The process of creating content for film, television or the web can be a long one, even before you move onto location selection and securing permits. When obtaining a permit is your next step, FilmL.A.’s Permit Administration Department stands ready to lend a hand.
FilmL.A.’s Permit Administration group is often the first point of contact for filmmakers and community members with whom we work. The group got its start when FilmL.A. was founded in 1995, with the aim of streamlining the City and County’s film permit application process.
Today, in addition to permit application intake, this seven member team greets visitors to the office, fields information calls from filmmakers and the community, reviews permit insurance requirements, processes beach reservation requests, processes payments, and distributes finalized permits in hard copy or via email.
Once a permit application has been received via FilmL.A.’s Online Permit System (OPS), a FilmL.A. Assignment Specialist contacts the applicant to provide a detailed review of the application. The assignment desk is also where applicants learn about insurance requirements applicable to their specific shoots. Through conversations with Assignment Specialists, customers are given an overview of the different steps of the process and provided estimates of total permit cost. Finally, the Assignment Specialist assigns the permit application to a Production Coordinator for processing.
When customers call with insurance-related questions, a FilmL.A.’s Insurance Specialist provides them with detailed information about insurance requirements. Filmmakers who require insurance for helicopter activity, pyrotechnics or other exceptional activity can depend upon FilmL.A. for guidance. The work is both high-volume and detail intensive; an Insurance Specialist processes an average of 700 certification forms each month.
FilmL.A.’s Beach Reservation Specialist is available to help applicants reserve prime beach locations. This staff member is knowledgeable about the requirements associated with filming at area beaches and applies that expertise to help filmmakers locate beaches that meet both their filming and vehicle parking needs.
So the next time you call, visit, or receive a permit from FilmL.A., say hello! Chances are good that a Permit Administration staffer is there to assist on the other side.