Glendale, CA Filming & Production: Location Permits (2026)

Glendale Municipal Code Chapter 5.92 governs motion picture and television production. Section 5.92.010 bars filming, taking or producing motion pictures for educational, entertainment or other commercial purposes, other than for news coverage, anywhere in the city outside an established motion picture or television studio, and separately bars any such filming, anywhere and anytime, that uses city employees' services or city-owned personal property or utilities (excluding utilities a private customer already pays for), unless the city manager or a designee first grants a permit.

Section 5.92.020 requires a signed, dated application on city forms plus payment of all required fees and documents before any permit issues; fee amounts are set and periodically revised by council resolution and kept on file with the city clerk. Section 5.92.030 spells out the required application fields: the applicant's full legal and business name, business address and phone, the filming location, dates and times, what city employee services are wanted on location, a description of the scene, the name of the person in charge on location, and any other information the city manager wants; an original application may still be amended before the permit's effective date.

Under § 5.92.060, the city manager must issue the permit unless an application statement is untrue or the city manager finds public health, safety or welfare would be significantly harmed by the contemplated land use, disruption of traffic, parking or business, the length of the activity, the neighborhood's attitude, the number of permits already granted for that location, or the applicant's past record of following permit conditions. Insurance is a standing condition of any permit issued under § 5.92.050, with requirements set by the city attorney.