Columbus: the 903 Occupancy permit for a box in the street
A dumpster on a Columbus street, alley or sidewalk needs a 903 Occupancy permit from the Department of Public Service. A box kept wholly on your driveway does not appear in these rules.
- Permit
- 903 Occupancy (construction related, no digging). The city's own example list includes "placement of dumpsters or storage containers."
- Where to apply
- portal.columbus.gov/permits, or the Right-of-Way Permit Office, 111 N. Front Street, weekdays 7:30 am to 4:00 pm. Phone (614) 645-7497.
- Fee
- $100 application fee, paid when you submit. Inspection is $75 an hour; a reissued permit is $50. These figures come from the 903 rules dated Jan 7, 2019; the 2026 development fee schedule does not list right-of-way fees, so we could not cross-check them.
- Review
- 3 to 10 business days.
- Upload
- A site plan. A traffic (MOT) plan is needed only for closing a whole street or alley, not a curb lane.
- Length
- 7 days, unless a longer period is approved as part of the permit.
- Box markings
- Reflectorized high-intensity barricade tape on each box, plus two lighted barrels placed by the permit holder.
- Parking meters
- List every meter the box covers. The permit holder pays the daily meter charge for each one.
- Who can hold it
- The rules allow the permit to go to the company supplying the box. Permits cannot be transferred.
Remodel and demolition debris
Columbus Title 13 (revised 9/16/25) says construction, remodeling and demolition waste must sit in a dumpster, roll-off or other container the Director approves, and must be hauled by an authorized hauler. Haulers collecting in the city need the Director's written permission (section 1303.024(C)); the civil penalty for skipping it is $250. Title 13 also defines a "dumpster" as a front-load unit of 4 to 10 cubic yards, which is why city paperwork talks about roll-off containers separately.
Franklin County Public Health Regulation 803 (revised 2009) also asks commercial waste haulers to register each collection vehicle every year, and its definition of a collection vehicle includes a roll-off container bed.
Franklin County Public Health solid waste regulations
Sources, read Nov 11, 2026:
903 Occupancy how-to (columbus.gov PDF)
903 Rules and Regulations, effective Jan 7, 2019
Get a Right of Way Permit page
Title 13 refuse code, revised 9/16/25