El Paso, TX Filming & Production: Location Permits (2026)
Film location permits in El Paso, TX, sometimes called film shoot permits, production permits, or filming authorizations, cover commercial photography, video shoots, and motion picture production.
Key Facts
- Permit issuer
- El Paso Film Commissioner / Traffic Engineer
- Base permit length
- Up to 48 consecutive hours per location
- Extension available
- One additional 48-hour extension
- Over 96 hours
- Requires Ch. 15.08 special-privilege process
- Denial appeal window
- 10 days to request council review
Summary
Anyone using an El Paso street, right-of-way, or city facility for a qualifying film-making event must get a location permit through the El Paso Film Commissioner. City Code Section 13.30.020 lets the traffic engineer approve each location for up to forty-eight hours, extendable once by another forty-eight.
A person or organization conducting a film-making event involving the proposed use of a city right-of-way or city facility shall apply for a permit for such use from the commissioner in accordance with this chapter. The traffic engineer is authorized to issue a permit for a period not to exceed forty-eight consecutive hours to any person or organization in compliance with all requirements enumerated herein that has submitted an application. The traffic engineer may extend a film-making event permit for a period up to an additional forty-eight consecutive hours up on receipt of an application for extension of a film-making event permit.
Full Breakdown
30. It requires any person or organization conducting a film-making event that proposes to use a city right-of-way or city facility to apply for a permit from the commissioner in accordance with the chapter. The traffic engineer is authorized to issue the permit for a period not to exceed forty-eight consecutive hours for a compliant application, and may grant a single extension of up to an additional forty-eight consecutive hours on a separate extension application. 08 or obtain a lease or license agreement. 040, a single permit can cover multiple locations, but each location needs its own location information form, giving the physical address, dates and times for set-up/filming/tear-down, expected cast and crew numbers, and the type of filming action planned; predesignated representatives from departments such as fire, police, Sun Metro, environmental services, and transportation review and recommend approval, modification, or denial for each proposed location before the traffic engineer signs off. 070.
Violations & Fines
Using a city right-of-way or facility for a film-making event without an approved location permit is punishable under the general penalty clause, Section 1.08.010, a fine up to five hundred dollars, and the traffic engineer can revoke an existing permit under Section 13.30.110 for noncompliance with a permit condition or any applicable law, requiring the permittee to immediately restore and vacate the location.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to film on an El Paso street?
Can I get more time at one filming location?
Which city departments review a location permit application?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in El Paso
Texas rules heatmap·Compare El Paso to another location·View the Texas filming & production overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.