The occupation of public areas and municipal facilities for filming/photo shoots is subject to prior licensing or communication.

Activities that do not require the authorisation of the CML:
- Filming and photographing by the media, for information purposes, provided that no equipment installation or prior reservation of public areas is required and pedestrian circulation and traffic are not disrupted
- Filming and photographing for personal use, not intended for marketing purposes, provided that no disruption is caused to any eventual occupation of public areas
- Filming and photographing in…

The occupation of public areas and municipal facilities for filming/photo shoots is subject to prior licensing or communication.

Activities that do not require the authorisation of the CML:
- Filming and photographing by the media, for information purposes, provided that no equipment installation or prior reservation of public areas is required and pedestrian circulation and traffic are not disrupted
- Filming and photographing for personal use, not intended for marketing purposes, provided that no disruption is caused to any eventual occupation of public areas
- Filming and photographing in city areas not managed by the CML.

Security and policing
Policing is mandatory at all filming/photo sessions, such as to ensure road and pedestrian safety within the public area involved (reservation of parking spaces for technical vehicles, reservation of filming locations and traffic diversions, amongst other activities, require the presence of the police).

The applicant must contact the Municipal Police (PM) or the Public Security Police/Traffic Department (PSP-DT) in advance to request these services.

The services provided by the Fire Department (RSB), the Municipal Police (PM) and the Public Security Police/Traffic Department (PSP-DT) in connection with filming/photo shoots, including those required by educational establishments, are remunerated, irrespective of whether municipal fees have been waived.

The following applications should be submitted, if required:

Noise
Special Noise Licence (LER), if the activities in question involve the generation of (harmful or annoying) noise.

Parking
A maximum of 5 parking spaces will be reserved per filming location. In exceptional situations, duly substantiated and justified in the specifications, a larger area may be authorised, in which case the application must be submitted at least 10 working days in advance.
Parking subject to fees set by the EMEL
Following granting of the filming/photo shoot licence, you will be required to visit the EMEL Store to pay the applicable parking fees.

Temporary traffic diversions
- Reservation and cleaning of parking areas for technical vehicles and filming locations
- Installation of equipment and structures (cranes, scaffolding or other lifting platforms, and furniture)
- Temporary traffic prohibitions and diversions

Fire Department
If a firefighting team is required owing to logistic needs or special effects, amongst other activities.

WEATHER DAY
Should a scheduled filming/photo shoot not take place due to the weather conditions, the applicant may submit an application for the respective rescheduling to a date at least 3 working days later than the original date.

Granting of support/exemption from payment (fees and other municipal revenues)
Municipal fees may be waived in case of filming undertaken by non-profit associations and educational establishments. Discounts on renting of municipal areas and facilities may also be offered. These benefits require verification of compliance with applicable legal requirements.

In the event that film and audio-visual productions serve the best interests of the municipality, according to the criteria defined in municipal regulations, namely by being of cultural interest or artistic and technical value, or by promoting the city of Lisbon, granting of the following support may be considered:

Exemption from payment of fees and offering of discounts (Lisbon Municipality General Fee, Price and Other Revenue Regulations)
- Public area occupation
- Parking
- Special noise licence
- Use of municipal areas/facilities

Granting of support by the Lisbon Municipality (Lisbon Municipality Regulations for Granting of Support)
- Promotion and divulgation through the CML channels available
- Film premiere taking place in a municipal area
- Logistic support, considered on a case-by-case basis (removal of urban structures, changes to street lighting, cleaning of streets and graffiti, etc.)

Applications for support/exemption from payment of municipal fees must be submitted at least 15 business days prior to the date of submission of the application for authorisation to film/photograph, together with a project folder including the following detailed information:
- Synopsis or specifications
- Script
- Technical and artistic teams, including the CVs of the producer(s) and director
- Promoters/financing entities
- Overall production budget
- Declarations of support from other entities
- Film distribution circuit
- Description of sets (filming dates and public locations involved, including estimated areas).

The Lisbon Film Commission analyses the potential cultural and artistic interest of the project.

Granting of municipal support entails the following obligations:
- Inclusion of the text “Supported by the Lisbon City Council” in the film/photos
- Inclusion of the Lisbon City Council and Lisbon Film Commission logos in all promotional materials
- Delivery of a copy of the film/images
- Creation of an advertising billboard
- Communication of the premiere and film distributiondates

Who can apply?
Associations, educational establishments, companies and citizens wishing to film or photograph in public or municipal areas.