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

Section 9.32.010 establishes Woodland's filming permit program. Subsection C requires a permit before anyone "use[s] any public or private property, building, facility or residence for the purpose of producing, taking or making any motion picture or television production." Subsection D exempts current news coverage, certain low-impact cable productions, student and educational filming with a school certificate, purely private filming, and productions at an existing motion picture or television studio in the City; nonprofits are exempt only from the application fee, not the rest of the chapter's requirements.

Subsection E requires applications at least three working days before filming, or five working days ahead if the activity will affect traffic or public safety, along with a nonrefundable application fee set by City Council resolution and a refundable $500.00 faithful performance bond to guarantee cleanup and restoration of the location. Subsection F lets the City Filming Permit Coordinator, who is the City Manager or a designee, deny a permit for undue traffic interference, safety hazards, false application information or an incomplete application. Subsection G's conditions include a separate Fire Department special-effects permit for pyrotechnics or open flames, Police Department-controlled traffic control limited to five-minute closures on major roads no more than once every 20 minutes, and filming hours confined to 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. unless 75 percent of nearby property owners or residents consent to an extension. Subsection H bills the permittee for actual police, fire and other public-safety costs, and subsection E also requires $1,000,000 in liability insurance before issuance.