Everything below comes from FilmLA's own pages, which I checked on September 14, 2026. FilmLA's City of Los Angeles requirements article was last published August 21, 2026. Fees and deadlines change, and FilmLA's disclaimer says as much, so open the area requirements page before you put numbers in a budget.
This guide covers the City of Los Angeles only. FilmLA also coordinates permits for other jurisdictions (its July 2026 fee notice says its application fee covers locations across 17 contracted jurisdictions and 5 participating school districts), and each of those has its own requirements page. Check which jurisdiction an address falls in before you assume city rules apply. Plenty of addresses with "Los Angeles" in them belong to the county or to a separate city.
When the city requires a permit
FilmLA cites Section 22.350 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code: a temporary use (filming) permit is required for all on-location filming of a commercial nature, on public and private property, inside the city. That second part surprises people. A commercial shoot entirely inside a rented house still needs a city permit, even if nothing touches the street.
FilmLA's "Get a Film Permit" page adds that non-commercial, personal-use filming generally doesn't need a permit, and tells you to contact the office if you aren't sure. For how that line works across several cities, see filming in public without a permit.
The deadline math
Applications go in through MyFilmLA and are due by 10 a.m. Late applications aren't processed. The minimum is three full business days before the first activity date, and the day you submit doesn't count.
| First activity day | Submit by 10 a.m. on |
|---|---|
| Saturday, Sunday, or Monday | Wednesday of the week before |
| Tuesday | Thursday of the week before |
| Wednesday | Friday of the week before |
| Thursday | Monday of the same week |
| Friday | Tuesday of the same week |
That's the floor. FilmLA says stunts, special effects, gunfire, aerial work, and closures need more lead time, and City of Los Angeles parks need at least four business days. Holidays shift the deadlines; FilmLA posts those changes and sends them out as Production Alerts.
A practical way to use the table: if your 1st AD moves a Monday exterior to Saturday on Thursday afternoon, you've already missed the Wednesday deadline for that Saturday. Changes to the shooting schedule after Wednesday of the prior week can cost you a location.
FilmLA's filmmaker page also recommends calling before you sign a location agreement or make verbal commitments. Its Solution Services team does free production planning and will flag neighborhoods with special conditions.
Standard filming hours
The city's standard hours are 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on weekends. Filming outside those hours may require a filming survey showing significant support from affected residents. FilmLA supplies the survey form and sample letter, but the production does the door knocking. Budget that time for any night exterior in a residential area, and read scheduling night shoots before you commit to one.
Insurance
You need insurance on file with the City and FilmLA before the permit is released. The minimum commercial general liability limits per occurrence on FilmLA's page:
| Activity | Minimum per occurrence |
|---|---|
| Still photography only | $500,000 |
| Motion picture filming | $1,000,000 |
| Department of Water and Power property | $2,000,000 |
| Drones (UAS) | $2,000,000 |
| Harbor Department | $3,000,000 |
| Aircraft | $5,000,000 |
The City of Los Angeles and FilmLA both have to be named as additional insured, using the wording in the sample documents FilmLA links. Your broker submits proof electronically through KwikComply, the City's insurance compliance system, on an ACORD 25 certificate of insurance.
Two more points from FilmLA. First, don't buy a policy before talking to a FilmLA insurance specialist, because requirements change with activity and location. Second, workers' compensation is required by California law, and FilmLA says it can't waive that, even for a production with one employee or only 1099 workers.
What it costs: the fee list
These are the City of Los Angeles rates on FilmLA's page as of the date above. FilmLA's July 2026 notice says the City of Los Angeles confirmed it would keep its current pricing, and FilmLA's board did not raise FilmLA service fees for fiscal year 2026/2027.
| Fee | Rate |
|---|---|
| Permit application (up to 5 locations, 7 consecutive days) | $931 per permit |
| Permit rider, business hours / after hours | $148.75 / $208 |
| Student permit, simple / complex | $52 / $134 |
| Notification, base radius | $232 |
| Lane closure, gunfire, SFX, drone, or helicopter admin fee | $78 per involved location |
| FilmLA monitor | $44.50 per hour, minimum applies |
| LAFD Spot Check surcharge | $287 per permit |
| LA City fire safety officer | $127 per hour, 4-hour minimum plus 1 hour travel |
| LA City lane and street closure | $312 per involved location |
| Posting (paid to provider) | $69 per 300 feet of curb |
| LAPD officer, retired or off duty (paid to provider) | $67.19 to $77.90 per hour, 8-hour minimum |
| Rec and Parks film use | $450 per day |
The application fee is due when you submit, and it's non-refundable even if you withdraw. Everything else on the finalized permit has to be paid before 6 p.m. on the business day before your first activity day. FilmLA takes cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or a FilmLA business account, but not cash or checks.
A worked example
A two-day indie shoot in the city: a house in Highland Park on Day 1 and a diner exterior in Eagle Rock on Day 2. Both are inside the seven-day window, so one permit covers them. The production wants one 300-foot run of posted curb at each location for the grip truck and camera truck, and no officers or effects.
| Line | Math | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Application | 1 permit | $931 |
| Notification | 2 locations x $232 | $464 |
| LAFD Spot Check surcharge | 1 permit | $287 |
| Posting | 2 runs x $69 | $138 |
| Estimated permit cost | $1,820 |
Add a fire safety officer for a rain rig on Day 2 and the math changes: 4-hour minimum plus 1 hour travel is 5 hours x $127 = $635. If the diner scene needs intermittent traffic control, officers come in at an 8-hour minimum each. Those lines land in the location fee side of the budget, not the rental.
Posting "Temporary No Parking" signs
Posting reserves curb for production vehicles with commercial plates only. FilmLA's page is blunt that cast and crew vehicles must park on private property and can be cited in posted areas. Fees are charged per 300 feet and per side of the street.
Your request needs the street name, the side (N/S, S/S, E/S, W/S, or B/S for both sides), and either a footage or a start and end point, written like "W/S of Yellow St, from Blue Street North 200'." The posting deadline is three full working days before your first film date, by 10 a.m., on the same weekday pattern as the permit table above. The parking permit entry covers how to size a request so the trucks actually fit.
Neighborhood notification and monitors
FilmLA's standard notification service satisfies the city's neighborhood notification requirement, with a three-day lead time before the first activity (not counting submission day). A FilmLA monitor may be assigned when you film on City-owned property, in a frequently filmed area, or with complicated activity, and the production pays for the hours. FilmLA's monitor footnote gives the overtime pattern: a 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. assignment bills as 8 regular hours, 4 overtime, and 4 double time.
The Fire Department can adjust a uniformed fire safety officer assignment only until 2:00 p.m. on the last business day before the officer's start, and it won't refund shifts canceled after that. Tell your AD team, because a late wrap decision the night before is too late.
The Low Impact pilot tier
FilmLA and the City started a Low Impact Permit Pilot Program on April 27, 2026. FilmLA says its board is funding the staff and technology cost for up to six months, so check whether it's still running when you apply.
| Standard tier | Low Impact tier | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $931 | $350 |
| Locations / days | Up to 5 / 7-day window | Up to 3 / 3-day window |
| Notification | $232 per location | $156 per location |
| LAFD Spot Check | $287 per permit | Waived |
| Cast and crew on set | No limit | 30 maximum |
| Jurisdictions | All FilmLA jurisdictions | City of Los Angeles only |
The arithmetic for three locations over three days: Standard is $931 + (3 x $232) + $287 = $1,914. Low Impact is $350 + (3 x $156) = $818. That's $1,096 less, about 57 percent, which matches FilmLA's "around 58 percent."
The tier limits what you can do. FilmLA's comparison table rules out posted no parking and lane closures, extended or overnight hours, camera in the curb lane or street, traffic or pedestrian control, rooftops, exterior stunts, amplified playback, buildings above four stories, locations open to the public, and schools, churches, and hospitals, among others. All parking has to stay on private property. You pick the tier when you start the MyFilmLA application and can't switch mid-application; you'd have to cancel and start again.
Mistakes that cost a day
- Applying Thursday for a Monday shoot. The deadline for Saturday through Monday is Wednesday at 10 a.m.
- A broker certificate that names the city but not FilmLA, or lists the wrong limits for drone or Harbor work.
- A permit that says 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. when the call sheet has the company shooting until 11.
- Crew cars in posted spots, which invites citations and complaints on a street the location manager has to come back to.
- Forgetting that the permit has to be physically on site. FilmLA says the law requires a physical copy on location to avoid a shutdown.
Keeping it on the call sheet
The location manager owns the permit, but the 2nd AD puts its limits on the call sheet: hours, where trucks go, where crew parks. In Storiara, each entry in the Locations module holds the address on a map and an uploaded parking map, and the call sheet has Basecamp, Crew Park, and Tech Trucks fields you fill in per day. The nearest hospital is a field you type in. For the state incentive side of an LA shoot, see the California incentive page.