Seattle Filming FAQ

Click on the question below to reveal the answer. For all information related to filming in Seattle, please refer to the Seattle Film Manual.

While the City of Seattle Film Office has an extensive knowledge of the City and its neighborhoods, streets, and parks, we are not location professionals and we do not have a location database on file. If you are looking for location scout or location management assistance please consult the Washington Filmworks Production Directory to find locals for hire.

Film Permits are a critical component of filming on public property, and for staging vehicles or equipment on public property while filming on private property. Film Permits grant you first right for the public location where you are working, as long as you follow the conditions outlined in the final film permit. The permit process also ensures that filmmakers respect the neighborhood they are working in, which in turn prevents location "burnout" and allows filmmakers better access to locations in the future.

Seattle-based Chase Jarvis, Inc. offers this explanation on why Film Permits are essential from a production standpoint on this blog post.

A number of circumstances may require your production to obtain a Film Permit from the City of Seattle. If your production meets any of the following criteria, you should apply for a Film Permit:

  • Pedestrian activity will be interrupted during filming
  • Vehicle traffic will be interrupted on City streets during filming
  • Public parking will be reserved or impacted
  • A dolly, jib arm, light stand, generator, and/or other equipment will be used on a sidewalk, alley, or street
  • Wires or cables will be run across streets, sidewalks, or pathways
  • You are filming in a City park (see question below for more information)
  • Your footage/photos are for commercial use

All Seattle Film Permits cost a flat $25 per day regardless of your filming impact. If your entire production budget is less than $10,000, your total Film Permit fee will be $25 for up to 14 consecutive shoot days (additional shoot days after 14 will be invoiced at $25 per day). Film permit invoices will be issued once your application has been approved, and must be paid before the final permit is issued. Payments can be made online and by phone via Visa or Mastercard only, or by a check mailed to our office.

In addition to the film permit fee, the production company is required to pay for any additional actual costs that may apply to your activity:

Uniformed Police Officers: Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers are required to assist film productions under several circumstances, determined upon review of your application. SPD officers are hired through our office, with the assistance of the SPD Film Liaison, at a rate of roughly $100 per hour with a four hour minimum hire. The most common instances requiring officer assistance are:

Vehicle Traffic Control: Production personnel are not allowed to control vehicle traffic at any time. Uniformed SPD Officers must be hired by the production company to perform vehicle traffic control.

Weapons Use: Any use of real or replica weapons on public property or in view of the public require the production to hire Uniformed SPD Officers.

Crime Recreations: Scenes that include depictions of violence, criminal activity, crime scene recreation, or actors portraying uniformed officers require the production to hire Uniformed SPD Officers.

City Department Staffing: Depending on the filming location and the filming hours, the production company may be required to hire staff to remain on site with the production. The most common scenarios are work in City owned buildings or in City parks after hours.

Reserving Metered Street Parking Spaces: Production companies are required to pay $15 per metered parking space per day when reserving metered street parking spaces during meter pay hours.

Please allow a minimum of 3 business days processing for low impact work, and a minimum of 5 business days processing for higher impact work. Some sensitive locations or unusual requests may require longer turnaround times. Do not put the film permit application at the bottom of your to-do list. If it turns out your requested public location is unavailable, or if you submit your application too late, the entire production will suffer.

You do not need a film permit to film on private property unless you meet any of the following criteria:

  • You need to reserve street parking spaces for working production vehicles
  • You will be staging a generator or other equipment on public property, and/or will be running cables across sidewalks
  • You need to work outside of regular business hours (7am-10pm on weekdays, 9am-10pm on weekends)
  • You are performing stunts or using prop weapons within view of the public or adjacent properties
  • You are depicting a crime within view of the public or adjacent properties
  • Your work on private property will have an impact to the surrounding neighborhood

If you are still not sure if you need a film permit, please contact the Film Permit Specialist.

Advance neighbor notification is always required, whether you are filming a walk and talk on the sidewalk or you are closing a street for a car stunt. The impact level of your filming activity will dictate your level of communication:

Zero Impact Filming (Walk and Talk / Interviews): Always let businesses or residents know what you are doing in advance. If you are not interrupting any access or existing activity, letting them know what you are doing once you arrive is fine.

Medium Impact Filming (Reserving Street Parking / Pedestrian Control): Written notification to affected neighbors 72 hours in advance is required. Please use our Notification Form Template to create your notification and submit it with your film permit application where prompted. Contact the Film Permit Specialist for a determination of your notification area.

High Impact Filming (Street Closures / Off-hours Work / Stunts / Resident or Business Interruption): Neighbor sign-offs may be required from affected neighbors 72 hours in advance. Please contact the Film Permit Specialist in advance to discuss how this work must be done.

Yes. Commercial liability insurance is required to obtain a film permit in most cases - however there is exceptions for student and low impact projects (See Below).

For most productions - a certification of liability insurance as specified below must be submitted in the form of a Certificate of Insurance, including a copy of the additional insured policy provision, through the online application portal. Minimum Coverages and Limits of Liability

    • For all productions: Commercial General Liability (CGL) or Business Liability covering Premises/Operations and Automobile Liability insurance with minimum limits of liability of $1,000,000 each occurrence bodily injury and property damage Combined Single Limit (CSL).
    • If pyrotechnics or explosives used: CGL or Business Liability insurance minimum limits of liability increased to $2,000,000 CSL and coverage shall not exclude such perils.
    • If UAS/drones are used$2,000,000 UAS/Drone Aviation coverage is required to be provided by the licensed UAS operator in addition to the production's $1,000,000 CGL coverage. 
  • The City of Seattle shall be included as an additional insured for primary and non- contributory limits of liability under each liability insurance policy with respect to permits issued by the City. The minimum limits of liability stated above are minimum limits only and shall not operate to limit the liability of any insurer to less than the policy limits available to the named insured as stated in the declarations page.
  • The City must be an additional insured under the permittee's total limits of liability, whether such limits are insured or self-insured, primary, excess, contingent or otherwise. The additional insured policy provision shall be as per the ISO CG 20 12 or CG 20 26 additional insured policy endorsement, or the designated or blanket additional insured equivalent thereof. 
  • Certification of insurance shall be issued to the following with a minimum thirty (30) day notice of cancellation, except ten (10) day notice for cancellation on account of non-payment of premium:

The City of Seattle
Office of Economic Development
700 5th Ave, Suite 5752 
Seattle, WA 98124-4708

  • An actual copy of the CGL or Business Liability additional insured policy provision must be attached to the certificate of insurance.

So long as current certification of insurance is approved and on file with the City, it may be used for all Master Film Permits issued during the policy period.  

Please see Appendix D of the Film Manual for acceptable sample insurance documentation. 


Low Impact Projects: Insurance requirements can be waived if ALL of the following criteria are met:

  • Total production budget less than $10,000
  • Five or less total cast and crew during filming
  • Outdoor production only
  • Traffic control not required
  • Pedestrian traffic on sidewalks not cordoned off
  • Public parking will not be reserved or impacted
  • One camera (hand-held or on a tripod)
  • No electrical generation, wires or cables run or light set-up
  • No dolly, jib arm, or crane use
  • No stunts, special effects, or other impactful work

Student Filmmakers - Students who are currently enrolled in regional filmmaking programs, and who are working on a program affiliated project are not required to submit proof of insurance. In most cases, students are covered by their school's insurance policy and do not need to be self-insured. This includes but is not limited to students enrolled at: Seattle Film Institute, University of Washington, Seattle University, Art Institute of Seattle, Shoreline Community College, Cornish College of Arts, and more. Please inquire with the Film Permit Specialist if you have questions about this stipulation.



Depending on the impact and location of your activity, your production may be required to pay a $500 or $1,000 refundable security deposit. The deposit is normally required for larger productions that are reserving considerable street parking, or are hiring several SPD officers or City staff, or are performing stunt work, or are blowing things up, or have the physical potential to damage the public filming location. The deposit requirement is determined upon review of your application, and is normally waived for most low impact productions.

Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers are required to assist film productions under several circumstances, determined upon review of your application. SPD officers are hired through our office, with the assistance of the SPD Film Liaison, at a rate of roughly $100 per hour with a four hour minimum hire. The most common instances requiring officer assistance are:

Vehicle Traffic Control: Production personnel are not allowed to control vehicle traffic at any time. Uniformed SPD Officers must be hired by the production company to perform vehicle traffic control.

Weapons Use: Any use of real or replica weapons on public property or within view of the public require the production to hire Uniformed SPD Officers.

Crime Recreations: Scenes that include depictions of violence, criminal activity, crime scene recreation, or actors portraying uniformed officers require the production to hire Uniformed SPD Officers.

Filming any of above scenarios without a Seattle Film Permit and without the proper level of officer assistance is against the law and can result in prosecution (SMC 15.91.016, 15.91.018). Un-permitted film productions can result in dangerous situations for the crew, neighbors, and police officers.

Please see the Seattle Film Manual for full details.

Film Permits are required in City parks for filming or photography intended for more than personal use including commercial content, editorial content, student films, short films, and feature films. Film Permits are also required for personal projects that will have an impact to existing activity at the park.

Wedding photos, graduation photos, and family portraits are permitted directly by the Parks Department Event Scheduling Office, which can be found here. 

Permission to film in a traffic lane is granted with the Seattle Film Permit. Because production personnel and civilians are prohibited from controlling vehicle traffic in an active street, traffic control must be performed by uniformed Seattle police officers hired by the production company (see "How much does a film permit cost" above). A detailed schematic of your proposed lane or street closure and filming set-up is required along with your permit application. A minimum of 5 business days is required to process a request for a street closure.

No. Street parking spaces can only be reserved for working production vehicles.

Street parking can only be reserved for working production vehicles (i.e., grip & electric, props, wardrobe, camera) or other equipment trucks.

In your application you will be prompted to describe in detail the parking spaces you wish to reserve and show the exact spaces in your accompanying map. If possible, please also provide the space numbers for any paid parking spaces you wish to reserve.

There is a $15 per meter per day fee when reserving metered street parking spaces 7 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. There are no additional City fees for reserving non-metered street parking spaces, or for reserving metered street parking spaces after hours or on Sundays or holidays.

No-parking barricades are not provided by the City. The production company is responsible for renting, setting up, and "verifying" no-parking barricades. By City Ordinance, no-parking barricades must be in place 72 hours prior to your arrival, and must be "verified" 24-48 hours prior to your arrival.

"Roving" Film Permits can be granted to productions filming b-roll, zero impact sidewalk scenes, and documentary-style footage at various public exterior locations throughout Seattle. Productions that qualify for the roving permit must meet all of the following criteria:

  • Five or less total cast and crew on-site at any one time
  • One camera on-site
  • Outdoor production only
  • No traffic control required
  • No interruption to pedestrian activity
  • No electrical generation, wires, cables run, or lights set-up
  • Public parking will not be impacted
  • Not filming in City Park

Filming Roving / B-roll footage in City of Seattle Parks
Filming b-roll or scenic footage in City of Seattle Parks may be requested by listing the parks on the "Street / Road" lines of the "Low Impact Filming" form.

No blanket b-roll permits will be issued for all Parks — each park must be specified on your application. Because other events or activity may be booked in parks, productions must work around activity, or yield control of space to permitted events in necessary.

Film and Music

Markham McIntyre, Director
Address: 700 5th Ave, Suite 5752, Seattle, WA, 98104
Mailing Address: PO Box 94708, Seattle, WA, 98124-4708
Phone: (206) 684-8993
filmoffice@seattle.gov

The Office of Film and Music is devoted to promoting Seattle's film and music industries. The Seattle Film and Music Office is a streamlined resource for all of your film and music needs.