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

The City of Sanford's Motion Photography Permit Ordinance, City Code §§ 22-31 through 22-38, creates a one-stop permitting track for commercial filming that runs separately from the special events process in Chapter 90. Section 22-33 defines motion photography as the commercial taking of a motion picture, television, videotape, or film production that uses city equipment or city facilities, including any shoot on private property away from a studio or any production involving pyrotechnics or explosives; it excludes studio shoots that use no city resources and excludes news or documentary work.

The film commissioner, defined as the director of the motion picture and television division of the Industrial Development Commission of Mid-Florida, Inc., processes applications filed with the city clerk under § 22-34, and the city manager must review and approve the permit. Section 22-36 requires the application between 180 days and five working days before filming starts (temporary permits can be issued on 24-hour notice with city manager approval), and it must show location, duration, at least $1,000,000.00 in general liability coverage naming the city as an additional insured, and, for pyrotechnics or explosives, $5,000,000.00 in coverage plus the pyrotechnician's qualifications.

Section 22-37 is the overlap rule: once the production permit issues, no other city permit is required for any activity forming part of the production, and § 90-13 confirms the point from the special events side by exempting motion photography from Chapter 90 entirely once a permit exists. Section 22-38 lets the city bill the production for extraordinary services such as personnel or equipment support beyond normal operations, with an estimate given before the permit issues and a true-up after the shoot ends.