FilmLA, partner film office for the City and County of Los Angeles, issued the following announcement regarding a new Low Impact Permit Pilot Program in partnership with the City of Los Angeles:
Beginning on April 27, 2026, the Low Impact Permit Pilot Program will allow filmmakers working on low impact film shoots to obtain City of Los Angeles film permits at a significantly reduced price.
The Low Impact Pilot Program is intended for use by filmmakers whose work on-location has demonstrably low impact on the surrounding community. Projects that meet City-approved Low Impact criteria require less government review and no direct on-set public safety supervision to carry out their work. By default, these projects often operate with small production budgets.
“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,” said FilmLA CEO Denise Gutches. “With this pilot program, the City will offer low impact filmmakers full permit protections at the lowest possible cost.”
The City of Los Angeles and FilmLA will use this pilot program to gather data about permit application volume, rates of customer satisfaction, the workability of program criteria for tiered film permit pricing, and funding support required beyond FilmLA’s initial contribution to make this a sustainable permit tier for the long term.