Alameda, CA Filming & Production: Location Permits (2026)
Film location permits in Alameda, CA, sometimes called film shoot permits, production permits, or filming authorizations, cover commercial photography, video shoots, and motion picture production.
Key Facts
- Permit trigger
- Filming on City-owned, leased or controlled property or streets
- Private property
- Owner's separate consent required; City permit doesn't cover it
- Key exemptions
- News filming, private studios, small still shoots, City filming
- Fees
- Set by City Council resolution, due at application
- Insurance
- Amount set by the City's Risk Manager
- Penalty
- Infraction for violating any provision of the chapter
Summary
Alameda requires a film permit before shooting still photographs, motion pictures, television programs or commercial productions on any City-owned, leased or controlled property or street, under Municipal Code Section 5-30.4. Filmmakers must also separately secure the private property owner's consent for any location the City does not own or control.
A permit is required by the City for the purpose of filming on City-owned, leased or controlled real property or streets. This permit does not constitute or grant permission to use or occupy property not owned, leased or controlled by the City. An applicant shall obtain the private property owner's permission, consent, and/or lease for use of property not owned or controlled by the City. ... The permit must be in the possession of the permittee at all times while on location in the City.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 74).
Full Breakdown
4, requires a permit for filming on City-owned, leased or controlled real property or streets; the permit itself does not authorize use of privately owned locations, so a location scout must separately obtain the property owner's permission or lease. 5 exempts a short list of activities from needing a permit at all, provided the shoot will not close a public street, sidewalk or place or substantially impede traffic: filming for news purposes, filming at commercial studios on private property, filming for a criminal investigation or civil proceeding, purely noncommercial activities, small commercial still-photography shoots that use no City property and no more than two parked vehicles, and filming done by or for the City itself. 7). 9). 12).
Violations & Fines
Section 5-30.19 makes violating any provision of the filming chapter an infraction. The Planning and Building Director may revoke a location permit under Section 5-30.17 for noncompliance with permit conditions or a materially false application, and the Fire Chief, Police Chief, Public Works Director or Planning and Building Director may suspend a shoot immediately if it poses an immediate hazard the location manager will not correct, with written notice of the suspension going out within one business day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to film on an Alameda street?
What filming is exempt from Alameda's film permit?
How much does an Alameda film permit cost?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alameda
California rules heatmap·Compare Alameda to another location·View the California filming & production overview
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Location Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle location permits.