Riverside, CA Filming & Production: Location Permits (2026)
Film location permits in Riverside, CA, sometimes called film shoot permits, production permits, or filming authorizations, cover commercial photography, video shoots, and motion picture production.
Key Facts
- Permit issuer
- City Manager or designated issuing authority
- Liability insurance
- $1,000,000 minimum, City named coinsured
- Application must list
- dates, hours, personnel, animals, vehicles, equipment
- Cleanup assurance
- refundable faithful performance bond may be required
- Noncompliance consequence
- City may cancel the permit outright
Summary
Riverside requires a permit from the City's issuing authority before anyone shoots commercial motion pictures, television footage, or commercial still photography on any public or private property, facility, or residence. Administered by the City Manager's designee under RMC Chapter 5.70, the permit process covers location approval, a detailed application, liability insurance, and reimbursement for any police or fire support the shoot requires.
No person shall use any public or private property, facility or residence within the City of Riverside for the purpose of taking commercial motion pictures or television pictures or commercial still photography without first applying for and receiving a permit from the issuing authority.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 33).
Full Breakdown
050. The application must give the property owner's name, address and phone number, the exact filming location, the inclusive dates and hours of the shoot, a general description of the activity, the production contact's name and phone number, the exact headcount of personnel involved, whether animals or pyrotechnics will be used, and the amount and type of vehicles and equipment on site. The production company must reimburse the City for any police, fire, or other personnel and equipment the City provides to assist the shoot.
060, that use can't create incompatible overuse of the site or interfere with the property's ordinary governmental function. 070 requires a certificate of liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 naming the City of Riverside as a coinsured, proof of Workers' Compensation coverage for everyone working under the permit, an executed indemnification agreement, and, at the City's discretion, a refundable faithful performance bond to guarantee site cleanup and restoration after filming wraps. 080 and can promulgate additional rules and fee schedules, subject to City Council approval by resolution.
Violations & Fines
Filming, video taping, or commercial still photography anywhere in Riverside, public or private property, without a permit from the issuing authority violates RMC § 5.70.030. If a permittee breaks any condition of the chapter or of the permit itself, § 5.70.090 lets the City cancel the permit outright, shutting down the production until a new, compliant application is submitted and approved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a home video shot in Riverside need a filming permit?
What insurance does a Riverside filming permit require?
Who approves a Riverside location filming permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Riverside
California rules heatmap·Compare Riverside to another location·View the California filming & production overview
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Location Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle location permits.