San Leandro, CA Filming & Production: Location Permits (2026)
Film location permits in San Leandro, CA, sometimes called film shoot permits, production permits, or filming authorizations, cover commercial photography, video shoots, and motion picture production.
Key Facts
- Permit issuer
- Film Liaison, Chapter 2.4
- Owner/tenant permission
- Required in writing before filming
- Neighbor notice
- 300-foot radius, 72 hours advance
- News gathering
- Exempt from the permit
- Application fee
- Non-refundable, set in Administrative Code
- Insurance
- Required, type/amount set by Film Liaison
Summary
San Leandro requires a permit for any professional filming location within city limits, issued by the Film Liaison under Municipal Code Chapter 2.4. Before filming starts at a specific site, permittees must get written permission from every property owner and tenant surrounding the location and give written notice to everyone within a 300-foot radius at least 72 hours in advance.
All persons who engage in professional filming within the City of San Leandro shall be required to obtain a permit, except where the professional filming involved is for news gathering purposes. ... Prior to commencement of professional filming, all permittees are required to obtain and submit to the City evidence of written permission to enter the property from all property owners and tenants of those properties surrounding the location that will be directly affected by the professional filming. ... Not less than 72 hours prior to commencement of professional filming, all permittees shall provide written notice to all property owners or tenants within a 300-foot radius of the professional filming location.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4967405; v8 updated 2026-07-06).
Full Breakdown
4. 100 requires a permit for any professional filming in the city, with a single carve-out for news gathering. 400). 500 requires the permittee to obtain and submit written permission to enter the property from every owner and tenant of the surrounding properties that will be directly affected. 600 layers on a neighborhood notice requirement: written notice must go to all property owners or tenants within a 300-foot radius of the filming location at least 72 hours before filming begins. 800, and permittees must indemnify the City, its officials, and employees for claims arising from the permittee's or its agents' negligence.
900 authorizes the Film Liaison to issue additional regulations needed to administer these location rules and requires the Liaison to act with reasonable dispatch on applications.
Violations & Fines
Filming a location without the Chapter 2.4 permit, or without first securing the written property-owner permission Section 2.4.500 requires, is a violation the Film Liaison can act on; permittees who fail to give the 72-hour, 300-foot written notice under Section 2.4.600 risk losing the location permit. Permittees remain liable to indemnify and defend the City for negligence claims arising from filming at the location under Section 2.4.800.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need permission from neighbors to film at a location in San Leandro?
Is news gathering exempt from San Leandro's filming location permit?
Who approves a filming location permit application in San Leandro?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Leandro
California rules heatmap·Compare San Leandro to another location·View the California filming & production overview
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Location Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle location permits.