In short: Most filming in UK public places needs somebody's say-so, even where no formal licence applies. Ask whoever controls the spot: the council film office for streets and parks, the owner for private ground. Small handheld crews are simplest. Have your dates, crew numbers, kit and insurance ready before you ring.
There is no single permit for filming in public in the UK. Who controls the spot decides what you need: a council for its streets, parks and car parks, a landowner for private ground that only looks public, and sometimes both. The council's film office is the usual first call, and the earlier you make it, the fewer surprises you get on the day.
Start with who controls the spot
A pavement, a park, a harbour wall and a shopping centre forecourt can sit side by side and belong to four different bodies. Film London says it is likely you will need to notify or get permission from somebody almost anywhere, and that some places that look public are privately owned or managed. Its list of places that always need permission includes the Royal Parks, Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square, the South Bank, canal and river pathways, and train and Tube stations.
Work out the owner for each location on your list:
- Council-managed land: streets, estates, town halls, schools and leisure centres go through the council film office. In London that is the Borough Film Service, and there are 33 boroughs.
- Private land and interiors: ask the owner or their representative. A housing estate may involve a housing association as well as the council, so you may have to contact all of them.
- Bodies with their own rules: the National Trust says filming cannot happen at its places without a contract signed by both parties, and that professional agreements go through its Filming and Locations Office.
- The road itself: West Sussex County Council says permits can cover road closures, equipment on the highway such as cranes, skips or scaffolding, and suspended parking bays.
Do you need a permit at all?
Often the honest answer is "not a formal one, but still tell someone". Film London's borough page says that if your filming is likely to obstruct, you must apply through the borough film service. If it won't, no licence is legally required, though the page strongly recommends contacting the service anyway. Film Edinburgh puts it plainly: you do not need a permit to film on the street in Edinburgh, the Lothians or the Scottish Borders provided the filming does not cause an obstruction, nuisance or offence.
Film London describes street filming as simple for crews of five or fewer with handheld kit. A tripod can change that. In Westminster, every crew using a tripod needs a Notice of No Objection. Handheld productions do not need one. Across the boroughs, small crews need at least three days' notice.
A Notice of No Objection is an informal letter saying the council has no objection, based on what you told it. Not every borough issues them. Some are free and others charge £25 to £100. The letter does not guarantee you can carry on filming, because the police can still ask you to move if you cause an obstruction nobody planned for.
So decide by what you will do to the place, not by what you carry. Ask yourself:
- Will a stand, tripod or cable run block a pavement or a path?
- Will you park a unit or ask for a parking bay?
- Will you film people who could be identified? The page on filming people and consent covers that side.
- Is the spot a park, beach, cemetery or other site with its own manager?
If any answer is yes, ask.
What a film office does
A film office is the council or regional team that handles filming requests. Film London says each Borough Film Service coordinates with departments such as parking and refuse collection, can identify where permission is needed, flags filming hotspots and local disruption, and advises whether to contact the police.
Outside London the pattern is similar. West Sussex County Council works closely with the Sussex Film Office, which investigates permit applications and can advise on locations and on finding cast, crew and suppliers in the county. Filming in England describes itself as England's national production support agency and has a regional map that leads to the filming support in each English region, with a link to Film London for London.
A phone call or email to the film office before any formal application works well: the person you speak to can tell you which of your locations need a form and which need only a courtesy email.
Lead times and costs
Published notice periods are a floor, not a target. These examples show how much they differ.
| Place | Situation | Published notice |
|---|---|---|
| London boroughs | Small crews | Minimum of three days |
| London boroughs | Large crews or complex shoots | Minimum of 10 days |
| Edinburgh | Parking dispensation on a single yellow line | Minimum of 24 hours |
| Edinburgh | Pay bay suspension | Three working days |
| Edinburgh | Council parks and greenspaces | At least 48 hours, sometimes more |
| Edinburgh | Closing a public area for five days or fewer | At least two weeks |
| Edinburgh | Closing a public area for more than five days | At least six weeks, and usually a fee |
Film London says charges vary across the 33 boroughs. They can include admin fees, including late and cancellation fees, highway material licences, road closures and traffic management, location fees for council-owned sites, and parking charges for unit bases and suspended bays. West Sussex County Council's page publishes neither notice periods nor fees, so ring or email the office before you plan the day around a figure.
Insurance
Film London says public liability insurance is required for all filming and that you need proof of it to get permission. Edinburgh strongly advises it and may ask for evidence. The level of cover is set by each body, so ask each one what it wants before you buy a policy. Production insurance explained covers what the main policies do, and the risk assessment template gives you the paper most offices ask for next.
What to have ready before you ring
Offices differ, but nearly all of them start from the same questions. Have these answers written down:
- The exact locations, marked on a map, with the part of each site you need.
- Dates and times, including setup and de-rig.
- Crew and cast numbers.
- The kit: camera, tripod, lights, cables and any vehicles.
- Where the unit will park and whether you need bays suspended.
- A short description of what happens on camera, including action, props and anyone under 18. The page on working with children explains the extra steps for that.
- Your insurance certificate and a risk assessment.
- A named contact for the day, and a call sheet once you have one.
UK film offices by nation and region
ScreenSkills lists the regional film offices and national screen agencies below. Many cover one city or county, so a shoot that crosses a boundary can need two of them. This is a list of names, so search each one for its current contact details.
| Nation or region | Film offices and agencies |
|---|---|
| London | Film London |
| South East | Berkshire Film Office, Buckinghamshire Film Office, Essex Film Office, Kent Film Office, Sussex Film Office, Film New Forest, Film Oxford, Filmwight (Isle of Wight) |
| South West | Bath Film Office, Film Bristol, Film Torbay, North Somerset Film Office, Screen Cornwall, Screen Devon |
| East of England | Film Suffolk, Hertfordshire Film Office, Norfolk Screen |
| East Midlands | East Midlands Film Office (Film Leicester) |
| West Midlands | Film Birmingham, Film Warwickshire, Worcestershire Film Office |
| North West | Liverpool Film Office, Screen Manchester |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | Bradford Film Office, Film Wakefield, Screen Yorkshire |
| North East | North East Screen |
| Scotland | Film Edinburgh, Glasgow Film Office, Tayscreen, Screen Scotland |
| Wales | Cardiff Film Office, Wales Screen, Creative Wales |
| Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland Screen |
Rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Do not carry English assumptions across the border. In Edinburgh, permission is required to film in parks, beaches or cemeteries, and the owner's permission is needed on private property. If you are using heavy equipment, Film Edinburgh says you will need to apply for the appropriate Order or Permit, which it arranges after a joint agency meeting. City of Edinburgh Council asks crews of fewer than ten who want to film on the street without closing anything to tell Film Edinburgh, so it can alert local officers and Police Scotland.
For Wales and Northern Ireland, start with the national bodies in the table, Creative Wales and Northern Ireland Screen, and ask which local office covers your spot.
Places that look public but are not
Coast, harbour and countryside shoots collect permissions fast. Our guide to filming around Chichester shows how many separate yeses one stretch of coast can need, from a harbour authority to the National Trust to the county council.
Drones are a separate permission on top of all of this. Councils treat them on their own terms: Film Bristol, for example, asks for at least seven days' notice for take-off or landing on council land and charges from £245 per day for 2026 to 2027. The rules for the aircraft and the pilot are in our guide to drone filming and the CAA.
Common mistakes
- Treating "public" as "free". A pavement is the council's, a canal path may not be, and a plaza may belong to a management company.
- Asking one body and stopping. The road, the verge and the field behind it can have three different owners.
- Leaving it to the day. Most offices cannot turn a request around in 24 hours, and some need weeks.
- Forgetting the parking. A unit with no bay becomes a traffic problem, and that is what gets a shoot stopped.
- Leaving the insurance until last. The certificate is usually the first thing a film office asks to see.
- Quoting last year's notice period. Fees and lead times change, so check the office's own page the week you apply.
When a studio takes the permit question away
If a scene does not need a real street, a studio removes the permit, the passers-by and the weather in one go. The page on when a studio beats a location sets out when that makes sense, and our studio hire page lists the rooms.
Sources
- Film London, Permission to film in London, read 5 November 2026
- Film London, Working with boroughs, read 5 November 2026
- West Sussex County Council, Filming in West Sussex, read 5 November 2026
- Film Edinburgh, Permits, read 5 November 2026
- City of Edinburgh Council, Filming and photography permissions and access, read 5 November 2026
- ScreenSkills, Regional film offices, BFI Skills Clusters and national screen agencies, read 5 November 2026
- Filming in England, home page, read 5 November 2026
- National Trust, Photography and filming at the places we care for, read 5 November 2026
- Film Bristol, Drone filming, read 5 November 2026
Related guides
Questions we get asked
Do I need a permit to film in a public place in the UK?
There is no single national permit. Film London says that if your filming is likely to obstruct, you must apply through the borough film service, and that if it won't, no licence is legally required, though it strongly recommends contacting them anyway. Parks, beaches and council-owned sites usually need permission.
How much notice does a council film office need?
It varies by place. London boroughs publish a minimum of three days for small crews and ten days for large or complex shoots. Edinburgh asks for at least two weeks to close a public area for five days or fewer. Ask early and ask your own office.
Do I need public liability insurance to film in public?
Film London says public liability insurance is required for all filming and that you need proof of it to get permission. Edinburgh strongly advises it and may ask for evidence. The level of cover differs by body, so ask each one what it wants.
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