Mid Ohio Filmmakers Association

Do you need a permit?

You need a City of Columbus film permit if you are filming in a city park or closing a street. Filming on private property needs the owner's written permission, not a city permit — unless your production adds something that affects public health or safety, such as a street closure, pyrotechnics, or amplified sound.

Getting permission wrong is how a shoot ends early. A location release protects you when a property owner changes their mind in post; a permit protects you when a police officer walks up to your tripod.

Columbus and Franklin County

Columbus Recreation and Parks issues film permits for city parks and streets.

• Filming Permit page — process and required documents
• Film Planning Guide 2026 (PDF) — current fees, rules, and requirements
• Apply online — the city's special event application portal
• Certificate of Insurance sample (PDF) — what your insurer needs to produce
• Event Safety Form (PDF)
• Street Closure Petition (PDF)

Deadlines, per the city's filming permit page: applications are due 5 days before filming, or 30 days before filming if a street closure is part of the production.

Insurance: the city requires a certificate of insurance naming the City of Columbus as an additional insured. Your insurer produces this; a personal renter's or auto policy will not cover it. See Business, Legal & Insurance.

Fees are listed in the current Film Planning Guide linked above. Read them there rather than trusting a number from a forum post — they are revised.

Film Columbus, the regional film commission, is the front door for anything larger than a two-person shoot.

• Permits & Procedures
• Production directory / registration
• About Film Columbus

Central Ohio parks and public land

Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks — metroparks.net. Metro Parks are a separate authority from Columbus city parks; a city permit does not cover them. Contact the park system directly before scouting with gear.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources — ohiodnr.gov covers state parks, forests, nature preserves, and wildlife areas. Commercial filming on ODNR land goes through media relations: ODNR Media Relations.

Drones

If you are flying a drone for anything other than pure recreation — including an unpaid short you intend to screen — the FAA treats it as a commercial operation and you need a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate.

• FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems
• Flying for commercial purposes
• Part 107 regulations overview

A permit from the city does not grant airspace authorization, and airspace over much of Franklin County is controlled. Handle these as two separate approvals.

Elsewhere in Ohio

The state maintains the master list at Ohio Regional Film Resources.

City of Dayton runs its own permit process at daytonohio.gov Film Permit — useful as a comparison if you are scouting outside Franklin County.

Practical location advice

• Scout twice, once at your actual shooting hour. A location that is quiet at 2pm is under a flight path at 6pm.
• Get the release before the shoot day, not on it. A property owner reading a two-page document while your crew waits is a property owner who says no. Templates live in this repository under productionLegal/contracts/location/.
• Businesses are cheaper than you think and slower than you think. A restaurant will often say yes for free during closed hours, but the decision-maker may be a regional manager two weeks away.
• Anything with a logo in frame is a clearance problem. Cheaper to notice while scouting than while grading.
• Public university and library property has its own rules. Ohio State and Columbus Metropolitan Library both require permission for organized shoots regardless of how public the space feels.

Related

• Business, Legal & Insurance — location releases, certificates of insurance
• Safety on Set — what the safety form is actually asking about
• Studios & Stages — when a controlled space beats a permit

Back to Filmmaker Resources.