France filming checklist timeline: your complete guide to navigating permits and deadlines (4 critical pillars)

Permits and authorisations: your 1-4 week safety net against production shutdowns

In France, your filming permit is not a suggestion—it is a legally binding contract with the city and the state. The safety net lies in the mandatory lead times, which range from a tight 1 week to a strategic 4 weeks, depending on your project's scale and location. A late or incomplete application is the single fastest route to a production shutdown, with authorities empowered to halt filming immediately.

The system is binary, triggered by your crew size and shoot complexity. For a standard shoot in Paris with fewer than 10 people, you file a Déclaration Préalable exactly 1 week in advance via the city's online portal. However, cross the 10-person threshold or plan a night shoot past 23:00, and you must navigate the full AGATE authorization process, which requires 3 weeks for review by both the Mairie de Paris and the Préfecture de Police. This isn't just paperwork; it's a dual-approval safety check. For example, a contemporary drama filming in Paris Centre is limited to 5 technical vehicles, a detail strictly enforced.

Beyond Paris, timelines diversify but remain strict:

• Drone filming in urban areas requires a Cerfa 15476*04 declaration to the prefecture with a minimum 10-working-day notice and an OPEN category certification for the pilot.
• In Montpellier, the deadline is 15 days.
• In Saint-Brieuc, authorities advise applying up to 1 month in advance for public space use.

According to observed practices from location managers, the most common pitfall is submitting a "complete" file that lacks a certified French translation of the insurance certificate or a detailed technical itinerary. This results in a silent rejection, burning your entire lead time.

Mastering this variable timeline is your primary strategic defense. It transforms bureaucratic delay from a threat into a predictable element of your schedule, ensuring that when your crew arrives on location, the only thing you're directing is your film.

Official administrative contacts: the 2 digital gateways you must use (and what happens if you don't)

Navigating French bureaucracy requires using the correct digital gateway. For filming, there are two non-negotiable portals, and bypassing them guarantees delays or outright rejection. Your primary contacts are not individuals but platforms.

First, for any shoot in Paris, you must use the AGATE application portal, accessible via paris.fr. This system is the sole official channel for both simple declarations and complex authorizations, ensuring your request is logged and routed to both the Mairie and the Préfecture simultaneously. Second, for nationwide regulatory guidance and procedures for importing equipment, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs provides the definitive resource at diplomatie.gouv.fr.

What happens if you try to call an office or email a generic film commission address? Your inquiry will likely be redirected to these exact online forms. Official policy has shifted decisively toward digital traceability and standardized processing. Emailing PDFs to a personal contact might seem efficient, but it removes your application from the official queue, voiding any guaranteed processing timelines. The consequence is simple: you lose your safety net. Your project becomes an informal request, susceptible to being overlooked or deprioritized, risking that your 3-week lead time evaporates because your application was never formally submitted.

Procedural steps for filming: the 3-phase timeline that aligns crew, visas, and permits

A successful French shoot requires aligning three parallel timelines: permits, crew visas, and equipment logistics. Viewing them as a single, integrated 3-phase process is the key to a stress-free production.

Phase 1: The Foundation Window (Weeks 4-8 before Shoot)

This is your strategic planning phase. Immediately secure your location permits. For a complex Paris shoot (AGATE), this means submitting 3 weeks out. Simultaneously, assess your crew. For non-EU members staying under 3 months, no work permit is needed under the "visa waiver" scheme, but their entry is now logged in the EES system active since October 2025. For longer stays, initiate provisional work authorization requests. This is also the moment to decide on your equipment import strategy (ATA Carnet or Bona Fide), as the Carnet requires processing time.

Phase 2: The Lock-Down Window (Weeks 1-3 before Shoot)

All permissions must be confirmed. Your filming authorization (Arrêté) is issued. For regional shoots like in Montpellier, your 15-day deadline hits here. Display permits on location 48 hours prior as required. Finalize all crew travel under the correct visa scheme. Your equipment, with its Carnet or Bona Fide documents, should be en route, with all customs paperwork prepared for presentation at the EU point of entry.

Phase 3: The Activation & Wrap Window (Shoot Day to Departure)

This is execution and compliance. The issued permit dictates your exact crew size, vehicle count, and shooting hours—deviate at your peril. Upon wrap, you must manage the exit verification for any temporarily imported equipment. Customs must stamp your Carnet or Bona Fide documents to prove export, avoiding hefty fines or duties. This closed-loop process ensures you leave no administrative loose ends.

Importing equipment regulations: ata carnet vs. bona fide – the choice that saves you days at customs

Temporarily importing film equipment into France presents a critical choice that directly impacts your schedule at the border. The two pathways—the ATA Carnet and the Bona Fide procedure—serve different production profiles, and selecting the wrong one can mean hours or even days of delay in customs.

The ATA Carnet is a universally recognized customs document, a "passport for goods." It is the gold standard for professional film productions, especially those moving high-value gear between multiple countries. Pre-arranged through your local chamber of commerce, it lists all equipment with serial numbers and values. At the EU border, you present the Carnet for a quick stamp—it dispenses with all other import procedures. The key benefit is speed and predictability at entry and exit. The downside is its cost and the need for advance planning.

Conversely, the Simplified "Bona Fide" Procedure is designed for simpler, often journalistic or short-term shoots. It involves submitting a detailed equipment list (type, brand, serial, pro forma value) through your country's French embassy or consulate about 1 week before travel for pre-approval. You then present this authorization at customs. While less expensive, it is less streamlined and more susceptible to individual customs officer scrutiny.

Your documentation must be impeccable for either route: company details, shoot dates, flight information, a comprehensive inventory in duplicate, and the contact details of your French correspondent. Choosing the Carnet when you only have a camera and a tripod is overkill. Opting for Bona Fide when bringing in three trucks of lighting and specialized gear is a profound risk. The right choice, aligned with your production scale, is what clears your gear through customs in minutes, not days.