Atlanta, GA Filming & Production: Location Permits (2026)
Film location permits in Atlanta, GA, sometimes called film shoot permits, production permits, or filming authorizations, cover commercial photography, video shoots, and motion picture production.
Key Facts
- Citywide CAOE permit
- Not required for still photography
- Park filming-event fee
- City staff's hourly wages, if required
- Park business permit
- Exempt for photo and film shoots
- Night park filming (11pm-6am)
- Needs Parks, Police, Fire sign-off
Summary
Atlanta's Chapter 46 filming permit only covers motion-picture production, so still photographers don't need a CAOE permit citywide, but photo shoots inside a city park can trigger staffing and police-coverage fees under the park filming-fee rule.
For purposes of this subsection (m), a "filming event" means shooting a film or taking photographs, where such filming or photography occurs inside a city park, and results in an end product that will likely be submitted for copyright protection. Examples of filming events include without limitation movie shoots, video shoots, TV shoots, advertisement shoots. music video shoots, and still photography shoots.
Full Breakdown
The City of Atlanta Office of Entertainment permit under Code Chapter 46 applies only to 'Filming,' which Sec. 46-100 defines as creating motion picture images: still photography is outside that definition, so a public-property photo shoot doesn't need a CAOE filming permit. Inside a city park, though, Sec. 110-3(m) treats still photography as a 'filming event': if the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation decides park staff, police, or fire-rescue coverage is needed, the photographer pays the city's hourly wage cost for each staffer present. Photo shoots are exempt from the separate $1,500 annual park business permit, and night shoots between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. need written authorization from Parks, the Police Chief, and the Fire Rescue Chief.
Violations & Fines
Failing to pay a required park-filming staffing or coverage fee is a Code violation under Sec. 1-8, the city's general penalty section: up to a $1,000 fine, six months' imprisonment, or both, with each day treated as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to take photos in an Atlanta park?
Does Atlanta's Chapter 46 filming ordinance cover still photographers?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Atlanta
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Location Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Fulton County handle location permits.