Charleston, SC Filming & Production: Location Permits (2026)

Under City Code § 2-187, a 'commercial film/photographic event' is defined as movies, commercials, or fashion industry photography conducted on public property, including public streets, sidewalks, trails or other public place. Because the ordinance treats commercial filming as a category of 'special event,' filmmakers apply through the same special events committee that handles parades and festivals rather than a separate film permit desk. Section 2-189(a) sets the filing window: while major events need 120 days' notice, medium events 90 days and small events 60 days, a commercial film and photography event only needs to be filed at least three days, or seventy-two hours, before the shoot, to allow adequate review of the application by the committee.

The application must list the specific location and/or route, date and time of the shoot and pay the processing fee set on the city's special events fee schedule. The eleven-member special events committee, chaired by the special events manager in the Department of Livability and Tourism and including representatives from parks, police special operations, traffic and transportation, planning and preservation, and the fire marshal's office, reviews the request and can approve, condition, or deny it under the criteria in § 2-189(j), including whether the shoot would interfere with previously scheduled events or endanger public safety.

A stamped permit is issued within five days of the committee receiving all required fees and documentation. Productions confined entirely inside specific city-owned interior spaces, such as the Old Exchange Building or Gaillard Auditorium under an approved annual operations plan, are exempt from the permit requirement.