Atlanta's office has gone by a few names, and you'll see all of them in one application. The city website calls it the Office of Film, Entertainment & Nightlife. The fee schedule PDF is headed Mayor's Office of Entertainment. The permit portal says Atlanta Mayor Office of Film and Entertainment. It's the same office at City Hall, 55 Trinity Avenue SW, and the film email is atlfilm@atlantaga.gov.
Everything below was checked on September 14, 2026 against the city's website, the FilmApp Atlanta portal, and the documents the portal links: the fee schedule, the applicant information sheet, and the filming ordinance. A couple of the portal's holiday notices mix 2025 and 2026 dates, so confirm fees and blackout dates with the office before you budget.
What the city permit covers
The ordinance (Chapter 46, Article IV of the Atlanta Code) defines filming as creating motion picture images on public property, including on-site prep, where the final product is meant for commercial release or distribution. Public property means land the city owns or leases: parks, streets, sidewalks, rights of way, and buildings.
A few things fall outside that definition. The ordinance says filming doesn't include documenting current affairs, producing newscasts, or location scouting. It also exempts filming of a rally, protest, or demonstration, and filming tied to an outdoor event that already has a city outdoor event permit, unless the event was staged just for the film.
The practical reading for a producer: a shoot on private property that puts trucks, signs, cones, or crew on the public right of way is back on public property and needs the city. If you aren't sure where your shoot falls, the applicant sheet says to call the office or send a question through FilmApp before you start the application. Questions are free. Starting the application isn't.
Two other city requirements are easy to miss. The Office of Revenue requires a business license for filming projects lasting or expected to last 30 days or longer. And the city permit stops at the city limits. A location outside them needs a permit from whichever county or city has jurisdiction.
Fees
From the MOE fee schedule linked on FilmApp:
| Fee | General | Student |
|---|---|---|
| Application | $100 | $25 |
| Filming permit | $300 per calendar month | $150 per project |
| Filming permit rush | Additional $300 | Additional $150 |
| On-site services | $100 per location per day, $300 daily maximum | No charge |
| On-site services rush | Add $300, no daily maximum | $150, no daily maximum |
| Material changes rush | $300 | $150 |
Rush fees apply when materials are submitted three or fewer business days before filming begins. A material change means a large element change, not a date change. The portal adds a $100 cancellation fee for applications canceled after the approval process has begun, and the applicant sheet says the $100 application fee is charged as soon as you begin the online application.
Closures are priced by length, per lane or per sidewalk, per calendar day, on top of a $35 base admin fee:
| Closure length | Lane | Sidewalk |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 100 linear feet | $15 | $6 |
| 101 to 200 feet | $30 | $12 |
| 201 to 300 feet | $45 | $18 |
| 301 feet and up | $60 | $24 |
Metered or multi-metered parking spaces are $17 per space per day. The applicant sheet says closure permits are issued, and charged, per block and per lane, so draw the traffic control plan block by block.
A worked example
A music video shoots two days in October 2026 in Atlanta: Day 1 at a sidewalk mural and a MARTA-adjacent exterior (two public locations), Day 2 at the same mural only. The camera car work on Day 1 needs one lane closed for 150 feet. Four metered spaces hold the grip truck on Day 1. Everything is submitted eight business days ahead, so no rush fees.
| Line | Math | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Application | 1 | $100 |
| Filming permit | 1 calendar month | $300 |
| On-site services, Day 1 | 2 locations x $100 | $200 |
| On-site services, Day 2 | 1 location x $100 | $100 |
| Lane closure | $35 base + $30 (101 to 200 feet, 1 lane, 1 day) | $65 |
| Meters | 4 spaces x $17 | $68 |
| City fees before police | $833 |
If the same package went in two business days before the shoot, the schedule adds a $300 rush to the permit and a $300 rush line on on-site services with no daily cap. Ask the office exactly how the on-site rush is counted for a multi-day, multi-location permit before you tell your producer the number. And the MARTA exterior isn't settled by the city permit at all; the portal says filming on or around MARTA, including the streetcar, goes through MARTA's own contact.
The permit also requires police officers, signage, and barricades at all filming locations at all times, so officer costs are the next line in the budget. Those rates aren't on the city fee schedule; get them from the office when you apply.
Lead times
| Request | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| Lane closure | 3 business days, no exceptions |
| Full street closure | 5 business days, no exceptions |
| City of Atlanta park | 72 hours to process |
| City street light request | 48 hours (72 hours for Georgia Power lights), through the Office of Transportation |
| Water meter rental | 3 to 5 business days |
| Qualified contractor permit for ground disturbance | 10 to 14 days, outside the film permit process |
Check the portal for right-of-way blackouts before you lock dates. On the date I checked, it listed holiday restrictions around Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day, a FIFA World Cup restriction in the Downtown and Midtown area from June 11 to July 19, 2026, Piedmont Avenue between North Avenue and 15th Street, and a Fairlie-Poplar moratorium tied to the US Court of Appeals. The portal also links a Hot Spots Map of streets that "currently need a break from right of way permits." Look at it before a location scout, not after.
What goes in the application
The Getting Started checklist on FilmApp lists:
- A copy of the one-page notification letter sent to residents and businesses within a three-block radius of the filming location or closure.
- A signed, dated letter from the applicant listing the addresses that got the notice and the delivery date.
- A traffic control plan or detour route for any full street, lane, or sidewalk closure, following MUTCD guidelines, showing the number of lanes and signage. Hand-drawn plans aren't accepted.
- A completed security plan with a police officer as security coordinator.
- A certificate of insurance. You can apply without it, but the permit isn't issued until it's in.
- A fire rescue plan if the permit includes explosions, sparks, pyrotechnics, or other fire effects. Fire watch forms go to the Fire Department contacts named on the portal.
- A generator permit application for any generator over 5,000 watts.
- A site plan for any city park (a marked-up Google Maps screenshot is enough).
Insurance
FilmApp Atlanta states a minimum of $1,000,000 of insurance for filming on public property, and says the certificate must list "City of Atlanta / 55 Trinity Ave / Atlanta GA 30303 as the lien holder." That's the portal's wording. The ordinance says the amount is determined by the city's risk manager. Send both to your broker and let them confirm how the city wants to appear on the certificate of insurance, since "lien holder" isn't how most liability certificates name a city.
Notification
The ordinance requires notice to residents and businesses within a three-block radius of a permitted location, stating that a permit has been issued and giving the dates, times, locations, and activities it authorizes. The councilmember for the district is also notified. The office decides the method and timing based on the impact of the shoot, the time before filming, the production's budget, and what that neighborhood has asked for before. In sensitive areas, the checklist says you'll need signatures from residents and businesses, and FilmApp flags those locations during the application. The neighborhood notification entry has a letter format that covers the ordinance's required details.
Rules that bite on the day
The applicant sheet is short and strict:
- Permits are issued as written. No extra streets, lanes, or sidewalks without written permission from the office.
- Intermittent traffic control has to be on the application and may cost extra.
- "Emergency/No Parking" signs go up 24 hours ahead with the specific dates and times. Barricades can't go out before the permitted start time.
- No cars, trucks, or heavy equipment on the sidewalk, ever.
- No personal crew vehicles in residential neighborhoods, and they can't be part of the permit.
- Any citation or non-compliance can get permits revoked.
- Signage comes down at wrap or fines may follow.
Put those on the call sheet under parking and safety notes, because the grip who parks a stake bed on the curb at 5 a.m. hasn't read the permit.
Other jurisdictions inside the city
Centennial Olympic Park is a state park, and the portal says the city doesn't permit it. Hartsfield-Jackson has its own contact to reach before you apply. City park filming requests still have to come through the film office first, with a site plan uploaded.
Budget and tracking
Georgia's state incentive is handled by the state, not the city; see the Georgia incentive page. The location manager keeps the permit, closure plan, and notification letter together. Storiara's Locations module holds each location's address, photos, parking map upload, and comments, which is a reasonable place to record which blocks were noticed and when. Permit, police, and closure costs belong with the rest of the location costs in the budget.