Permits

Cape Town film permits and drone approvals

The City permit and the aviation approval are two different animals on two different clocks. This is how they fit together in Cape Town, what the by-law actually demands once a drone is on the call sheet, and which locations are not worth applying for.

The City route

Filming in Cape Town runs under the City of Cape Town Filming By-law 2024, which commenced on 1 November 2025 and repealed the 2005 by-law. It applies to all filming activity within the City's jurisdiction, and it names drones twice, in section 4(3)(b)(i) and again in section 5(3)(f)(iii).

The mechanics are straightforward. The production registers with the Film Permit Office, then applies for a permit describing the location, the dates, the crew and vehicle count and, critically, the apparatus. Drones must be declared in that description. Applications go through the City's film permit system, and Film Cape Town publishes the current office contacts and hours.

One clause catches productions out more than any other. Section 4(4): where the filming takes place on land under the authority of another organ of state, or on land owned by a private management company, that permission must be obtained before the City application is submitted. SANParks land, CapeNature reserves, port land and privately managed precincts all sit under that clause.

Lead times under Schedule 1

Schedule 1 of the by-law sets the shoot type and the notice period. These are minimums from a complete application, and they are the City's clock only.

Now the part that matters for aerial work. Schedule 1 states that where a shoot requires Civil Aviation Authority or other approvals, the next tier of timeframes applies. A medium shoot with a drone runs on large shoot timeframes, and a large shoot with a drone runs on very large timeframes. Adding one aircraft to a small unit can therefore double the notice period, which is a scheduling fact rather than a formality.

Insurance, specifically for drone work

Section 4(3) requires the applicant to prove, to the City's satisfaction, appropriate indemnity cover for all film related activities. On top of that it requires appropriate specialised risk insurance and blanket liability where the activity involves stunts, special effects, cranes, drones or unmanned aerial vehicles, or where it takes place in a conservation, heritage or environmentally sensitive area.

In practice the production carries the film production indemnity, and we carry RPAS public liability on the aircraft and the operation. Both need to be in the file. Where an aerodrome is involved, that aerodrome is named on the RPAS policy as a condition of the airport manager's authorisation.

CapeNature reserves

CapeNature runs the provincial reserves, and it is a separate authority from both the City and SANParks. Drone use is not a separate permit there, it is an annexure to the filming application. The production completes Annexure A, the film and photography application form, and the drone supporting documents are listed in Annexure B, which is our side of the paperwork. Applications are processed and paid through Permitz.

Two conditions sit behind that paperwork. Drone use requires written permission from reserve management, and the operation must comply with the aviation regulations, the National Environmental Management Act and the Protected Areas Act. The current process and forms are published on the CapeNature filming and photography page, with the detail in its filming standard operating procedure.

Turnaround varies by reserve and by season.

Port and harbour

Anything inside a port boundary belongs to Transnet National Ports Authority, and aerial work there needs the harbour master's approval alongside the aviation clearance. Port land is exactly the case section 4(4) contemplates, so the port approval has to be in hand before the City application goes in.

Harbour work also tends to sit inside controlled airspace and near helicopter movements, so the aviation coordination is heavier than a comparable shot a kilometre inland. Treat a port location as the longest lead item on the schedule and raise it at the first location meeting.

CBD and Winelands specifics

The CBD is the densest permission environment in the city. The 50 m separation from people, structures and public roads under Part 101 is the binding constraint long before the permit is, and it usually drives the shot toward closed roads, early call times or a rooftop departure point with the consent of that building's management. Community notification obligations under section 6 of the by-law also bite hardest here, because there are more abutting occupiers to notify.

The Winelands sit outside the City's jurisdiction. Those shoots are permitted through the relevant district or local municipality rather than the Cape Town Film Permit Office, and the estates themselves are private land, so the owner's written consent comes first. Several estates route their film permissions through an agency rather than handling them directly, which adds a step but usually shortens the calendar.

Where we do not apply

• The V and A Waterfront. Privately managed, and a firm refusal for drone operations. Lodging an application there wastes a week of prep.
• Table Mountain National Park precincts that are closed to drones, including Boulders, Scarborough, Sandy Bay and Llandudno, and Perdekloof.
• Anywhere adjacent to or above a prison, police station, court, crime scene, national key point or strategic installation, which Part 101 prohibits outright.
• Restricted and prohibited airspace, unless a specific authorisation is granted, which is not a shoot week process.

We verify each site against the current airspace data before we commit to a shot, rather than judging it by eye on a map. If a location will not clear, we say so in prep and offer the alternative that reads the same on screen.

What we need to open a City application

• The film permit booking number, as soon as the production has it. The aviation application attaches to it.
• Coordinates or a what3words pin per flight site.
• Shoot type and scale, since that sets the notice period.
• Any road closure, crowd, stunt or special effect within 50 m of the flight path.
• Written consent from any private management company or other organ of state whose land is involved.