Charleston, SC Special Events & Permits: Commercial Filming on Public Right-of-Way (2026)

City Code § 2-187 defines 'special event' broadly to include but not be limited to a parade, foot race, bike or wheeled race, celebration, amusement event, cultural recognition, sporting event, First Amendment demonstration referred by the police department, competition, commercial movie or television production, photography shoot, commercial for-profit event, charitable cause, or other similar activity, held on public property that significantly impacts public property or normal traffic and requires city services. Because a commercial film or photography shoot falls inside this umbrella definition, it is not carved out into its own chapter; instead it is processed by the same special events committee created by § 2-188, under the same application, review and conditions framework in § 2-189, and is subject to the same safety restrictions in § 2-193 and penalty provisions in § 2-194 that apply to a parade or festival.

The ordinance does draw one narrow line between filming and other special events: a commercial film and photography event gets a compressed filing window of three days (72 hours) rather than the 60-to-120-day lead time required for small, medium and major events, in recognition that shoots are often scheduled on short notice. The code separately exempts 'a news broadcast' from the special event definition altogether, so routine news-gathering on public property does not require a permit, while a scripted commercial or television production does.