Filming & Production in El Dorado County, CA (2026)
3 rules for unincorporated El Dorado County, California.
Verified from official government sources
Location Permits
El Dorado County Code Section 5.58.020 requires anyone filming motion pictures, television, commercials, digital media, or commercial still photography on public or private property, a facility, or a residence to first apply for and receive a permit from the County designee. Only news coverage, personal video, certified-studio filming, and narrow portrait photography are exempt.
El Dorado County Requires a Permit to Film Locations
Significant RestrictionsEl Dorado County Code § 5.58.020
A.Permit required. No person shall use any public or private property, facility or residence for the purpose of taking motion pictures, television, digital media or commercial still photography without first applying for and receiving a permit from the County designee.B.Exemptions.1.News media. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to or affect reporters, photographers or camerapersons...
Street Closures
Filming productions that need a public road or facility closed in El Dorado County must obtain the Section 5.58.020 permit, and Section 5.58.040(D) requires the production company to reimburse the county for any Sheriff or Department of Transportation personnel assigned to assist. A closure or personnel request is exactly what disqualifies a shoot from the code's narrow portrait-photography exemption.
Filming Road Closures Cost Extra in El Dorado County
Some RestrictionsEl Dorado County Code § 5.58.040(D); § 5.58.020(B)(4)
D.Reimbursement for personnel. The production company shall reimburse the County for any personnel provided to the company (e.g., Sheriff, Department of Transportation) for the purpose of assisting the production. ... 4.Portrait photography. Still photography of individuals, students, or families not requiring road or facility closure, reimbursement for personnel, or use of drones.
Student Filming
El Dorado County Code Section 5.58.010 defines regulated motion-picture activity to expressly include student films made to satisfy a post-secondary school course requirement, putting them under the same countywide filming-permit rule as commercial shoots. A narrow exemption in Section 5.58.020 covers only portrait-style student photography that needs no road closure, drones, or county personnel.
El Dorado County Requires Permits for Student Films
Some RestrictionsEl Dorado County Code § 5.58.010
Motion picture, television, still photography means and includes all activity attendant to staging or shooting commercial motion pictures, television shows or programs, commercials, digital media, still photography and student films produced to satisfy a post-secondary school course requirement at an educational institution in any medium including film, tape or digital format.
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