FILM PERMITS

Virtually every municipality in South Florida has it's own film office and if you pull a permit for Miami Beach, it won't do you a bit of good in Miami and vice-a-versa. To further confuse things, if you're shooting on a public beach in Key Biscayne, you need a Miami Dade County permit but the rest of the island requires a permit from the Village of Key Biscayne. The good news is that they're figured out that this confuses everyone, so you can now apply for permits countywide at www.filmiami.org and let the film offices sort it out and get back to you.

The other good news is that all of the offices are fairly helpful and will do their best to refer you to the office you need. You'll need to carry $1,000,000 liability insurance to pull a permit from any of them. If you don't have insurance, you can also have a production company handle this for you, but expect to pay $250-$350 for EACH permit that they pull.

The City of Miami requires an additional $100 sidewalk permit if you are on a public sidewalk, but they'll usually waive this for a small 2-3 person crew. If you're shooting on private property, most municipalities don't require a permit and if you have a small crew. But if you're Cecil B, DeMilling it up and have a huge crew that includes art directors and clients, you'll definitely want to go through the trouble, so that you don't look like a jerk if you get shut down.

Finally, this should be obvious, but once you get a permit, READ it. There are many restrictions. Among them, you'll need to hire an off-duty cop for a minimum of 4-hours if you plan to stop traffic. And with very few exceptions, a photography permit doesn't specifically give you the right to drive your rental SUV over topless sunbathers sleeping on the beach.

Miami-Dade County 305 375-3288/FAX 305 375-3266, 111 NW First St #2510, Miami, FL 33128 Contact: Jasmine or Cindy

City of Miami Beach 305 673-7070/FAX 305 673-7063, 1700 Convention Center Dr, Miami Beach 33139 Contact: Graham Winnick or Silvia Royer

City of Miami 305 860-3823/FAX 305 859-2128, 2700 S Bayshore Drive, Miami 33133 Contacts: Daniel Davila, Katherine Sanoja, Robert Parente - Director

City of Coral Gables 305 460-5262, Contact: Bridget (Open from 7:30-Noon)

Village of Key Biscayne 305 365-5511 , 85 W McIntire St, Key Biscayne

City of Ft Lauderdale 954 468-1513/FAX 954 847-3454 Contact: Susan Crane

Florida Keys Film Office 305 294-2587, 410 Wall St., Key West FL 33304