Can you film there? Permits for creators in Cape Town, Joburg and Durban

Most creator content in South Africa is made without anyone asking permission, and most of the time that's fine. The by-laws that govern filming in our cities were written for film crews, and they say so. But the gap between "person with a phone" and "shoot that needs a permit" is narrower than people think, and in Cape Town the fine for being on the wrong side of it is over R10,000.

Here's what the rules actually say, city by city, from the by-laws and the offices that enforce them. Where we couldn't confirm a venue's policy from its own published rules, we say so rather than guess.

The rule of thumb

Across all three cities, the same test applies. You're outside the permit system when it's you, a phone or a handheld camera, content for your own account, and no effect on anyone else's use of the space. You're inside it when any of these are true:

• There's a brand paying for the content.
• You've got a crew, a tripod on a public pavement, lights, or a vehicle.
• You're blocking a path, a road, a beach or a doorway, even briefly.
• You're on private property that isn't yours, which is every mall, every precinct and every shop.
• There's a drone.

Cape Town's new Filming By-law spells it out: "filming" excludes "the recording of digital media on mobile devices such as smartphones, tablet computers and handheld cameras for personal use where there is no impact on the public". That's the clearest statement of the line any South African city has published, and it's a fair guide to the others.

Cape Town

Cape Town has the most developed system and the most explicit rules, because it has the most shoots. The city issued 4,757 film permits in the 2023/24 year, and 962 of them were for micro shoots.

The by-law. A new Filming By-law took effect on 1 November 2025. Anyone intending to film on public property must register with the Film Permit Office and apply for a permit. Registration means signing an indemnity and providing proof of public liability insurance, which is the step that stops most individual creators.

Micro shoots. The smallest category is one to three vehicles or eight or fewer cast and crew, one day, handheld lights only, no structures or effects. Micro shoots are exempt from having to prove nobody objects, and need two working days' notice. A branded Reel with a photographer and a stylist on Sea Point promenade is a micro shoot.

What it costs. Nothing, for the location. The 2025/26 tariff book deleted the location-fee lines for every shoot size, and the 2026/27 book doesn't list them at all. The costs are your insurance and your time.

The fine. Filming on municipal or private property without a valid permit is an admission-of-guilt fine of R10,390 including VAT in 2026/27. Gear used without special permission, such as a drone or a crane, can be impounded at R2,000 a day.

Table Mountain National Park is SANParks, not the city, and has its own forms. Stills shoots take five working days to process, commercials six, and nothing at all is permitted between 15 December and 15 January. Drones need a commercial permit from the park and a licensed operator from its approved list. The Cableway bans drones outright on its paths and the summit. The park's published page doesn't address personal phone photography by individuals, and its fee schedule is behind a form, so treat a commercial shoot there as "email first".

Kirstenbosch lists "take photographs" among its visitor do's and publishes nothing on commercial shoots. Entry is R110 for South African residents in 2026/27. For a branded shoot, email the garden before you arrive.

V&A Waterfront and Century City are private precincts. Century City's owners' association says all commercial photography, filming, professional content creation and drone filming require prior approval, and some shoots carry a location fee. The Waterfront runs its own permit office; its policy page wouldn't load for us, so we won't quote it. Both have an email address for exactly this question, and both answer it.

Johannesburg

Joburg has no single filming by-law like Cape Town's. The Gauteng Film Commission says film crews are always required to obtain permits when filming in public spaces, that the permits are issued by the local council for the area, and that you should apply at least 14 working days ahead. It publishes no fees and no small-shoot category.

Parks are the exception, and they're cheap. Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo publishes a tariff for 2026/27 that covers Emmarentia and the Botanical Garden, Zoo Lake and the rest of the city's parks:

A refundable deposit of 20% to 40% applies. The tariff doesn't say whether one person with a phone is charged, and in practice the fee is aimed at organised shoots. If you're bringing a photographer and a client, R270 is the cheapest permit in the country.

Constitution Hill publishes the most creator-friendly policy of any Joburg landmark: personal filming and photography for personal purposes, meaning not for publication, is "encouraged" inside the Court's public areas with hand-carried equipment and no props, sets, models or extra lighting. Anything professional, or anything you'll publish commercially, needs prior approval from the Court, and the precinct outside is handled separately by the Constitution Hill Development Company.

Sandton City, Nelson Mandela Square and Maboneng publish no creator policy we could find. They're private property, so the landlord's say-so applies, and the answer is at the information desk.

Durban

Durban is the easiest of the three on paper. The eThekwini Film By-law of 2018 requires a permit for any filming on municipal property or in a public place, and defines filming broadly, moving or still images, by any means. But the Durban Film Office issues permits at no fee, promises them in as few as seven days, and says plainly that beaches, parks and roads are all available with one. Apply at least seven days ahead through its online facility; shoots with 30 or more crew or 15 or more vehicles need 14.

The by-law's exclusions match the pattern: wedding videos, news, family videos, studio work, and private property that needs no municipal services. Its penalty clause is the steepest in the country, a fine of up to R100,000 or up to five years, which is written for productions, not phone users, but it's the law you're under on the Golden Mile.

Gateway publishes no photography clause in its terms. Private property, same answer: ask.

Drones, everywhere

The Civil Aviation Authority draws the line at purpose, not size. Private use, "where there is no commercial outcome, interest or gain", needs no licence. The moment a brand is paying, or you're selling the footage, you need a remote pilot licence, an operator certificate and a registered aircraft, which is a business, not a hobby.

Even privately, the authority's published limits are: not higher than 150 feet without approval, not within 50 metres of people or of property without the owner's permission, not within 10 kilometres of any airport, helipad or airfield, and nothing over 7 kilograms. National parks, the Cableway and the Century City precinct add their own bans or permit requirements on top.

Note: a lot of creator advice repeats a 400-foot ceiling. That's the American rule. The figure on the SACAA's own page is 150 feet.

Malls, shops and the police

Every mall is private property and can ask you to stop or leave. The 2025 wave of influencer meet-ups that turned into brawls at Canal Walk, the Waterfront and GrandWest ended with venues asking creators to arrange events through them in advance. In April 2026 a woman who filmed herself dancing on a Checkers checkout counter in Bryanston, ignoring staff, had the retailer say publicly that the behaviour "is not condoned". No fine followed, but the pattern is clear: ask the manager, keep it short, and stop when asked.

Filming the police is legal. The National Commissioner confirmed in August 2025 that nothing prevents a private person from recording an officer on duty, with the exceptions of cordoned crime scenes and the inside of police stations.

What to do this week

• Decide which side of the line you're on. Solo, phone, no brand, no impact: film. Anything else: email the office before the shoot date.
• Cape Town: register with the Film Permit Office once, get public liability cover, and micro-shoot permits are free and two days away.
• Joburg parks: R270 for a photo shoot under 50 people. Book it.
• Durban: free permits, seven days' notice, done online.
• Drones: private only, under 150 feet, 50 metres from people, nowhere near an airport. If a brand is paying, hire a licensed operator.
• Put the permit email in your rate card. Brands who've never shot in public don't know it exists, and a creator who handles it is worth more.

Sources: City of Cape Town, Filming By-law 2024, in effect 1 November 2025 · City of Cape Town, Filming in Cape Town · City of Cape Town, tariff book 2025/26, Annexure 6 §37 and 2026/27 · Engineering News, Cape Town reports 22% bump in film permits, 4 July 2024 · SANParks, Table Mountain National Park filming, photography and events · Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, media and permits · SANBI, Kirstenbosch garden rules and visitor information · Century City, film and photo shoots · Gauteng Film Commission, requirements and permits · Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, venue hire tariffs 2026/27 · Constitutional Court Art Collection, photo and video policy, November 2022 · eThekwini, Film By-law 2018 · Durban Film Office, FAQs and permits and procedures · SACAA, unmanned aircraft systems · The Post, viral TikTok dance on Checkers counter, 17 April 2026 · Bona, Cape Town malls call for action, June 2025 · IOL, citizens can record police, 21 August 2025. Rules read 11 October 2026; by-laws and tariffs change, and venue policies we could not read are marked as such. This is general information, not legal advice.