Carlsbad, CA Filming & Production: Location Permits (2026)

Section 5.08.100, in Chapter 5.08 (License Taxes) of Carlsbad's business licensing title, taxes 'the taking of motion pictures, shots or scenes for commercial purposes, or for commercial use, or in connection with the production for commercial purposes of any motion picture play or production.' The rate depends on where the filming happens: productions using private property exclusively pay $30.00 for the first day and $10.00 for each day after, while productions that use public property, streets, parks or other city-owned land, pay a higher rate of $100.00 for the first day and $50.00 for each day after.

The section was adopted by Ordinance 6040 in 1967 and last amended by Ordinance NS-68 in 1989. Like other Chapter 5.08 taxes, the filming license tax is layered on top of, not instead of, the general licensing framework in Chapter 5.04: § 5.04.020 makes the tax due before the production begins, and § 5.04.030 makes it unlawful to conduct the taxed activity, filming for commercial purposes, without first obtaining a license, with each day of unlicensed filming a separate violation. Producers filming on Carlsbad's beaches, the Agua Hedionda or Batiquitos lagoons, or other public land should expect to coordinate location access separately with the city department controlling that property in addition to paying the § 5.08.100 tax, since the license tax section itself only sets the fee schedule and does not by itself grant location access rights.