Town guide

Filming in Livingston, New Jersey

A production guide to Livingston’s Chapter 135 permit, its published fees, insurance and bond, and the three different filing deadlines its own sources describe.

Livingston offers suburban residential and commercial settings, municipal parks, a preserved eighteenth-century farmhouse and County-controlled art-park and open-space properties. The Township has a dedicated film page, current liaison and a filming chapter amended in 2025.

The permit process is detailed, but its filing deadline is described differently across the code and webpage. Contact the film liaison early and obtain the accepted schedule and fee calculation in writing.

Information checked July 24, 2026

Checked Jul 24 2026

County: Essex County
Film Ready treatment: Film Ready certified locality
Municipal starting point: Livingston Township Clerk
Film liaison: Lauren Costello, Assistant to the Township Clerk & Film Liaison
Liaison phone: 973-992-5000 ext. 5402
Township Clerk: Carolyn Mazzucco
Clerk phone: 973-992-5000 ext. 5401
Clerk main line: 973-992-5000 ext. 5400
Office: Livingston Town Hall, 357 S. Livingston Avenue, Livingston, NJ 07039
Regular hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., office hours, not filming hours
2026 summer hours: Monday–Thursday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Friday, 8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m., through September 11, 2026
Controlling law: Chapter 135, amended March 12, 2025
Basic permit: $100
Expedited permit: $150
Public-land daily fee: $150
Major-motion-picture daily fee: $500; definition uses at least $20 million or listed studio or streaming financing or distribution, plus recurrent weekly TV
Nonprofit: $25
Student: $25, may be waived; code also contains an educational student exemption
Filming hours: Monday–Sunday, 7:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.; crew wrap 10:00 p.m.; approved indoor filming may extend to 11:00 p.m.
Insurance: $1 million per person / $2 million aggregate bodily injury; $300,000 property damage
Security: $1,000 cash bond

Documented location and jurisdiction character

Official sources support the following planning context:

The Township-owned Force Homestead consists of a circa-1745 farmhouse and a separate cook house, both listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
Memorial Oval and Park, across from Town Hall, includes sports fields, a gazebo, pond, courts, walking track and memorial garden.
The 43-acre Livingston Mall property was declared an area in need of redevelopment in October 2024 and is the subject of an ongoing community visioning process. That planning status is not filming access.
The Riker Hill Complex includes a former Nike missile base converted to art studios, Becker Park trails and a fossil site that is not open to the public. The Township facility page identifies the complex as County property or County-acquired land.

These sources document visual categories and current planning conditions. They do not establish availability, private access, current mall operations, County permission or an approved production footprint.

When a Township permit is required

Chapter 135 requires a permit from the Township Clerk for filming on Township-controlled public property and for private-property filming when public property will be used.

The chapter excludes news reporting by legitimate news organizations; personal filming for social events such as weddings; municipal projects authorized by the Township; and school filming by students for educational purposes.

A student conflict this guide does not resolve

The student exemption conflicts operationally with the separately published $25 student fee. Obtain the liaison’s written classification for the specific project.

Application and timing

The application must include applicant name, address and contact; location and description; dates and hours; proof of insurance; written private-owner consent; estimated crew and vehicle counts; equipment and structures; and nearby-owner signatures if the Township requires them.

Three different filing deadlines are published

The live code says applications submitted later than four days before filming receive expedited treatment. Its fee section describes expedited applications as those submitted fewer than five days ahead. The Township webpage says expedited applies when submitted within five business days. This guide does not convert those statements into one invented rule.

Police, Fire and Health must be notified at least five days before filming. File earlier than any of the published cutoffs and ask whether days are calendar or business days, when the filing is complete, and which departments the applicant must notify.

Filming days and hours

The current code permits filming Monday through Sunday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., with crew wrap by 10:00 p.m. and indoor filming until 11:00 p.m. with proper approval.

Crew wrap is not an exterior extension

Write setup, filming, meals, breakdown and final departure into the approved permit. “Crew wrap” should not be presented as an automatic extension for exterior filming.

Insurance, indemnity and bond

The code requires:

$1,000,000 bodily-injury coverage per person
$2,000,000 bodily-injury aggregate
$300,000 property-damage coverage per occurrence
Township named as additional insured
Written indemnification for use of public lands
$1,000 cash security bond

The bond ensures that the site is left clean and compliant. Obtain the current certificate-holder, endorsement, bond payee, payment method and return procedure.

Notice and safety review

The permit holder must provide written notice to nearby businesses, merchants and residents at least three days before filming. The notice must explain how to object to the Clerk. Proof of notification is due no later than two days before filming.

Police, Fire and Health Departments must be notified at least five days before filming. The production must permit Fire Prevention and other Township inspectors to inspect the site and equipment when deemed necessary. Police may require off-duty Township officers for traffic, safety or public order.

Ask the liaison to approve the notice area and recipients; notice text and delivery; proof format and deadlines; department notification responsibility; and police, fire, health and inspection charges.

Current published fees

Charge	Current published amount
Basic filming permit	$100
Expedited filming permit	$150
Public-land filming	$150/day
Major-motion-picture daily fee	$500/day
Nonprofit	$25
Student project	$25; may be waived
Cash bond	$1,000
Lost parking or other Township revenue; public-property repair	Reimbursable
Police, fire, health, inspection, property use or parking	Obtain a written quote

Stacking is unstated

The checked sources do not expressly state whether the $500 major daily fee replaces or stacks with the $150 public-land rate, or whether each daily fee stacks with the application fee. Obtain a written all-in quote.

Residential-duration limit

The 10-day annual cap was superseded

The original October 2024 ordinance limited residential filming to 10 days per year. The March 2025 amendment replaced the applicable subsection and the current live code no longer contains that annual limit. Do not republish the superseded 10-day restriction.

Who controls the location?

Location or impact	Starting authority
Township street, sidewalk, municipal park or facility	Livingston Township Clerk and assigned departments
Private residence, business, office, hotel, restaurant or lot	Owner or authorized representative, plus Township review when public property is used
Force Homestead	Township, with historical-site coordination as directed
Riker Hill Art Park, Becker Park or other Essex County property	Essex County controlling department
Livingston Mall or another privately controlled redevelopment property	Current owner and any applicable redevelopment or land-use authority
Livingston public-school property	Livingston Public Schools
Hospital, religious, institutional or campus property	The controlling institution
County or State road	Agency controlling the exact segment

Do not assume that a Township application grants County or school access.

Practical production planning

Contact the film liaison before completing the schedule.
File earlier than five business days because the published timing language differs.
Obtain the student’s permit or exemption treatment in writing when applicable.
Ask how application and daily fees stack.
Get the notice area, method and proof approved before outreach.
Include all municipal, County, school and private boundaries on the location map.
Confirm setup, camera, breakdown, crew-wrap and indoor-extension times.
Disclose parking, trucks, generators, cables, structures, flame, effects and traffic.
Request exact insurance and $1,000 bond instructions.
Confirm private ownership and signer authority for every nonmunicipal location.

Documented productions

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez

The State’s 2024 production list identifies Livingston among the New Jersey filming municipalities.

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

The State’s 2024 list identifies Livingston, Asbury Park, Avon-by-the-Sea, Bradley Beach and Point Pleasant Beach.

Scout

The State’s 2024 list identifies the short film in Livingston in January.

The Good Half

The State’s 2023 list identifies Livingston among the New Jersey filming municipalities.

These records document past municipal filming only. They do not establish the precise property, present availability, permission, owner or what Livingston represented on screen.

Common questions

Is Livingston Film Ready certified?

Yes. Livingston appears on the State’s current certified-localities list and the Township’s film page identifies it as a Film Ready community.

How far ahead should a production apply?

The current sources describe the cutoff as no later than four days, fewer than five days and within five business days. File well before five business days and obtain the accepted fee and schedule from the film liaison.

What hours may a production film?

Monday through Sunday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., with crew wrap by 10:00 p.m. Approved indoor filming may extend to 11:00 p.m.

What insurance does Livingston require?

$1 million bodily injury per person, $2 million aggregate and $300,000 property damage, with the Township named as additional insured. A $1,000 cash bond is also published.

Do student projects need a permit fee?

The fee section publishes a $25 student fee that may be waived, while the exemption section excludes school filming by students for educational purposes. Ask the film liaison to classify the project.

Does a Township permit cover Riker Hill Art Park?

Do not assume so. Riker Hill is described in official materials as County property or County-acquired land. Contact the controlling Essex County department separately.

Official sources

Checked July 29, 2026 against Chapter 135 as amended March 12, 2025 and the Township’s current film page. Report a correction or updated permit requirement.

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Reviewed by Sam Moskowitz, producer & director of photography

This guide is researched and reviewed by Sam Moskowitz, a New Jersey-based producer and DP who runs BLL Films. Sam’s production and cinematography credits include work for Netflix, History Channel, Hulu, the NFL and Google. Every changing fact on this page carries a verification date; see how this site is researched for the full process.