Court Facilities

INCLUDES PERMITTING PROTOCOL TO ALL 58 LOCAL COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT DISTRICTS STATEWIDE – INCLUDING LOS ANGELES

The California Film Commission does not issue film permits for the California Superior Court system.

JUDICIAL COUNCIL FILMING POLICY CHANGES AS OF 2021

Operating (Open) Court Facilities: No Commercial Filming

• No interior commercial filming is permitted at any time.
• No exterior commercial filming (including parking areas and curtilage) is permitted at any time.
• Public sidewalks/streets outside the property line are not considered part of the court facility, but any commercial filming thereon should not interrupt or interfere with court operations.

Non-Operating (Closed) Court Facilities: Commercial Filming upon Prior Approval

• Interior commercial filming may be permitted in court-approved areas.
• Exterior commercial filming may be permitted.
• The court seal, court/building name, judicial officers/staff, jurors, litigants, court users, and other certain court images are never permitted to be commercially filmed.

Please Note: The above information is subject to change as the Judicial Council continues to study and evaluate practices. CFC staff will be apprised of any updates and this page will be amended as filming policies change.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY INQUIRIES:

Facilities and Capital Projects
Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Hall of Records | Suite 1510
320 W. Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Henry Hernandez– Deputy Director (213)830-0411
Ruth Vargas– Judicial and Administrative Support II (213)830-0419)

APPLICATIONS – CLOSED COURTHOUSES – STATEWIDE

To obtain permission to film at specific courthouses statewide, find Court Administrator contacts. If consideration of the filming request is given by the local Court Administrator, the application is forwarded to the Judicial Council office in Sacramento for review and transmittal to the San Francisco office for final approval.

For filming requests for Superior Courts in all 58 counties, submit a Judicial Council of California application.
Applications must be submitted to the local Court Administrator no less than 30 business days prior to filming along with proof of insurance.

An estimate of fees will be provided during the application review process. These fees will be established on a per project, case-by-case basis.

Filming requests for Appellate Courtrooms located within state office buildings will not be considered. This includes the court facility in the downtown Los Angeles Ronald Reagan State Building.

Filming is welcome at the 3rd District Appellate Court in Sacramento.
Permit requests for this property are submitted to the CFC.

To Review:

An application for any request for commercial filming at a court facility needs to first be submitted to the local court for review and consideration. The application with proof of insurance must be submitted no less than thirty (30) days prior to the requested use. If the local court consents, the application will be forwarded to Judicial Council Real Estate for final review and approval. The payment of per-project fees and the execution of a License Agreement will be required for all commercial filming at any court facility.

For further clarification on filming any court facility statewide, contact:

Mary Bustamante, Manager
Real Estate Facilities Services | Administrative Division
Judicial Council of California
2860 Gateway Oaks Drive, Suite 400
Sacramento, CA 95833
Phone: 916.263.7999
California Judicial Branch