’s record with the box, so the paperwork a customer or an inspector asks for is one tap away. It is not open yet — the waitlist is where you hear first.