Pre-Production - MOME

Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment


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When a Permit is Required
Insurance Requirements
Filming in a Park
Pre-Production

When a Permit is Required

Insurance Requirements

Filming in a Park

Pre-Production


Welcome to Production in New York

We want you to film in NYC no matter how big or small your production is.

The film and television industry is critical to New York City’s culture and economy, accounting for about 6.5% of the City’s gross domestic product. In 2019, the film and television industry supported in total approximately 185,000 jobs, $18.1 billion in wages, and $81.6 billion in total economic output in New York City.

The Film Office provides permits, services, and incentives to assist your project, and we look forward to working with you. We have a reputation for finding a way to say yes.

How Shooting Works with the Film Office Permit

The permit we issue to your production provides access to public locations and street parking for essential production vehicles throughout 300 square miles of public settings in the city's five boroughs, including 27,000 acres of city parks.

All decisions about what is permitted are made by the Film Office, working in close consultation with the NYPD Movie & TV Unit, and other key city agencies. We have the experience and resources to facilitate your production requests.

If your scene requires traffic control, or includes prop firearms, weapons, or actors in police uniforms, you must request that the NYPD Movie and TV Unit be assigned to your location if the scene occurs on City property (or if a shot can be heard by the public). The police unit will assign its officers at no charge to you.

Filming in city parks, interiors within city buildings, bridges, subways or tunnels will require additional permissions from the controlling entities. Please contact our office to obtain specific contact information.

Insurance

In order for you or your organization to be eligible for a Motion Picture or Television Permit, Liability Insurance is required. Proof of insurance must be provided to the Film Office 48 business hours in advance of your online permit application submission. For details on insurance requirements and for a listing of insurance brokers and agents, click here.

Pre-Production

A pre-production meeting with the Film Office is required for all feature films, television movies, series or specials, elaborate exterior commercial shoots and music videos shooting exteriors with celebrities, or multiple locations. It is recommended that this meeting be scheduled with our office three weeks before shooting, but must be scheduled no later than five business days before the actual shoot begins.

Historic logo of the City of New York Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting.

The purpose of this meeting is to review shooting plans and production schedules. Participants generally include the Production Manager and Location Manager, as well as representatives from our office and other relevant agencies. Immediately following this main pre-production meeting at our office, you are ready to apply for a permit detailing the location activities.

Permits can be issued within 48 business hours of application. The deadline for permit applications is 2 business days before your scheduled shoot.

More complex productions require special consideration by the NYPD Movie & TV Unit, therefore applications must be submitted three to four days prior to the shoot date.

The Film Office is as flexible as possible when emergencies require a schedule change on the day before a shoot, but emergency changes should always be called into both the Film Office and the NYPD Movie & TV Unit as the first priority.

Parking Features of the Permit

Our permit provides special parking privileges at locations for vehicles essential to your shoot. These vehicles include equipment trucks, lifts, cranes, campers and honeywagons. Crew or personal cars are not covered by the permit.

You must supply each vehicle's make, model and plate number. A copy of the permit must be displayed on the dashboard of each vehicle.

To download a fact sheet about the parking received with a shooting or rigging permit, click here.

Oversized Vehicle Permit Procedure

An oversized vehicle permit is required for any single vehicle exceeding 35' length (bumper to bumper), 8' width or 13'6" height and for tractor/trailer vehicles exceeding 55' length, 8' width or 13'6". Download the oversized vehicle permit procedure.

Special Permissions

CHILDREN:
Any child under the age of 18 years must, by New York State law, have a permit to work in a film or television production. The New York State Department of Labor administers Child Performer Permits. Located at 345 Hudson Street, New York, NY, 10014, this office can be reached by phone at 212-775-3880. Further information is also available on the Department of Labor's website.

PYROTECHNICS:
Pyrotechnics, fire effects and explosions, including simulated and other smoke effects, require a prior inspection, permit and supervision by the NYC Fire Department.

SPECIAL REQUESTS:
Exceptional requests (i.e. removing a lamppost, changing a street sign, etc.) may require additional permits. The Film Office will provide the municipal contacts to expedite this.

OTHER PERMISSIONS:
Locations that require prior approval from other city agencies, private organizations or conservancies (Examples: MTA, Parks Department, Tishman Speyer, Hudson River Conservancy) must have that information (contact name, organization name and phone number) indicated on the permit application request.

Special Jurisdiction

There are a few frequently requested locations within the city which are under the jurisdiction of other governmental bodies and are NOT available on our permit, and require special permits. Here are two major exceptions:

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) arranges shoots involving the use of subway stations, trains or buses. You must make arrangements well in advance, from one to three weeks or more, with the MTA. The Transit Authority's Special Events Unit will provide you with an estimated cost for your request.

The Port Authority arranges all shoots at all airports, the PATH trains, and certain piers, bridges and tunnels.

General Location Assistance

For any location sites not directly available through our permit, the Film Office production unit has extensive contacts and will support your requests. This includes the MTA, the Port Authority, government buildings, parks and landmarks under state or federal jurisdiction, as well as many, key privately owned locations such as Rockefeller Center and most non-profit institutions which have relationships to city government such as the American Museum of Natural History and Lincoln Center. Please call our office to obtain specific contact information.

Code of Conduct

The Film Office welcomes you to New York City: the birthplace of filmmaking and home of the greatest film locations in the world. We want your film, TV, music video or commercial shoot to run as smoothly as possible. Your production company and our neighborhoods matter to us. That's why we created the Code of Conduct for productions to follow when on location. Read our Code of Conduct. Download the accessible/large-print version of the Code of Conduct.

Fire Safety

This FDNY brochure summarizes key fire safety requirements for film/TV production activity on locations in New York City. If you have questions about fire safety, please call 311 and ask for FDNY Business Support or visit www.nyc.gov/fdny.