Ogden, UT Filming & Production: Location Permits (2026)

Section 6-5-1 defines COMMERCIAL FILMING as filming of a media broadcast, other than for news purposes, a motion picture, or still commercial photography, and lists it among the activities that make up a SPECIAL EVENT under the chapter. Section 6-5-2 then makes it unlawful for any person to organize, produce, direct, conduct, manage, institute or carry on a special event, which includes commercial filming, without first obtaining a permit from the city. The application, filed with the Community and Economic Development Department under section 6-5-3, must be submitted thirty to two hundred seventy days ahead for a class I event (a category that expressly includes filming of a media broadcast other than for news purposes, motion picture, or still commercial photography) or ten to two hundred seventy days ahead for a class II event, and the director may waive the minimum filing period where it will not create a safety hazard.

Application fees are set under title 4, chapter 6, and section 6-5-5 requires the applicant to reimburse the city for any city services used and post a deposit covering estimated service costs and cleanup. The director may impose conditions on the time, place and manner of the shoot under section 6-5-9, and can require insurance, indemnification and a surety bond. News-gathering photography and video are expressly carved out of the definition, so a film crew covering a current news event does not need this permit, but a scripted commercial shoot or feature film does.