I had read that the National Park Service (in the USA) requires a permit to film at a National Park. I was unfamiliar with this rule, but wanted to do some videography inside the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, so I began to research and figure out the process. Since some of you might be in a similar position, I decided to share my experience, hoping to provide you with some clarity.

There was a legal case in 2022 that apparently changed how you must go about filming inside a National Park or any property that is a part of the National Park System. I don’t want to spend time going over this (you can read about it in detail here if you are interested), but the basic thing to know is that, beginning in 2022, if you are a Creative, you probably need a permit to film in a National Park. Perhaps you needed one before, too (I’m not certain), but you definitely need one now. You might not think that you do, but most likely you do (we’ll get to this in a moment). And apparently if you don’t get the required permit, the National Park Service might just come for you with a hefty fine or worse.

Wanting to do things right and avoid any sort of legal trouble, I began to research if I was actually required to get a permit, and how to go about it. The National Park Service website states that “all commercial filming that occurs within a unit of the National Park System requires a permit.” But recording some clips of the South Rim for a small YouTube channel is surely not considered commercial filming, right? I mean, I’m just me, not some corporation.

They go on to define what exactly commercial filming means: “‘Commercial filming’ means the film, electronic, magnetic, digital, or other recording of a moving image by a person, business, or other entity for a market audience with the intent of generating income. Examples include, but are not limited to, feature film, videography, and documentaries. Commercial filming may include the advertisement of a product or service, or the use of actors, models, sets, or props.” So far it sounds like I’m ok to not get a permit. I’m not making a documentary or feature film, I don’t have a market audience, and I’m not using any actors or props. It’s a bit fuzzy, but it sounds like I’m fine.

But they continue. “Federal law requires a permit for all commercial filming, no matter the size of the crew or the type of equipment. This includes individuals or small groups that don’t use much equipment, but generate revenue by posting footage on websites, such as YouTube and TikTok.”

Wait, what?

If you could potentially earn money from posting the footage to YouTube or TikTok or any other website, you’re required to get a permit, because you’re considered to be “commercial filming” by the NPS. If you are monetized on YouTube or push affiliate links in the description, you could potentially earn money. The “generate revenue” wording is a bit ambiguous, though, because the $7.42 I might earn from Adsense for a video (it’s probably not even that much) is nowhere near the cost of producing the content, not even enough to cover the gas to get there, or the lunch I had on the way, or even the park entry fee. It paid for my coffee, but not the blueberry scone. Whatever video I create, the Adsense money will not generate any net revenue, because I’m not actually a commercial outfit, I’m just a regular guy who happens to have been approved for monetization on my small YouTube channel. If I’m not actually earning anything, but losing money, does that still require a permit? It shouldn’t, but apparently it does.

“The primary focus of the NPS, however, is on commercial filming that has the potential to impact park resources and visitors beyond what occurs from normal visitor use of park areas,” the NPS website continues. “Examples of this type of filming are productions that use substantial equipment such as sets and lighting, productions with crews that exceed 5 people, and filming in closed areas, wilderness areas, or in locations that would create conflicts with other visitors or harm sensitive resources. All filmers, no matter the size, must comply with all rules that apply in park areas, just like other visitors.” 

If the “primary focus” of these rules are for production crews that use substantial equipment and that exceed five people, then surely I’m all good to go, correct? I wasn’t completely confident, so I reached out to the National Park Service and spoke to someone at the Public Affairs Office. I told them my exact situation and plans. They confirmed that I indeed needed a permit to film in a National Park. Apparently the “primary focus” statement doesn’t actually mean anything, it’s just there to give false hope and confuse people.

To be clear, even if you’re just pulling out your cellphone to record a couple of short clips while vacationing with your family at a National Park, if you might use those clips in a YouTube or TikTok video (this surely applies to Instagram and Facebook, too), and in some way you could potentially earn income from those clips (even if just one penny), you need a permit, and you must get it in advance before you visit the park. You are a commercial filming crew, whether you consider yourself one or not. If you won’t earn anything (your channel isn’t monetized, you’re not sponsored, and you’re not pushing affiliate links, for example), you’re likely fine, and no permit is required.

This is all very arbitrary and puzzling. It’s as clear as mud. It doesn’t make much sense. It could and should be very simple: answer three questions to find out if you need a permit to film. The first question should be: will you appear to be an ordinary visitor? If the answer is yes, you don’t need a permit. The second question should be: will you interfere with anyone else’s park experience? If the answer is no, you don’t need a permit. The third question should be: will you need any resources from the park service beyond what regular visitors receive? If the answer is no, you don’t need a permit. If you can enter and leave the park and nobody was the wiser that you were doing anything potentially “commercial” then you shouldn’t need a permit. NPS: this is my free gift to you, so please use it. The way it is currently is extraordinarily convoluted, and (in my opinion) dumb.

The other thing that the National Park Service could do is: “[primarily] focus… on commercial filming that has the potential to impact park resources and visitors beyond what occurs from normal visitor use of park areas.” The solution is right there in their own words. Stop focusing on the little guys who are really just ordinary tourists who happen to have a YouTube channel or TikTok account. The Park Service has the power to do this right now today if they were to so choose. It’s literally that easy. If someone in a similar situation as myself inquires about a permit, they could simply respond, “We’re primarily focused on commercial filming that has the potential to impact park resources and visitors. Enjoy your your time in the park.”

Now, you might be worried that all of this applies to other forms of art, too—say, photography or painting. But, no. Only motion pictures. Only videography. For still photography, there is a different set of rules: for the most part, unless you have a model or props, you don’t need a permit. You could professionally photograph a wedding inside a National Park, and that apparently doesn’t require a permit; however, as soon as you record some clips on your iPhone, you probably do. There doesn’t seem to be any rules for painting canvas inside National Parks.

Now, to the process of obtaining a filming permit.

Each location within the National Park System (which, by the way, isn’t just the 63 National Parks, but 428 “units” across the country) has it’s own exact procedures. It’s not standardized from one park to the next. It seems that most are pretty similar, but there are definitely some variances. Grand Canyon National Park is where I visited, so my personal experience is with that park. You must visit the webpage for the park you plan to visit for exact instructions.

For the Grand Canyon, in order to obtain a filming permit, you have to first inquire and request a form by emailing grca_public_affairs@nps.gov or calling 928-638-7779 (I tried calling that number a handful of times but never got through to anyone other than their voicemail). The form they will send you to fill out is called NPS Form 10-930; however, there is a unique version of this form for each individual park. Some parks have this form on their webpage, but if not (and the Grand Canyon did not), simply Google “NPS Form 10-930 for [enter National Park here]” and it will likely turn up. The form is five pages long, but only three are filled out by you. It’s clear when you fill out this form that it is intended for an actual production company, and isn’t designed for just some person with their GoPro or iPhone or mirrorless camera. The form was easy enough to fill out. I kept my answers short and simple. I scanned it and emailed it back. And waited.

If the National Park Service is serious about you obtaining a filming permit (and purportedly they are), they should have a standardized form that can be filled out and submitted online. There should be a one-stop-shop for this (kind of like the LAANC system for drones, maybe), and not vary depending on the park. In other words, the process shouldn’t be confusing, difficult, or long (like it is currently).

The Grand Canyon requires that your application be submitted a minimum of 10 days in advance of your planned filming. This means no spur-of-the-moment visits. My trip was nine days from my initial inquiry, but the kind folks (and they were indeed very kind and professional) at the Grand Canyon Public Affairs Office assured me that they would expedite my request. Even though I had nine days (and not 10), it seemed like it worked out by the skin of my teeth, and there was little margin for error. Other parks might have different time requirements, so be sure to pay close attention to that.

Five days after I had submitted the application (granted, it was near a holiday weekend), I received a phone call from the Grand Canyon saying that my permit had been approved, and that I needed to pay a $100 application fee. There are a number of other potential fees, including a $150-per-day fee, that I didn’t have to pay, but that you should be aware exist because it’s possible that your filming project might be subject to them. I paid the hundred dollars over the phone (which apparently is how you have to pay it). The permit also allows you entrance into the park, and there is no need to pay the $35 park entry fee. I had already paid for a pass, so this didn’t help me, but maybe it is useful information to you. If you need a pass, then the filming permit will actually “only” cost you $65, since you won’t have to pay the entrance fee. Note that the fees might vary from park-to-park. Also, I had read that some parks require you to purchase insurance, but the Grand Canyon didn’t mention anything about that, nor did I ask.

After paying the fee, I was then emailed a six-page agreement, which is known as NPS Form 10-114 (like the other form, this one also has a unique version for each park). This contract states what rules I must follow while filming in the park. It’s all common-sense type stuff, like obey all the park rules and be responsible. It only required a signature. I scanned it and emailed it back. At this point I thought that I was good-to-go, but I didn’t realize I wasn’t quite done yet. The day before my arrival, on the eighth day after submitting the application, I was informed that my permit had been finalized, and now I was good-to-go. I just needed to make sure I had a copy of the permit (NPS Form 10-114 signed by them, which they had emailed to me at that time) while filming inside the National Park.

Now that I know the process to obtain a National Park filming permit, it’s not a terribly difficult thing to do (although more difficult than it needs to be). It’s a bit time-consuming and confusing and does cost money. It’s a shame that it is even required. The process is not standardized (it absolutely should be). You do need some amount of preplanning, and is not something that can be accomplished last-minute.

I love visiting National Parks, but this does sour it a little for me. It might cause me to travel elsewhere instead. I feel like just because my YouTube channel happens to be monetized, that the National Park Service wants to penalize me for that fact. The reality is probably more like this: some people are making lots of money on social media, and the NPS wants a piece of that pie. Well, so do I, but they just took my entire tiny crumb and then some! Whether you are earning money or not shouldn’t matter. It should be: are you a regular tourist who happens to be filming, or are you an actual production company who will interfere with other people’s National Park experience? They seem incapable of making that distinction, or unwilling to do so.

While visiting the Grand Canyon, which was an absolutely wonderful experience otherwise, my wife commented to me that she didn’t understand why we needed a permit. “We’re just tourists, like everyone else. How would anyone know that we’re making a video?” The fact is that we were ordinary tourists taking our four kids to see this Natural Wonder of the World. I’m sure nobody noticed or cared that we recorded some clips of the big ditch, because that’s what everyone was doing. Nobody there had any idea that we have intentions of publishing a video to YouTube, and even more that the channel happens to be monetized (nor that the monetization status even matters). We weren’t approached by any Park Rangers, and nobody asked to see our paperwork.

I feel like we went through this whole process for nothing. But, you know, we want to follow the rules and (especially) avoid hefty fines, so we did what the National Park Service required. Honestly, they need to change this, and it would be pretty simple for them to do. In the meantime, I have to consider if it is even worth the effort, or if I should just avoid visiting National Parks until someone with an once of common sense finally fixes this. I get that someone doing actual commercial filming would need to jump through these hoops, but the way-too-broad definition used by the NPS forces many to choose one of three things: 1) go through this potentially confusing, overly-arduous, and slightly-expensive process, 2) ignore the rules and hope not to get caught, or 3) avoid the many great National Parks that are meant to be for the “inspiration of this and future generations.” That’s a part of their mission statement. If your art is videography, you might need to find that inspiration elsewhere, which is a real shame.