The Philadelphia Streets Department has announced on Tuesday that the Streetery license application for the city’s Outdoor Dining Program is now available.

This will allow restaurants to open outdoor dining expansions onto parking lanes and city streets.

Streeteries made an appearance during the COVID-19 pandemic as a temporary form of outdoor dining when restaurants were seeking to reopen. With the new legislation, many will become permanent fixations.

The Streetery License belongs to the regulations dictating who can and cannot occupy street space and provides annual licensing options depending on the type of outdoor dining.

“The Streets Department is proud to support local businesses by helping to make establishing a streetery a more streamlined process,” said Streets Commissioner Carlton Williams, in a statement. 

“The permanent outdoor dining program provides an opportunity for parts of the city that seldom provided outdoor dining options to now do so in a cohesive and safe way,” he continued.

For a restaurant to be eligible to apply, owners must satisfy several conditions, including permission from the property owner, a certificate of insurance, and a Food License.

Fees include a $200 application fee, an annual $1,750 license fee should the application be approved, and are required to maintain at least $1 million in comprehensive general liability insurance.

Once a restaurant's site plan and location have been approved, a licensure application can be sent in.

Two applications are required: the first is for Department of Streets Streetery Prerequisite Approval, and the second for the Department of Licenses & Inspections Streetery License.

The second application is done through the Department of Licenses and Inspections online licensing tool eCLIPSE system, through which licenses must be renewed annually.

More information can be found on the Streetery Guide, or questions sent to the Department of Commerce’s Office of Business Services through their email business@phila.gov or their phone number (215) 683-2100.

There will be an online Philadelphia Outdoor Dining Info Session hosted on Monday, Nov. 21 to provide more information.

The license will be required by all streeteries by Jan. 9, 2023.