Los Angeles County, CA Filming & Production: Location Permits (2026)
Film location permits in Los Angeles County, CA, sometimes called film shoot permits, production permits, or filming authorizations, cover commercial photography, video shoots, and motion picture production.
Key Facts
- Trigger
- 15+ on-site cast and crew
- Fee
- $277 per permit, Table QQ104.2.1
- Agency
- Fire Prevention Div. / Public Safety & Film Unit
- Where
- Outside an approved production facility
- Exemption
- Student/nonprofit shoots, first permit
Summary
Commercial still-photography shoots with 15 or more on-site cast and crew, held outside an approved production facility within the County Fire Protection District, need a Fire Department operational permit and pay a $277 fee under Title 32.
COMMERCIAL STILL PHOTOGRAPHY PRODUCTION. Includes all activity attendant to the staging or shooting of commercial still photography production to create single or multiple photographs for sale or use for a commercial purpose. ... 4. Commercial still-photography production that both: is outside of an approved production facility, and has an on-site cast-and-crew number of 15 or more persons. ... Commercial Still Photography $277.00
Full Breakdown
Los Angeles County Fire Code Chapter 48 (Title 32) requires an operational permit from the Fire Prevention Division / Public Safety and Film Unit for a "commercial still photography production", staging or shooting stills for sale or commercial use, whenever it happens outside an approved production facility and the on-site cast and crew reaches fifteen or more people. Appendix QQ Table QQ104.2.1 sets the fee at $277 per permit ($69 to revise it). Verified student productions and 501(c)(3) nonprofits skip the fee on first issuance, though revisions still cost extra. The rule binds the Consolidated Fire Protection District, unincorporated County territory and contract member cities, not cities that run their own fire departments.
Violations & Fines
Shooting a qualifying still-photography production without the permit is an unpermitted Fire Code operation; the fire code official can halt the shoot, deny site access, and refer the production for citation under the Title 32 enforcement provisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this apply to a small 8-person photo shoot?
Does this cover shoots in the City of Los Angeles?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Los Angeles County
California rules heatmap·Compare Los Angeles County to another location·View the California filming & production overview
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