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Clackamas County, OR Filming & Production: Student Filming (2026)

Significant Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Covered
student films for course credit
Governing chapter
8.08 Film and Media Production
Not exempt as
"private personal use"
Permit required for
unincorporated county locations
Enforcement
notice, then revocation
Application needs
crew size, dates, equipment

Summary

A college film class assignment shot on location in unincorporated Clackamas County isn't automatically exempt from the county's film permit ordinance. Chapter 8.08 defines 'motion picture, television' to expressly include student films made to satisfy a post-secondary course requirement, and the ordinance's personal-use exemption only covers filming for private, noncommercial use, not coursework.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Clackamas County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

MOTION PICTURE, TELEVISION, shall mean and include all activity attendant to staging or shooting commercial motion pictures, television shows or programs, commercials, and student films produced to satisfy a post-secondary school course requirement at an educational institution in any medium including film, tape or digital format.

D. NEWS MEDIA, shall mean the photographing, filming or videotaping for the purpose of spontaneous, unplanned television news broadcast or reporting for print media by reporters, photographers or camerapersons.

E. PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL, AND GOVERNMENT ACCESS CENTERS shall mean photographing, filing, or videotaping:

1. For the purposes of:

a. Promoting communities within Clackamas County, including local organizations;

b. Making government more accessible and understandable by offering information about services, meetings, workshops, programs, projects, activities, the history of the region, and public meetings;

c. Creating documentaries and local productions; and

d. The teaching of film and media productions techniques such as camera work, editing, and studio productions;

2. By local community media centers supported by the municipalities, educational institutions, and cable subscribers within Clackamas County.

F. STUDIO shall mean a fixed place of business certified as such by local fire authority having jurisdiction where filming activities (motion or commercial photography) are regularly conducted upon the premises.

Full Breakdown

030(A)). 020(C), specifically writes student films into the covered activity: any staging or shooting of a student film produced to satisfy a post-secondary school course requirement at an educational institution counts as MOTION PICTURE, TELEVISION production. 030(B) carves out only five categories: spontaneous news-gathering, recording solely for private personal use and not commercial use, filming at a certified studio, charitable films made by a 501(c)(3) with no profit to anyone, and public, educational, and government access center productions. 040(A)).

Violations & Fines

Filming without the required permit, or violating a permit's conditions once issued, lets the County give the applicant verbal or written notice of the violation; if the problem isn't corrected, the County can revoke the permit and require all filming activity to stop on the spot under 8.08.060. No permit will be issued at all for a production that violates federal, state, or local law under 8.08.040(E).

Frequently Asked Questions

Are student films exempt from Clackamas County's filming permit rule?
No. The ordinance's definition of covered "motion picture, television" activity explicitly names student films produced to satisfy a post-secondary school course requirement, and the only personal-use exemption in 8.08.030(B)(2) applies to recording for private, noncommercial purposes, which a graded class project is not.
What has to be in a student film's permit application?
The same information any production submits: the crew leader's contact details, the exact filming location and property owner's information, dates and hours of filming, crew size, a description of anything that might alarm the public like gunfire or pyrotechnics, and any county police or fire personnel requested, per 8.08.040(A).
Can the county revoke a student filming permit mid-shoot?
Yes. If a permit holder violates a chapter provision or a permit condition, the County can give verbal or written notice, and if the violation isn't fixed, revoke the permit and require the crew to stop all activity immediately under 8.08.060.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Clackamas County

All Clackamas County rules

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