Filming in Liverpool: permits and fees

Who issues permits

Liverpool Film Office operates within Liverpool City Council and is the single point of contact for all filming and photography on council land, buildings, facilities, and public highways. Founded in 1989 as the first film office in Europe, it also coordinates permits across the wider City Region including Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, Halton, and St Helens.

Process

All applications must be made with at least five working days notice — this is a firm minimum with no exceptions. Applications are submitted online through the Film Office’s portal at filmingapplication.openbrolly.com/start/liverpoolv2. The team coordinates with highways, parks, and all other relevant departments.

Liverpool City Region registered production companies are not charged admin fees but must still apply. For parking, separate forms are required for bay suspensions and yellow line dispensations.

Fees

Fee schedules are published on the Liverpool Film Office website (last updated March 2025). Liverpool City Region registered production companies pay no admin fees. For non-registered productions, fees are structured by shoot type and duration. Parking bay suspensions and single yellow line dispensations carry separate charges.

What’s covered

All Liverpool City Council land and buildings, public highways within Liverpool, Albert Dock, council parks, civic buildings including St George’s Hall. Productions have used Liverpool extensively as a period stand-in for London and New York.

Typical restrictions

Five working days minimum — no exceptions. Child employment on set requires a separate Child Licence from Education Welfare. Parking suspensions and yellow line dispensations are separate applications with their own forms and processing times.

Common reasons applications are refused or delayed

Liverpool Film Office is one of the more experienced teams in the country, but the five-working-day minimum is firm and the most common reason shoots fall through is simply leaving it too late. The portal application needs to be complete on submission — the team doesn’t hold slots while chasing missing documents.

• Public liability insurance certificate missing an endorsement or showing a policy start date after the shoot
• Risk assessment absent or insufficient for night shoots or anything involving road closure
• Parking suspension and yellow line dispensation forms not submitted separately — these are parallel applications, not part of the main permit
• Date conflict with a waterfront event, Merseyside derby, or civic parade on the route
• Application under the five-working-day minimum with no prior discussion
• Outstanding complaint from a previous shoot at the same location

For period productions using Liverpool as a London or New York stand-in, the Film Office is experienced with the demands — but that familiarity doesn’t replace proper lead time.

Escalation and neighbouring consent

Where a shoot affects commercial shopfronts — particularly on Bold Street, Castle Street, or the Dock area — the Film Office may request evidence that directly affected traders have been notified. There is no fixed number of premises required in writing, but anything blocking access to a business front for more than two hours will typically need sign-off. For residential streets, a notification letter through doors is usually sufficient rather than signed consent.

Escalation if a permit is refused or conditions contested: Film Office coordinator → head of the Film Office → Liverpool City Council highways or legal service depending on the specific decision. Police cooperation for road closures is via Merseyside Police, not the Film Office — the two threads run separately and both need to be in place before the shoot can go ahead.

Contact

• Application portal: filmingapplication.openbrolly.com
• Web: liverpoolfilmoffice.tv

Apply on the Liverpool Film Office website → liverpoolfilmoffice.tv