Alachua County, FL Filming & Production: Location Permits (2026)
Film location permits in Alachua County, FL, sometimes called film shoot permits, production permits, or filming authorizations, cover commercial photography, video shoots, and motion picture production.
Key Facts
- Permit authority
- Growth Management Director, § 402.153(b)
- Application lead time
- 15 calendar days before filming, § 402.153(c)(1)
- Crew exemption
- 14 or fewer crew/talent exempt, § 402.153(a)(1)(b)
- Park filming
- Routed to ch. 76 Park Rules instead
- Revocation bar
- 12-month permit bar after revocation, § 402.153(d)(9)
Summary
Commercial filming on property in unincorporated Alachua County needs a temporary filming permit from the Growth Management Department before it starts. Section 402.153(a) requires the permit whenever a production's impact on public infrastructure, services, or surrounding land uses is significant enough to need one, with a short list of exemptions for small crews and news media.
(a)Applicability. All temporary filming permits shall be required from the County prior to the temporary filming use of property in unincorporated Alachua County which, because of the activities' impact on public infrastructure, services, and surrounding land uses, requires a permit. The issuance of a temporary filming permit shall not be deemed to amend the official zoning map or this ULDC.(1)The following filming activities are exempt from this Article provided that public streets, rights-of-way, and public sidewalks are not closed due to the activity and the activity does not create on-street parking impacts:...b.Filming activity with a film production crew and talent of fourteen (14) people or less.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
153(a) makes clear that a temporary filming permit 'shall be required from the County prior to the temporary filming use of property in unincorporated Alachua County which, because of the activities' impact on public infrastructure, services, and surrounding land uses, requires a permit,' and that issuing the permit does not amend the official zoning map. Subsection (a)(1) exempts eight categories from that requirement, provided streets, rights-of-way, and sidewalks stay open and the shoot creates no on-street parking impact: news-media filming, productions with a crew and talent of fourteen people or fewer, personal or family video, student and faculty filming for educational purposes, filming inside County parks (governed instead by the Chapter 76 park rules), filming at the County Sports and Events Center or Cuscowilla Nature and Retreat Center, agritourism-connected filming, and law-enforcement filming for a criminal or civil proceeding. 153(c)(1) requires the application at least fifteen calendar days before filming begins. 47.
Violations & Fines
Filming without the required permit, or breaching a permit's conditions once issued, triggers suspension under Section 402.153(c)(3): activity must cease immediately, the suspension is communicated orally and then in a written order, and continued noncompliance can revoke the permit. A revoked permit bars the applicant from any new filming permit in unincorporated Alachua County for twelve months under Section 402.153(d)(9), and violations may also be enforced by injunction or the penalties in Sections 10.08–10.09 of the County Code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a county permit to film a small independent short with a few people?
How far in advance do I need to apply for a filming permit?
Does filming inside a county park need this permit instead?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alachua County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Alachua County to another location·View the Florida filming & production overview
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