Once a permit request has been sent, we are generally able to issue a permit within 3-5 business days depending on the complexity of the shoot.
Permit fees as of July 5, 2024:
$360 +HST: Standard permit fee for road occupancy without temporary closure or lane restriction (but may include travelling shots, parking, performing or ITC),
or
$515 +HST: For permits requesting a temporary road closure or lane restriction (this fee is a stand alone for these conditions and includes your road occupancy and temporary closure).
Either fee can cover multiple locations over multiple days, provided the occupancies relate to a single filming event, occurring over consecutive days.
Insurance:
All film productions must provide the City with a Certificate of Insurance, naming the City as an added insured to the production's insurance policy. Minimum required coverage is $5 million general commercial liability and $2 million each for owned and/or non-owned vehicles. The City should be named as: City of Pickering, One The Esplanade, Pickering, On L1V 6K7.
Paid Duty Officers:
Paid Duty Officers (PDO) may be required to be on site for traffic control & safety. Please reach out to Durham Regional Police Services to hire a Paid Duty Officer.
City Parks, Municipal Facilities, and Pickering Museum Village:
If your production plans to include use of a City owned facility or public park or the Pickering Museum Village, we'll connect you to the right staff for issuance of a Facility Rental Agreement or Park Rental Permit. View additional information found Community Spaces & Rentals.
SPFX & Drone Usage:
Use of SPFX that are fire or incendiary-based must be reviewed by the City of Pickering, Fire Prevention Office. The Film Liaison Office will circulate your application directly to our Fire Services staff to determine if the activity requires a separate Fire Permit or on site attendance by our Pickering Fire Service team. In most cases, certified SPFX personnel contracted by the film production company can be used. (Note: if City of Pickering Fire personnel are required, but not available, no other private fire service or personnel will be allowed as a substitute.)
The use of chemical based SPFX products must be reviewed by our Engineering Department prior to issuance of a Film Location Permit, to ensure they are safe for our residents, and the environment. A minimum of 10 days is required for the City to review the MSDS sheets on chemical based, sprayed snow materials.
Non-incendiary SPFX such as mock gunfire no longer requires on-site attendance by Durham Region Police Services tactical teams. However, details of the SPFX explosives or gunfire must be reported to the City of Pickering Film Liaison Office as well as the Durham Region Police Dispatch office, prior to issuance of the City's Film Location Permit and commencement of filming.
If a production plans to use a drone, a copy of the drone operator's certification must be filed with the Film Office prior to us issuing a Film Location Permit.