Filming fees

In addition to the required business and electric permit fees, you may be required to purchase additional permits, depending on the nature of your production.

Fees and incentives for public spaces, streets, sidewalks, and plazas (not a park)

When a daily filming permit is required for filming activity on City public spaces, such as streets, sidewalks, and plazas, the following permit fees and costs will be applicable.

Additional fees and costs for Parks Board, Vancouver Police, and Vancouver Fire and Rescue are in addition to any requirement for a permit.

Prices do not include tax.

Permit	Fee
Daily film permit (Includes all locations filmed during one day of filming, as well as any prep and wrap dates before or after the filming date)	$1,000 per day
Late night/early morning surcharge (Surcharge is added for each day of filming when there is activity outside the standard hours of filming outlined in our filming guidelines)	$2,000 each day of filming
Student film permit (Get this permit under the master film application of the educational institution supporting the project)	$43

Permit

Fee

Daily film permit

(Includes all locations filmed during one day of filming, as well as any prep and wrap dates before or after the filming date)

$1,000 per day

Late night/early morning surcharge

(Surcharge is added for each day of filming when there is activity outside the standard hours of filming outlined in our filming guidelines)

$2,000 each day of filming

Student film permit
(Get this permit under the master film application of the educational institution supporting the project)

$43

Fee incentive

Clean energy incentive

Productions that demonstrate that they are using clean energy to reduce their reliance on diesel generators may be eligible for 50% off both the daily fee and late surcharge.

The reduction must be meaningful enough that at least one large scale diesel generator (400A or greater) is substituted with a clean energy source; such as a direct electrical tie-in or battery technology.

Please inform the Officer assigned to your film project if you feel you qualify for the incentive. You will be asked to demonstrate how you have replaced one or more diesel generators from your fleet.

Ultra-low impact production

Ultra-low impact productions are eligible for a reduction of 80% off the daily permit fee. Typically these would be stills photo shoots, short films, documentaries, music videos, B-rolls, and splinter units.

To qualify as ultra-low impact, a production must have:

Less 15 persons (cast and crew)
Minimal equipment
Minimal parking impact
No traffic control
No diesel generator
No curfew extension

Parking fees (2021)

The parking costs include the labour, materials, and overhead for the creation, installation, and removal of temporary special zones for film use. In most cases, each film location will require a temporary special zone (TSZ) permit, so these costs should be calculated for each location you are filming at.

	Fee
Signage (Labour, material, and overhead to create, install, and remove TSZ signage on any street in Vancouver; these signs are typically hung or "spiked" into the ground)	$150.51
Hooding (Labour, material, and overhead to create, install, and remove TSZ signage to cover parking meters when they are present)	$114.83
Lost meter revenue Downtown (including West End) Outside of Downtown (Additional charge in lieu of hourly parking revenue on streets that are metered or have pay stations.)	$600 per day $300 per day

Fee

Signage

(Labour, material, and overhead to create, install, and remove TSZ signage on any street in Vancouver; these signs are typically hung or "spiked" into the ground)

$150.51

Hooding

(Labour, material, and overhead to create, install, and remove TSZ signage to cover parking meters when they are present)

$114.83

Lost meter revenue

Downtown (including West End)

Outside of Downtown

(Additional charge in lieu of hourly parking revenue on streets that are metered or have pay stations.)

$600 per day

$300 per day

Fees for a park

Fees for filming in a park (2021)

Refund policy: A minimum notice of 5 working days is required for a refund, minus the equivalent of 4 hours of staffing time (at the posted staff rate). No refunds will be issued if less than 5 working days notice is provided.

Prices do not include tax.

Location and activity	Fee
Student production	$45
Lunch tent	$332
Neighbourhood parks small productions - Level 1	$195
Neighbourhood parks small productions - Level 2	$400
Neighbourhood parks large productions - Level 3	$800
Neighbourhood parks large productions - Level 4	$1,198
Destination parks (Stanley Park, major parks and beaches) small productions - Level 1	$261
Destination parks small productions - Level 2	$525
Destination parks large productions - Level 3	$1,055
Destination parks large productions - Level 4	$1,585

Additional charges

Prices do not include tax.

Item or service	Fee
Site visitation	$112
Site monitoring, per hour	$80
Security deposit	Negotiable

Fees for commercial photography in parks (2021)

Refund policy: A minimum notice of 5 working days is required for a refund, minus a $25 administration fee.

Prices do not include tax.

Photography level	Fee
Level 1 - no vans on site, limited props and equipment, and so on	$193
Level 2 - props, lighting, 3 hours or more on site	$378
Level 3 - major props, lighting, 3 hours or more on site	$495

Vancouver Police Department
Police provide traffic control, weapons, and vehicular escorts.

How to book an officer

Contact the Emergency Operations and Planning section of the Vancouver Police Department:
- Phone: 604-717-3081
- Fax:604-717-3077
- Email: eops@vpd.ca
Requests must be received by the Police Department a minimum of 2 working days before the call-out. If the work required is extensive and involves several officers, a supervising sergeant will be assigned.

Officers and sergeants are paid overtime rates with a minimum three-hour call-out.

Fees

Rates include equipment and administration fees. Prices do not include tax.

Service Average rate

Sergeant $170.99 per hour

Officer $136.78 per hour

Traffic Authority $60.80 per hour

Rates updated as of January 1, 2020.

Service	Average rate
Sergeant	$170.99 per hour
Officer	$136.78 per hour
Traffic Authority	$60.80 per hour

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services provide safety equipment and crew as required for the execution of special effects.

Fees

Prices do not include tax.

Item	Rate
Fireboat	$200 per hour
Fire engine	$110 per hour
Dedicated fire prevention tender	$110 per hour
Ladder truck	$150 per hour
Rescue van	$80 per hour
Chief's van	$40 per hour
High expansion foam generator	$300 per day
Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)	$45 per day
Small equipment (for example, nozzles, axes, valves, etc)	$30 per day
Large equipment	$60 per day (minimum)
Hose	$20 per day per length
Turnout clothing	$45 per day per set
Firehall	$600 per day
Parking lot	$50 per hour
Training academy	$1,500 per day
Training classroom	$400 per day
Chief officer, with turnout clothing	$115 per hour
Officer, with turnout clothing	$100 per hour
Firefighter, with turnout clothing	$82 per hour

Fire hydrant permit

There are two options to pay for a hydrant permit:

Let your film coordinator know you will need this permit within your first conversations - all fees will be included in your deposit
Deal directly with the Client Service Centre counter and pay separately

Learn more about the fire hydrant permit process

How to pay fees
To pay fees, a production must open an account before filming begins and deposit the estimated cost for all City services that will be necessary.

What we accept
- Online (We accept most major credit cards)
- Certified cheques (Drawn on a Canadian bank account)
- Money orders
- Cash
- Wire transfers (Contact the Film and Special Events Officer assigned to your project for details)
- When all filming in the city is complete, the account will closed and we will issue an invoice or a refund for the balance
Cash, cheques, and money order payments must be accompanied with a payment slip, which we will send to you after your application has been accepted. Deliver both the payment (cash, cheque, or money order) and payment slip in-person to Building and Development Services Centre, 515 West 10th Ave.