For Updated COVID-19 Information click here.
The Arizona Office of Film & Digital Media is here to assist you with film permits for usage of city property, state-owned lands, tribal, and federal lands in Arizona. Your project may require various permits, along with fees and proof of insurance, depending upon each specific location. We've provided some helpful links below to some primary permitting agencies to get you started. Not every permit requires a fee.
Currently, there are no application fees for permits requesting to film on State park lands, highways, or roads. Find your location first and the jurisdiction, then see if a permit is needed to film there. If you need further assistance, Register Your Project and tell us about the locations you'd like to use and we'll be glad to help direct you to the proper permitting authority.
Permit Time Frames: (Subject to Change) Permits NOT submitted in advance of a jurisdiction's time frame MAY NOT BE GRANTED. Permit contacts and details are in the appropriate sections located on this page.
City of Phoenix: 24 Hours
City of Tucson: 24 Hours
AZ Dept. of Transportation: 10 Business Days
AZ State Parks & Trails: 10 Business Days (Small Scale); 30 Business Days (Large Scale)
AZ Federal Lands: (Ranges below, but check with specific jurisdictions because there are changes to film permitting procedures by the National Park Service and other federal agencies)
Bureau of Land Management: 30 - 60 Business Days
National Park Service (NPS), Monuments, Recreation Areas: 10 - 45 Business Days
National Forest Service (NFS): 60 Business Days
AZ Tribal Lands: 30-60 Business Days (Update on 3/17/22 - Some Tribal Authorities have suspended permitting, such as locations within Navajo Nation's "Tribal Parks". Please contact them for details. The Havasupai Tribe has suspended all tourism and access to Havasupai Falls thru June 1, 2022.)
CITY AND COUNTY
For filming on or within City and County areas, contact the nearest local film office. For additional assistance, you can also reach out to our government and industry liaisons known as our Film Resource Coordinators - Film Office/Film Resource Coordinators.
STATE
For more information on filming on state roads, parks and highways see the permit links below. Currently, there are no application fees for permits to film in state parks and along state roads and highways. If you need further assistance, please contact us.
Arizona Department of Transportation
Permit Application
Permit Resources: Find a State Road, Interactive State map with mileposts, Find Arizona Airports, Rest Areas, Traffic Advisories, VIEW roadways in various areas (Use filters to search for specific areas).
Arizona Department of Public Safety
Hire Off-duty Highway Patrol Officers for security and traffic control:
Contact: Brandy Reissner
Phone: (602) 223-2855
Mobile: (602) 769-4788
Arizona Parks & Trails
Details on what's open/closed.
Permit Application
Permit Resource: Find a State Park, Off-Road State Park Locations
Arizona State Trust Lands
Permit Application, Public Information Request
(Account creation needed for access)
FEDERAL
Federal permits MAY be required for commercial filming and photography on lands managed by the U.S. government administered by various federal agencies. These lands include national infrastructure, parklands, wildernesses, and forest lands in Arizona. This also includes commercial film/photography activities on waterways within these areas.
Federal permits are governed by the administrator of the land/water, monument, or site. Agencies include the National Park Service (NPS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or, the National Forest Service (NFS), the Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. In some instances, lands are jointly managed with tribal nations and may require joint permitting.
Find an Arizona National Parks, National Monuments, and National Recreation Areas
National Parks, National Monuments, National Recreational Areas
Be advised that permitting rules, costs, and processing vary with each federal agency/jurisdiction so it's imperative that you research the rules and submit permits well in advance of your project dates, since it could take up to 45 business days to process permits in some jurisdictions.
National Park Service (NPS) Permit Link - Commercial Film & Photography
(No drones allowed)
New federal permitting guidance has been issued in 2021 regarding commercial film permits. Photography permit guidance remains unchanged. Please review all commercial permitting rules carefully, not only impacting NPS, but other federal agencies as well. While film permits may no longer be required in some federal jurisdictions, we highly recommend that you contact each permitting location, and continue to practice professional production standards, including but not limited to, maintaining proper liability insurance, and following all laws regarding land use and commercial activities.
If known, we've included the approximate general permit processing times for photography along with permitting links. Again, processing can take anywhere from 10 to 45 business days prior to your shoot dates to process. Liability insurance may be required up to $1M listing the US Government as additionally insured. Restrictions on drone use also exist.
There are 24 National Park Service (NPS) locations in Arizona, including (3) national parks:
Grand Canyon (10 Business Days)
Petrified Forest
Saguaro
Canyon de Chelly National Monument - Permits (Requires NPS and Navajo Nation Permits)
(30 Business Days)
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument - Permits
Chiricahua National Monument - Permits
Coronado National Memorial -Permits
Fort Bowie National Historic Site - Permits
Glenn Canyon National Rec Area (Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend) - Permits (45 Business Days)
Lake Mead Recreational Area (AZ/NV) (Lake Mead, Lake Mohave (Katherine Landing)) - Permits (10 Business Days)
National Forest Areas
There are six national forests located in Arizona, administered by the USDA's National Forest Service (NFS). Maps
Permits - National Forest Service (Drone regulations)
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest
Coconino National Forest
Coronado National Forest
Kaibab National Forest
Prescott National Forest
Tonto National Forest
Bureau of Land Management
Permits may be required to film on BLM-managed lands.
BLM Arizona Permitting Contact:
Jennifer Whyte
602-417-9225
jwhyte@blm.com
Permits - Bureau of Land Management
Fire restrictions: Using exploding targets, fireworks, tracer ammunition, paper/sky lanterns, and other incendiary devices is prohibited year-round on all BLM-managed public land in Arizona.
There are several national monuments administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) - (Agua Fria, Parashant-Grand Canyon, Las Cienegas, Ironwood Forest, Sonoran Desert, Vermillion Cliffs), San Pedro Riparian NCA.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service conducts conservation efforts and manages National Fish Hatcheries, and National Wildlife Refuges. There are eight National Wildlife Refuges in Arizona.
Wildlife Refuges
Special Use Permits are needed for commercial film and digital media activities.
Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge
Imperial National Wildlife Refuge (AZ/CA)
Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge
Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge
Cibola National Wildlife Refuge (AZ/CA)
San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge
Havasu National Wildlife Refuge (AZ/CA)
National Fish Hatcheries:
Alchesay-Williams Creek National Fish Hatchery Complex
(2 locations on White Mountain Apache Tribal lands in the White Mountains, AZ)
US Customs & Border Protection (Arizona)
Filming along the US southern border of Arizona on federally managed lands near border security installations requires permission from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), US Customs & Border Protection (CBP).
Film permit requests for TV/Film/Documentary productions are handled by the CBP Office of Public Affairs' Television & Motion Picture Division. *Please note that while film permissions have been approved in the past for scenes along border wall/fenced areas, permissions for filming at an "active" Port of Entry where law enforcement, vehicles, and pedestrians are crossing, is extremely unlikely.
Film Permit Process
1) Please use this link to register your AZ film project with our office, prior to connecting with your DHS/CBP film contact below.
2) Your Film Permit Contact is Anne Sittman, Deputy Directory of CBP Office of Public Affairs Television and Motion Picture Division, email Anne.M.Sittmann@cbp.dhs.gov, phone +1 (202)-423-5402.
3) When emailing Anne, please copy Arizona CBP Public Affairs contacts Robert Daniels, Robert.G.Daniels@cbp.dhs.gov, and John Mennell, john.b.mennell@cbp.dhs.gov.
Additional film resources are available for working with Dept. of Homeland Security: Office of Multimedia, Entertainment Industry Contacts.
News Media Requests
John Mennell
Supervisory, Public Affairs Specialist
CBP Public Affairs - Media Division
john.b.mennell@cbp.dhs.gov
202-644-2560
Rob Daniels
Public Affairs Specialist
CBP-Arizona
520-519-7038 office
Robert.G.Daniels@cbp.dhs.gov
TRIBAL LANDS
Filming and commercial photography on tribal lands require the approval of respective tribal governments.
Average permitting length: AZ Tribal Lands: 30-60 Business Days from time of submission. Some jurisdictions may process permits shorter or longer than the expected times above depending on staffing, permit scope, and impacts on the approval process,
NOTE: As of November 1, 2021, some Tribal authorities have suspended permitting, such as within Navajo Nation tribal parks which remain closed until further notice. Additionally, the Havasupai Tribe has closed Havasupai Falls thru 2/2022.
For permit information for tribal nations other than Navajo Nation, please contact us.
NAVAJO NATION:
COVID-19 Impacts
Film & Commercial Photography Permits:
(Outside Tribal Park areas) Submit your permit application to Navajo Nation TV & Film Office.
(Within Tribal Park areas) As of, Nov. 1, 2021 Tribal Parks are currently NOT accepting film permit requests due to COVID-19 restrictions. Once they resume, you would submit your permit application to Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation. Permits are approved by location within each of the (5) tribal park jurisdictions which manage: Monument Valley Tribal Park (Monument Valley); Little Colorado River Tribal Park (Little Colorado River Gorge) Lake Powell Tribal Park (Upper/Lower Antelope Canyon, Upper/Lower East Waterholes Canyon, Rainbow Bridge Trail), Four Corners, Canyon de Chelly Campground (Canyon de Chelly also requires US National Park Service permit), Bowl Canyon, and the Navajo Veterans Memorial Park. (See tribal park permit above.)
***Productions must follow all film protocols and guidelines for filming on Navajo Nation: Including, but not limited to, all Navajo Nation Laws while visiting tribal parks. There is NO CREMATION, NO LITTERING, NO CLIMBING, and NO DRONES allowed inside the Navajo Tribal Parks.
MAP of locations within Monument Valley Tribal Park that require a permit
Locations within Lake Powell Tribal Park that require a permit
TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION:
All film and digital media requests for Tohono O'odham are submitted via email to Matt Smith, Principal at SIMG, Inc in Tucson - matts@simginc.com (520-907-1234). Please also copy, Matt Probst, Senior Associate - mattp@simginc.com. Main contact phone: 520-321-1111.
Native American Tribes in Arizona (Tribal information/Arizona Office of Tourism)
Additional Travel Tips & Guidelines (Arizona Office of Tourism)