Starting April 27, Los Angeles rolled out the Low Impact Permit Pilot Program. The idea is simple: if you’re doing a small, low-impact shoot — no lane closures, no pyrotechnics, no massive base camps — you can now get a permit at a significantly reduced price.
On top of that, Mayor Bass announced a 20% discount on LADOT-owned parking lots citywide for film productions. Between the two programs, the city is clearly trying to make it easier (and cheaper) to shoot in LA.
This matters because permitting has been one of the biggest headaches for smaller productions in this city. Not the cost itself — although that adds up — but the process. The paperwork, the lead times, the coordination between multiple city departments. For a two-person crew doing a branded interview at a cafe, the permitting process has historically been the same level of complexity as a feature film blocking off a city street.
We’ve dealt with this at Tigheland more times than I can count. A client wants a quick shoot at a location in Hollywood or Downtown. The creative is simple, the crew is small, but the permitting timeline threatens to push the whole project back a week. Anything that streamlines that process is a win.
The context here is important though. LA production is in a rough spot. FilmLA reported that TV shoot days in 2025 were more than 50% below the five-year average. Features dropped over 30%. Productions have been leaving for Georgia, New Mexico, the UK — anywhere the math works better. The new permit program is a step, but it’s one piece of a much bigger puzzle.
What would move the needle more? Speed. When a brand calls and says they want to shoot next week, we need to be able to say yes without worrying about whether FilmLA can turn a permit around in time. The reduced cost helps, but faster turnaround would help more.
The mayoral race has made this a central issue too, with candidates like Nithya Raman pushing plans to uncap the state’s $750 million tax credit program and streamline city-level production support. Whether that translates to real change depends on who wins and what actually gets implemented.
For now, the low-impact permit program is worth knowing about if you’re planning shoots in LA. If your production is small enough to qualify, it could save you time and money. We’ll be using it.
Shooting in LA soon? Reach out — we know the permit landscape inside and out.
