Tampa, FL Filming & Production: Student Filming (2026)

Sec. 17(10) opens with 'Exceptions. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require a permit for:' and then lists three carve-outs: individuals filming or videotaping only for their own personal or family use; employees of print or electronic news media covering ongoing news events; and students and faculty filming exclusively for educational purposes. That third exception means a film school class, a university media assignment, or a K-12 media class shooting a project anywhere in the city, a park, a street corner, a storefront, skips the Tampa/Hillsborough Film Commission permit, the $1,000,000 insurance certificate, and the on-site notice sign otherwise required by subsections (1), (2) and (5).

The exemption is tied to purpose, not to age or institution: filming has to be exclusively educational, so a student-run production that also sells the footage commercially, or a faculty member shooting content for a paid outside client, falls back outside the exception and needs the standard permit. The exemption doesn't touch other rules that might still apply on the same shoot, a street closure still needs the transportation department permits in subsection (4), and filming on city park or department-managed land still needs the department's written approval under Sec. 16-43(h) regardless of educational purpose.