Dearborn Heights, MI Filming & Production: Location Permits (2026)

Article III of Chapter 8 of the Dearborn Heights City Code requires anyone engaging in production activity, defined in Sec. 8-41 as staging, shooting, taping or recording a motion picture, commercial or television program, or in stationary photographic activity, defined as photography from one fixed location for more than five consecutive minutes in a public right-of-way, on unenclosed private property visible to the public, or on public property, to obtain a production license under Sec. 8-42 before starting. Applicants file with the city clerk under Sec.

8-43, describing the proposed activity, the exact site and proof of the applicant's ownership or the owner's consent, the schedule and hours, the expected number of people on site, and, where relevant, site diagrams covering parking, a base camp, a traffic control plan and waste disposal. Sec. 8-44 requires payment in full of a nonrefundable application processing fee, set by council resolution, before the clerk will process the application. The clerk refers every application to the police, fire, building and engineering, public works, water and treasurer's departments under Sec.

8-45 and, under Sec. 8-46, will issue the license only if the activity will not interfere with neighboring property, unduly disrupt traffic, endanger public property, involve obscene content, or violate other laws. Sec. 8-47 imposes mandatory conditions on every license: advance notice to affected residents and businesses, twenty feet of vehicle clearance for emergency access, fire-hazard precautions approved by the fire chief, and cleanup within two hours of finishing. A license permitting full production activity must also carry at least $1,000,000 in general liability insurance, rising to $5,000,000 if motor vehicles, aircraft, helicopters, explosives or pyrotechnics are used, plus a hold-harmless agreement for the city. News gathering, city-directed activity, filming inside a legally established studio, and strictly noncommercial recording of events such as weddings are exempt under Sec. 8-42(c).