City Guide Filming in Beverly Hills, CA
Production Permit Fees
- Filming Permit $115 per day
- Student Film Permit - $70 per permit
- Small Scale Production Fees
- Interior Filming In Residential or Commercial Properties For Small Scale Production - $235
- Interior & Exterior Filming In Residential or Commercial Properties For Small Scale Production - $478
- Residential Areas
- Regular Non-Small Scale Filming In Residential Areas - $1,62
- Non-Profit Filming In Residential Areas - $42
- Prep and Strike - $161
- General Commercial Areas
- Regular Non-Small Scale Filming In Commercial Areas - $1,890
- Non-profit Filming In Commercial Areas - $427
- Prep and Strike - $161
- Commercial Areas On Rodeo Drive and the Business Triangle
- Regular Non-Small Scale Filming - $2023
- Non-profit Filming - $506
- Prep and Strike - $296
- City Parks (Not Including Beverly Canon Gardens)
- Filming In City Parks - $3,049
- Non-profit Filming In Parks - $1, 015
- Prep and Strike - $296
Minimum Insurance
- General liability for filming - $2,000,000
- Employee liability - $2,000,000
- Vehicle liability - $2,000,000
- Damage To Rented Premises - $500,000
Additional Permits
- Police Officer - $111 per hour for a minimum of four hours
- Fire Personnel - $156 per hour for a minimum of four hours
- Traffic Control Officer $74 per hour for a minimum of four hours
- Park Ranger $56 per hour for a minimum of four hours
- City Personnel $56 per hour
- Permit Rider - $182
- Permit Violation Fee - $315 per day
Discounts
About Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills may have been swallowed up by the urban reach of Los Angeles long ago, but a city that has somehow managed to maintain its borders and preserve its unique character. While Beverly Hills had humble beginnings, starting as ranch land before being exploited for other agricultural purposes, it's certainly come a long way since the decision to turn it into a town was made in the early 20th century.
Over the ensuing decades, Beverly Hills has become synonymous with wealth, huge mansions, and film stars. Its streets, such as Rodeo Drive, are renowned worldwide for their high-end designer boutiques and deluxe department stores. They are all features that have made Beverly Hills a popular filming location over the years and have enticed film studios and talent agencies alike to relocate there.
You don't need to have walked the streets of Beverly Hills to be familiar with them. If you're a fan of Beverly Hills Cop, the original Bodyguard movie, and the all-time classic Pretty Woman, you'll have seen quite a lot of it on screen. If you grew up on the now cult TV series Columbo, you won't need a map to find your way around.
When you're producing a script about the shenanigans of the rich or famous, there's no better backdrop for the shoot than Beverly Hills. For some strange reason, only they know why, many comedy screenwriters also find Beverly Hills inspiring and love to drop their financially deprived characters into the luxurious setting as employees of the affluent where they run riot. While that's all good for generating laughs, filming in Beverly Hills is a serious business, so make sure you know the city's filming regulations well before you step foot on this hallowed film turf.
If you're still scouting for filming locations in Beverly Hills and have failed to find what you're looking for within your budget limits, check out the locations on Giggster. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what you discover.
Do I Need a Filming Permit in Beverly Hills?
You need a filming permit to film in Beverly Hills, but before you rush off to submit your permit application to FilmLA, hold your horses. FilmLA does not issue filming permits for the city of Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills has its film and special events department that deals with filming permits for the city.
You may be required to submit additional paperwork and pay extra fees if you are hoping to film in places like the City Hall, the Greystone Mansion, Will Rogers Park, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Canyons Garden, or other park areas. This also applies to filming in residential and commercial areas but doesn't include Rodeo Drive or the Business Triangle as they have separate fees and permits from the rest.
Consider that filming in Beverly Hills may prove to be costly both time and budget-wise as the fees are not minimal. There are different permit fees for residents and non-residents, motion pictures, TV commercials, and cable TV programs. On average, non-residents of Beverly Hills are required to pay twice as much as a resident for filming in the city.
Non-Profit Organizations
Non-Profit Organizations require a filming permit to shoot in Beverly Hills, but are eligible for reduced fees across the board regardless of the location and purpose of the shoot.
Student Film Permits
There are reduced rates for students wishing to film in Beverly Hills. Permit fees vary depending on the location of the filming, but are still pretty hefty compared to other cities in and around Los Angeles.
Permit Management in Beverly Hills
Community Development Film and Special Event
The city's Community Development Film and Special Event office manages permits in Beverly Hills.
While the standard daily filming permit fee is not excessive, there are multiple additional fees for the use of public properties such as streets, parks, and commercial zones, which can add up to a large sum you need to pay before starting.
Requirements for issuing a filming permit are strict, and the filming regulations while on your shoot must be adhered to rigidly, or you are liable to incur a permit violation fee. The violation fee charged daily is five times more than the permit costs.
If your shoot comes under the classifications for small-scale film production, you may be eligible for lower fees in some cases.
To classify a small-scale film, you will need to comply with the following:-
To have a combined cast and crew of no more than 15 people
Use four vehicles or less
Not use generators
Have no special effects
Not require traffic control
Set up and leave on the filming day
Filming is restricted to five consecutive days per location, with a maximum of ten days permitted at the location per calendar year. Allowance fees are doubled if a permit extension is required above the set time.
What Insurance Do I Need in Beverly Hills?
You must have the correct insurance coverage to obtain a filming permit in Beverly Hills. The City of Beverly Hills requires the insurance certificate to have a standard format and be indemnified on the policy. You can download an example to show your insurance broker from the Film and Special Events webpage in the application section.
If you can’t meet any of these requirements, you’ll need to explain in writing why you can’t meet the requirement to the Office. They will determine if the shoot can go ahead without the necessary insurance.
Note that these requirements are minimum requirements. Larger and more complex shoots may require additional insurance which will be determined by the Office.
What Kind of Filming Locations Are Available in Beverly Hills?
Don't think that the only type of shooting location you'll find in Beverly Hills will be a gated mansion with manicured grounds where the California sun glints off the blue waters of a swimming pool. Yes, there are more than a few places like that available for filming, but that's not all there is.
If you're organizing a significant production similar to Downton Abbey, you might find the magnificent Greystone Mansion fits the bill. It's a one-off filming location that would set any TV series apart from its competitors. It has a handy catering kitchen and several more facilities if you can pay. If not, there are always alternatives.
There are incredible glass-fronted apartments furnished in contemporary or '70s retro styles with sensational views that are absolute class, apartments with sky-high infinity pools, and houses with unique architectural designs tucked away on secluded mountainsides that will make you sigh.
In Beverly Hills, you'll find restaurants themed to fit the bill, whether you're hoping to shoot in a steak house or a Japanese izakaya, vintage clothes boutiques, fully stocked liquor stores, fitness centers, and office suites, plus a strip club with all the optimal lighting — and those are just a few of the internal locations.
Need a rooftop helipad? Yes, there are even a couple of those. You'll see listings for backyards, but don't be misled. They won't be your ordinary run-of-the-mill backyard with trash cans in the corner. In Beverly Hills, backyards can only be classed as being of a more deluxe level.
In a nutshell, Beverly Hills doesn't have what could be called basic filming locations. Everything in this city is on a different level, so if you're searching for the ordinary, you're searching in the wrong place. If you're on a shoestring budget, it's good to dream, but you're also in the wrong place.
Special Requirements in Beverly Hills
Special Requirements For Filming In Beverly Canon Gardens
While Beverly Canon Gardens is classed as a public park, unlike other public parks in Beverly Hills, it's not where filming is permitted all year round. To be able to film anything in Beverly Park Gardens, you will need to plan well in advance and have the correct paperwork.
Filming in Beverly Canon Gardens is restricted to twenty specific dates every year. The dates are decided and published by the city authorities. No filming is permitted at any other time. The dates authorized are always ten Saturdays and ten Sundays distributed throughout the twelve months.
You can only apply for one date at a time. Permits are only given to each applicant for one specific date, and you can only have authorization for three dates in any six months.
Any filming activity in Beverly Canon Gardens, including the packing up and clearing away equipment, must be concluded by ten at night.
You must pay a $1000 security deposit, have a compulsory walk-through of the shooting site with a Film Office and Events officer one month before filming, and have a park ranger on-site during filming.
If you need rehearsal time before the actual filming begins, this is restricted to a maximum of two hours, and a park ranger has to be in attendance throughout. Relevant fees for the attendance of a park ranger and the Film Office and Events officer will be charged by the hour to the production company and required to be paid in advance.
Special Requirements For Extending Filming Hours In Beverly Hills
The folks of Beverly Hills like their sleep, so if you're hoping to continue shooting outside of the city, filming curfew hours for residential or park areas listed below, you're going to have to go to quite a bit of trouble to be able to do it.
Regular Permitted Filming Hours
Monday to Saturday – 8 am to 9 pm
Sundays – 9 am to 8 pm
To film outside those hours, canvas all residences and businesses within a three-hundred-foot radius.
The Beverly City authorities are specific about the results of the canvasing you need to get to be able to obtain the extension. They are as follows:-
For a one-hour extension to filming time, you need a 51% agreement.
If you need to be on location from six in the morning or until midnight, you need 90% agreement.
When you want to be on location before six in the morning or after midnight, you should have 100% agreement from residents and businesses.
It's a good incentive for getting the takes right the first time.
What Does it Cost to Film in Beverly Hills?
Listed are some of the standard costs you may incur for filming in Beverly Hills, but not all.
Additional Fees
A more detailed breakdown of all the charges the authorities may bless you with can be found in a twelve-page PDF issued by the City of Beverly Hills Finance Department. The PDF is downloadable from the permit application section of the Film and Events Office webpage.
Geographical Jurisdiction of Beverly Hills?
Beverly Hills is an urban nucleus encapsulated by Los Angeles and West Hollywood that covers a total area of just under six square miles. The LA neighborhood of Bel-Air lines the city's northwest border along with part of the Santa Monica mountain range. The LA neighborhood of Beverly Wood is to the south while Carthay and Fairfax plus West Hollywood lie along its eastern perimeter. The City Of Beverly Hills only issues filming permits for locations that fall within the city's recognized boundaries. To film in Los Angeles you need to apply for a filming permit from the FilmLA.org unless the location you have selected is in Burbank in which case you will need to apply to the Burbank Police Department. FilmLA also issues filming permits for Culver City, Santa Monica, and Palmdale among others.
Outreach in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is where you don't want to be treading on anyone's toes while on your film shoot. Do that, and you could face some hefty filming permit violation fees.
This Los Angeles County city has a high-profile and affluent population, which includes many well-known public figures from the film and television world. Yes, they may be accustomed to being in front of a camera, but they don't want to see a film crew, production vehicles, cast, and cameras outside their front gate from morning to night.
If your filming can't be done inside the permitted hours for filming in Beverly Hills, you can't just run over time and hope for the best. As mentioned in the special requirements section, you need to contact every household and business within a three-hundred-foot radius to get their agreement before you can film outside of regular filming hours.
Note: The letter you distribute can't be left in a mailbox at the end of someone's drive but has to be delivered directly to the door — which could be challenging if a resident has high security on their property. Nonetheless, it has to be done. Look on the bright side. It may become extremely time-consuming, but you could end up with an autograph collection.
Community Management in Beverly Hills
You would hope that, because they are in a similar industry, many of the people who may be affected by your filming would be sympathetic to your cause, but that might not always be so. Celebrity shoppers on Rodeo Drive don't always want their retail therapy sessions interrupted by film crews blocking the sidewalk.
Designer brand boutique owners won't be too happy if your filming operation blocks access to their business. With the price tags of their merchandise, even a short spell of interrupted sales can mount up to thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars.
It's not a requirement of the City of Beverly Hills Film and Special Events Office you have a Community Liaison Officer on-site while you're shooting. But if you're wise, you'll have the best one you can get and one that's used to dealing with starlet tantrums, divas, and social media kings and queens professionally. Someone trained in de-escalating techniques would be the perfect candidate for the job and save you money in the long run.
Conclusion
If the sheer financial implications involved with filming in Beverly Hills have not dissuaded you from choosing it as a filming location, good luck! Even if you start with a healthy budget, it will not be long before it’s dwindled considerably. There are some filming locations in Beverly Hills, but none come cheap. The bonus of filming in Beverly Hills? You never know who might happen to walk past while the camera is rolling, and you get a famous face as an extra for no cost.