This is general information about published film office rules, not legal advice. Rules change, they vary by jurisdiction, and the facts of your shoot matter. If the answer affects whether you roll camera, call the film office or ask a lawyer who handles production.
A lot of worry about "stealing" a shot comes from not knowing what the rule is for. A film permit is permission to use public space in ways that affect other people: parking trucks, closing a lane, blocking a sidewalk, staging a fake robbery that might get a 911 call. It's rarely a license to point a camera. Several film offices publish exactly where their line sits. The sources below were checked on September 14, 2026.
Six places, six lines
| Jurisdiction | Where the no-permit line sits |
|---|---|
| New York City | Handheld camera or camera on tripod, handheld props and equipment; no exclusive use of city property; no prop weapons, prop vehicles, stunts, or actors in police uniform; no parking for production vehicles |
| Los Angeles (city) | A permit is required for all commercial on-location filming, on public and private property; FilmLA says non-commercial, personal-use filming generally doesn't need one |
| Chicago | Handheld or tripod that doesn't block traffic, no public impact, no exclusive rights, no parking for production vehicles, no interference with public functions; effects, prop weapons, or stunts need a permit |
| Atlanta | The ordinance covers filming on public property meant for commercial release; documenting current affairs, newscasts, and location scouting aren't "filming" under the ordinance |
| London | Five or fewer people including cast, handheld, no obstruction of the highway; some boroughs extend this to tripods, but Westminster and the City of London require a Notice of No Objection for tripods |
| US national parks | Eight or fewer people, no adverse impact on park resources, values, or visitors, and no extra administrative cost to the park |
New York has the most specific written test, and it offers an optional document to carry. The Letter in Lieu of Permit is valid for 30 days on exterior city-owned property. To use it, you certify that the gear stays in your hands or on a tripod, that you keep at least 8 feet of sidewalk clear when the sidewalk is 16 feet wide or less (half the width when it's wider), that you stay out of traffic and curb lanes, and that you won't use non-handheld props (bicycles count), weapons, police uniforms, crime reenactments, special effects, prohibited animals, or drones. You also can't be filming where someone else's permit already covers that date and time. The letter says plainly that it isn't a permit and gives you no parking.
Los Angeles is the strict one. FilmLA cites Section 22.350 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code, which requires a permit for "all on-location filming of a commercial nature" in the city, on public or private property. The commercial test matters more than crew size. A two-person shoot for a paying brand is still a commercial shoot. FilmLA says non-commercial personal-use filming generally doesn't need a permit, and tells you to contact it when you aren't sure. The Los Angeles permit guide covers the Low Impact tier, which was created for small shoots.
London rests on common law and the Highways Act 1980. Film London's small crew page says users of the highway can make reasonable use of it, and Section 137 limits that when you obstruct other people's free passage. If you aren't obstructing, no licence is required. Film London still recommends telling the Borough Film Service, because a council that doesn't know you're there can ask you to stop, and police can move you on if someone complains.
National parks changed in 2025. The National Park Service says the EXPLORE Act, signed January 4, 2025, means permits and fees usually aren't required for filming, photography, or audio recording with eight or fewer people, provided it doesn't adversely affect park resources, values, or visitors and won't add administrative costs. NPS says the rule treats commercial filming, content creators, students, and news the same. Entrance fees still apply, and other park rules still apply.
What pulls a small shoot into permit territory
Across these cities, the same things keep showing up on the permit side of the line:
- Vehicles. Asking for parking for a production vehicle is a permit trigger in New York and Chicago. Personal cars, minivans, SUVs, and pickups don't count as production vehicles in NYC's rules, but a cube truck does.
- Exclusive use. Holding pedestrians, taping off a section of sidewalk, or telling someone they can't walk through. NYC's letter defines exclusive use as any physical, verbal, or other assertion that part of the sidewalk is for filming only, "for any amount of time."
- Gear on the ground. Light stands, sandbags, a dolly, cable across a walkway. NYC defines equipment as anything beyond a handheld camera, tripod, or handheld items like bounce boards and boom mics.
- Anything that looks like an emergency. Prop guns, police uniforms, staged fights or crimes, fake police cars. NYC, Chicago, and London all route these through police.
- Drones. NYC's letter excludes them, NYC routes drone take-off and landing through the NYPD, and Chicago gives drone permits extra review time.
- Ground that only looks public. Film London warns that some London areas with public access are privately managed. In NYC, subways, parks' interior facilities, and Port Authority property are controlled by other agencies. In Chicago, the Park District, Navy Pier, Millennium Park, and the CTA issue their own permits.
If a shot in your shooting schedule needs any of those, stop treating it as a no-permit day.
A permit-free day that stays permit-free
A realistic plan for a short in New York with a five-person crew: director, DP with a handheld camera, sound recordist with a boom, and two actors.
- Exterior walk-and-talk on a 20-foot-wide Brooklyn sidewalk. Half the width stays clear. No one is held. Takes are short, and the actors walk with the flow of foot traffic.
- A tripod shot of an actor on a bench in a city park, taken from a park pathway, not a playground or a ball field.
- No van at the curb. Gear travels by subway in bags.
- The Letter in Lieu of Permit is printed and in the director's pocket, dated within 30 days.
- A signed talent release for both actors, and a plan to blur or cut any passerby who becomes the focus of a shot.
Change one thing (the DP wants a slider on apple boxes, or the producer rents a sprinter van to carry a light kit and parks it on the block) and the day needs a permit and insurance.
What doesn't change without a permit
Permits and releases are separate problems. A permit is between you and the government. Releases are between you and the people or property owners on camera. Skipping a permit legally doesn't remove the need for:
- Releases for identifiable people featured in the shot. Distributors and errors and omissions insurance carriers look for them.
- A location release for any private property you use, including shop interiors you film through a window if the business is the subject.
- Clearance for artwork, logos, and music that end up in frame. See clearance.
- Workers' compensation where the law requires it. FilmLA notes California requires it even for productions with one employee or only 1099 workers.
The risks, stated plainly
When you need a permit and don't have one, the published consequences range from being asked to leave to fines and shutdowns. NYC's letter says using it for activity that actually requires a permit can bring a fine or other penalties. FilmLA says the permit must be physically on set to avoid a production shutdown. London police can move an obstructing crew on. The practical costs are often larger than the fines: a lost location day, cast you've already paid, and a film office that remembers your company name the next time you apply.
Before any borderline day, call the film office. Every office above publishes a phone number or email, and several (FilmLA, Chicago, Film London) say outright to contact them when you aren't sure. If the answer is "you need a permit," the city guides for New York, London, Chicago, and Atlanta walk through the process.