The most reliable way to find out what is filming near you is to check your city or state film office, because productions that use streets, parking or sidewalks usually need a permit and often have to notify neighbors. Some cities publish permit data, some post neighborhood notices, and some states keep a list of active productions. Production trucks and no-parking signs can confirm what you find, and local news fills in the rest.
What is available depends heavily on where you live. This guide covers what is published in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Georgia as of October 2026, then shows how to look up your own area and how to stay safe and courteous around a shoot.
Start with the film office
Almost every major city and state has a film office or commission. The Association of Film Commissioners International lists a global directory of film commissions under its membership menu, although its page does not say whether the directory is open to non-members. If that does not work, search “film office” plus your city or state name and look for the permits page.
What you can usually learn there:
- How to contact the office with questions.
- Whether permits or notices are posted publicly.
- Which agencies, such as parks or transit, issue their own permits.
What is published in four places
| Place | What you can find | Where |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | A permit dataset covering shoots on city property, with locations and dates | NYC Open Data |
| Los Angeles area | Blue “Notices of Filming” posted near shoots, with optional email alerts in select areas | FilmLA |
| Chicago | Notices to nearby residents and ward-office posts, plus the Chicago Film Office | City and ward offices |
| Georgia | A state list of active productions, which may be incomplete | Georgia.org |
New York: the film permits dataset
New York is the easiest big city for this because it publishes its permits as open data. The Film Permits dataset on NYC Open Data is published by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME). Its description says permits are generally required when a production asserts exclusive use of city property such as a sidewalk, a street or a park, and the dataset’s metadata lists its update frequency as daily.
What each record shows
The dataset’s fields include the event ID, event type, start and end date and time, the date the permit was entered, the borough, community board, police precinct, category and subcategory (for example, television and episodic series), ZIP code, and a “parking held” field that lists the street segments affected. It does not appear to include a production title, so you will see where and when, but not always what.
How to use it
- Open the dataset page and sort by start date, newest first.
- Filter by borough, or search the parking-held column for your street or cross streets.
- Use the category field to narrow to television, film or commercial shoots.
- Check the end time. Many permits cover prep and wrap days, not only shooting.
Check how fresh it is
The metadata says the data is updated daily. When this guide was prepared in mid-October 2026, however, the latest permit start date available through the portal’s data interface was in July 2026, so confirm freshness yourself by sorting for the newest entries before relying on it. Treat the dataset as a good way to find shoots in a neighborhood you plan to visit, and use posted notices for day-of confirmation.
Photographing in New York
MOME’s permit guidance says standing on a city sidewalk, a city bridge walkway or in a city park with a hand-held camera does not require a permit. In other words, ordinary photography on public property is generally allowed, but that does not entitle you to enter a closed-off area or interfere with a crew.
Los Angeles: Notices of Filming
In Los Angeles-area jurisdictions that use FilmLA, shoots often come with blue Notices of Filming posted near the location. According to FilmLA’s page on Notices of Filming, the notices include proposed dates and times, a scene description, parking requirements and contact numbers, are posted within at least 500 feet of a filming location (200 feet for still photography and productions with fewer than 15 cast and crew), and aim for two business days’ notice. The page cautions that a notice may not match the final permit.
You do not need to live in the area to sign up for alerts. FilmLA’s eNotification page says anyone can register an email address for up to three of 19 listed areas, including parts of Downtown Los Angeles, Venice Beach and Hancock Park. If you passed a shoot and want to know more, FilmLA’s page lists (213) 977-8600 and [email protected].
Chicago and other cities
Chicago works differently. Productions post notices for nearby residents and businesses, and ward offices sometimes publish them. One example on the 44th Ward’s film notices page from 2018 lists the production, a parking restriction window, a no-parking stretch, a statement that the crew will not block driveways or hydrants, and contacts including the Chicago Film Office. The Chicago Film Office’s permits page is the place to ask questions.
State lists: Georgia
Georgia’s film office maintains a Now Filming in Georgia page that describes itself as a snapshot of some active productions. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution report from July 2026 says the list is not necessarily complete because companies are not obligated to update it, and that some productions appear under pseudonyms if producers request it. It also counted 12 active productions at the time, down from 20 a month earlier. Treat state lists as a guide to what is in production, not as a map of where.
On the street
Even without data, a few clues show a shoot is nearby.
- No-parking notices. Permits typically hold street segments, as the New York “parking held” field shows, and Chicago notices describe posted no-parking and tow zones.
- Base camp. Washington Filmworks’ vocabulary guide describes base camp as the area near the shoot where grip trucks, the honeywagon (a portable-toilet truck) and trailers for wardrobe, makeup and talent are parked. A line of trucks and trailers on a side street is a sign of one.
- Call sheets. Crews follow a daily call sheet with locations and parking instructions. You will not see one on the street, but it explains why crews arrive early and stay late.
Not every shoot is visible. Some productions film quietly with small crews and no permit, such as a hand-held camera on a public sidewalk.
Local news and social media
Local newspapers and TV stations often report on major productions, particularly when they close streets. The AJC’s monthly roundups of what is filming in Georgia, such as the July 2026 piece above, are one example. These sources are better for big projects than for small ones, so combine them with the permit and notice sources above.
Safety and etiquette
- Stay behind police tape or barriers, and follow instructions from crew and police.
- Do not walk into a shot or stand behind the camera when crew call for quiet.
- Keep a distance from equipment, cables and trucks, and watch for traffic.
- Do not film or photograph neighbors, children or crew members’ faces without permission.
- Do not post real-time locations of actors or share the hotels where cast stay.
- Keep drones away from active sets. They can be dangerous and may violate local rules.
- Do not block driveways, hydrants or crosswalks while you watch.
This site’s submission guidelines follow the same principles for reader tips about public shoots.
FAQs
Is it legal to film a movie set from the sidewalk?
New York’s film office says standing on a city sidewalk with a hand-held camera does not require a permit. Rules vary by place, and you must still follow police and crew instructions.
Can you find out which movie is filming?
Sometimes. Permit data often lists where and when but not the title, and some productions use working titles or pseudonyms.
Where can I see permits for my city?
Start with your city’s film office page. New York publishes its permits as open data, and Los Angeles uses posted notices and optional email alerts. For other cities, search the city’s open data portal for “film permits,” or call the film office.
