FilmLA to Allow Some Projects to Skip Fees, Inspections With ‘Low Impact’ Permit Program

After months of research and focus group sessions, FilmLA has launched a new system for “low impact” film shoots, allowing some indie productions to get their location permits approved with significantly reduced fees and without having to wait for lengthy safety inspections.

The program has been launched in response to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ Executive Directive 11, which calls on all city departments and partners to streamline L.A.’s permitting process and to make the city a more attractive place for film and TV production amidst immense global competition and a drastic decrease in project greenlights from Hollywood. The number of shoot days in Los Angeles in 2025 fell 16% year-over-year to below 20,000, and shoot days recorded in all major film and television categories were at least 30% below the five-year-average.

“The City of Los Angeles, under the leadership of Mayor Karen Bass, is leaving no
stone unturned in its commitment to support our signature entertainment industry,” Board of Public Works President and City Film Liaison Steve Kang said.

“FilmLA, as the City’s partner in film permitting and production coordination, plays a central role in that effort,” he continued. “Improving affordability for filming in Los Angeles remains a top priority. I want to thank the FilmLA Board for its leadership and financial support of this first-of-its-kind incentive. This pilot program goes beyond reducing permit costs. It serves as a real-world test of practical reforms and a tiered pricing model designed to make Los Angeles
more accessible and competitive for creators at every level.”

The pilot program, which will run for six months, is intended for productions that are deemed, “low impact,” meaning that they will have minimum impact on Los Angeles residents and on FilmLA’s permitting processes.

Rather than have to wait for various city departments to sign off on their permit process and pay fees for city inspections that aren’t applicable to their shoot, “low impact” permit applications can bypass them entirely.

To qualify for the “low impact” permit, a production must have no more than three filming locations over three consecutive filming days, require no more than 30 combined cast and crew members on set on any given shooting day, and avoid a list of prohibited locations and activities that would require safety inspections.

Based on its data, FilmLA tells TheWrap they estimate that 30% of the permit applications they have received over the past three years would have qualified as “low impact” permits, and they hope that share increases as more productions take advantage of the system. It is expected that small-scale film/TV shoots, new media content and home-based studio projects will make up the majority of applicants.

The “low impact” process also comes with several limitations. Among the list of prohibited locations that cannot be used on shoots that apply for the process are city property and recreational facilities, hillside areas and mountain fire zones, any driving shoots on public roads, and buildings taller than four stories.

In addition, shoots that take place in neighborhoods with special conditions will not be able to apply for a “low impact” permit. Over several decades, Los Angeles has built up a long list of special conditions around shooting in dozens of neighborhoods, meaning that large swaths of the city will be unavailable for shoots that apply for this expedited process.

Special conditions have become a point of debate as Los Angeles has fought to reform its production policies. Some major stakeholders, like the grassroots organizing group Stay in LA, have called for a drastic reduction or an outright elimination of those conditions as an emergency effort to encourage production and bring jobs back to struggling entertainment workers.

A motion to remove those special conditions was part of a suite of reforms introduced by Los Angeles City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian to improve production, but was not among the motions that passed out of committee out of concerns from other councilmembers like Hollywood-Echo Park CM Hugo Soto-Martinez that such dramatic changes were being made without sufficient notification and input from local residents.

Still, FilmLA hopes that the “low impact” permit will address one of the biggest complaints from producers and filmmakers about shooting in Hollywood’s backyard, which is that it has become prohibitively expensive for independent productions to shoot there. The organization estimates that a permit approved through this process for a three-day shoot at three locations will see its out-the-door permit cost reduced by 58%.

“We believe that when community impact is small, regardless of the project type or production budget, the City and FilmLA review process should be simple. With this pilot program, the City will offer low impact filmmakers full permit protections at the lowest possible cost,” said FilmLA CEO Denise Gutches.

FilmLA says it is developing more programs to reform on-location shooting in Los Angeles in the months ahead and, in addition to continued coordination with Steve Kang and Mayor Bass’ administration, is reaching out to Bass’ opponents in the upcoming mayoral elections.

While remaining neutral in the crowded race that includes Bass, City Councilmember Nithya Raman and “The Hills” reality star Spencer Pratt, FilmLA says it is hoping to build relationships with as many candidates as possible in the hopes of maintaining effective coordination with City Hall regardless of the election’s outcome.

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